Need some out of the box ideas 30 June 2020 at 7:26AM in House Buying, Renting & Selling 5 replies 431 views

wanderlove

Hi all,

I've made a firm decision that the 9-5 is not for me, nor is living in one place and following a routine. I've tried so many times and it makes me miserable. 
I am looking at buying a property abroad with my boyfriend (he lives in that country), which we will rent out on airbnb. It'll make a decent return especially with much lower outgoings out there. 

I have a mortgage in the UK. I want to keep a property here as the ideal is to spend 6 months here, 6 months of summer running the holiday rental. I'm an artist and sell my goods on the side but have very little free time or energy outside the 40hour week drag. I'm wanting to start a family within the next few years and will likely want to do that in the UK, hence having the stability of a home here.

I cant figure out how to piece all of this together. I'm open to selling my house (will get aprox 50k equity).. I've started looking at buying land and a container home and am open so alternative options. 

Would love to hear peoples' thoughts. Everybody I know does 'the norm' and strives for more, bigger house  bigger mortgage. I just want to OWN something and feel like I have ownership over my daily life.

Thank you!

Grumpelstiltskin

I would say be cautious, don't burn your boats in the UK straight away. It may not work out in a different country and if you have nothing to come back to and it has all gone pear shaped you could be in a difficult position.

ryllas

Get yourself a cushion, some passive income and look into location-independent income.

So if you haven’t already get some savings and try investing. A stocks and shares ISA with some tracker funds are the lower end of the risk and will
hopefully set you up with some good foundations. There’s a book called I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi which I’d highly recommend as it demystifies investment completely.

Think about your ‘cook book’. As an artist is there anything you can do - write a book, create an online course, offer online coaching - that you might be able to turn into an income stream that can generate some passive income...or at least income you can generate from wherever you are.

Sounds like you already have a lot going for you to make this succeed so best of luck

wanderlove

Thanks guys,

I agree, I definitely want to keep a base in the UK.

Yes, you're right, I'm looking into drop shipping for a lil passive income. I've got strong ties to China and Hong Kong so I should really utilise this. I want to run craft workshops both here and abroad and I also do graphic design so could tap into this more. I feel like the 6 months renting the holiday home and then 6 months free to travel/ return to uk is feasible.. if I own a home mortgage free in the UK. This is the tricky bit.

I'm going to check out that book, thank you ryllas!

BrOz

Sounds like you may benefit from moving to Wales. Have a read on this article... 

https://www.google . com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-48621886

Doozergirl

My sister in law kind of did this.  She and her partner would travel for up to two years at a time.  They bought a holiday home to rent out and in between travelling, they came home (rented) and worked hard, saved and then went off again.  She's 51 now (looks a lot younger) and decided to settle, so they've bought a home.   

If you want to escape normality then it's about reducing the amount you consume so you can save the money for experiences, not things.   There's no one on the planet more MSE than she is.   No scrap of a leftover goes uneaten.  

I don't think you need to own here.  You won't be able to live in it if it's rented and it's a drain on finances whilst empty.  Save the money for when you're ready and in the meantime do your abroad thing and just sees what happens.  

The less you have to tie you, the less you have to worry about.  It's that simple.