Sell or Rent

artih

I have two properties, the one I live in (Scotland) and one I let in England. The one in Scotland is in a beautiful home and location overlooking the river and convenient for everything. However, my neighbour is a nightmare and will not contribute to common repairs and the roof is deteriorating rapidly. 

I have had an offer accepted on a new property. I need to sell a property to pay for it. Should I sell my current property with no Capital Gains Tax keep it and let it or sell the let English property and pay CGT. If I do rent my current property, how does this affect tax going forward. Does CGT in future start from the date I start letting it or from when I purchased it? Any words of wisdom would be most appreciated.

ReadySteadyPop

Say I was a buyer, why would I buy a house with a deteriorating roof and a difficult neighbour who won`t contribute to repairs?

artih

I agree but property in this location is snapped up in days. Old roofs always need maintenance and perhaps a male would have more clout with my misogynistic neighbour. My intention is to repair roof before putting it on the market as to not do this would be unfair. The person selling me the property cleverly avoided telling me the truth when I asked about the neighbours, saying a policeman and nurse wife lived below with two young children. Although this was true, they were just renting and moved out after one year. The predatory owner moved in after his divorce and my ‘headache’ started. 

Bigphil1474

CGT would normally apply from when it stops being your main residence, so if you owned a home for 20 years and lived there for 10, you would only have 10 years for CGT calculations. No point being well off if you aren't happy though, and if you rent out, it will be your tenants who have to live next to this guy. 

Herzlos

You're going to have a much easier time selling the property you live in, in Scotland, than one with a tenant in England.