What to do??

Paulm1978

Since get divorced last year and having 50k in equity now I was looking to buy a house. But since renting a lovely place and area Im in too minds of buying. But still want my money to make money which is not in in a Marcus sacs account which is only now 0.5%

I have no experience investing in shares but I don’t mind putting most of my money away into something for say 5 to 10 years or maybe more 
I just don’t want it to sit there earning hardly nothing and I don’t want to go down the route of buying and renting too much hassle 

any advise would be great thanks 

Albermarle

First advice is to scroll through this forum as someone asks a similar sort of question every day 
In fact on the first page today there are four separate posters asking 'What to do with?' 
If you want to invest the money in risk based investments rather than safe savings accounts . Your time scale should be longer than 5 years , preferably 10 minimum . Do not buy individual shares , but funds that contain a divers mixture of shares and other investments . Often it is better to add more money to your pension but it depends on individual circumstances . 
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/investment-beginners/
https://www.nutmeg.com/nutmegonomics/increasing-your-chances-of-positive-portfolio-returns-the-facts-about-long-term-investing/

barnstar2077

Personally I would get back on the property ladder as soon as possible.  Owning your own property outright before you retire is a massive benefit. 

Voyager2002

What to do? Contact your landlord and ask if s/he might be interested in selling. Selling to a tenant is attractive since there will be no void period while looking for a buyer, and no need to pay commision to an estate agent.

Alexland

Yes unless you are trying to time an imminent property market crash it's usually best to get on with buying a house at today's prices and make good progress on the mortgage repayments such that they are affordable over your remaining working life. If you leave it too late you risk finding that by spreading the repayments over a lower number of years until you retire they are unaffordable and you get stuck renting forever. I know a former colleague in that position and it's not good.

Paulm1978

Ok thanks for all your advice 

barnstar2077

If you do decide to get back onto the property ladder, have a look at different mortgage term options (dependent on age and what is available.)  I originally tried to pay my mortgage off as quickly as I could.  It wasn't till I only had eight years to go that I realised that by extending the term that I could effectively make myself mortgage free straight away, because my monthly payments are now so low that I will always be able to afford to pay them.  If I was young again I would try and get a longer term with the option to make overpayments when I wanted.