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Bryan

Nigel,

I think your idea would really suit us, we would like at some point to full time but I would want the security of keeping a house it seems to make perfect sense to me.

Suzy

Rapide561

Hello all

The house situation is never an easy decision to make.

I sold - and I do not regret it. I am not worried about the tenants etc, or if the washer will break down.

On the other hand, I sold the house and have the cash at hand. This cash is in various accounts with various banks giving an average yield of about 6.7% gross. I reckoned on a 10% house price increase this year - purely a guess - so in theory I am "short". However, the cash buyer element would probably regain that position. I note also from Rightmove that house where are used to live are "stuck".

I think UK interest rates will move ahead a couple of times this year and then remain steady for a while, and it is at that point when I shall make a bricks and mortar decision.

There are some lovely Lake View appartments which would give great holiday maker income - and I could be close at hand in the van in case of problems.

Russell

wakk44

artona · Moderator

Hi Steve

What Russell is saying is that he has invested the money he got for his house. The interest he is getting is only slightly below the percentage he thinks his house would have gone up so he is not that bad off. The interest rate is definate, the house rise is an educated guess and is not guaranteed. I can remember our house going down by 25% in the eighties, all in a period of less than three months!

We sold our house based on our past experience. We have rented houses out before and had major problems with tenants so we simply decided it was not for us and we did not want the worry.

It is illegal now in the UK to leave a house empty and if you do so the government can seize it after 6 months so thats not an option.

Suppose you decided to fulltime and head off to Italy for the unforeseen future. You have the deposit and the first month's rent in your bank but when you check your bank account a month later the rent has not been received.

You phone the tenant or your agent and you are told that the rent has not been paid, Oh and the tenants have stripped the house of all the contents i.e the kitchen units, the bathroom fittings etc. etc. and and the house was broken into and all the windows were smashed. In this instance believe me the next thing to vanish would be the agent.

Its all a personal choice and most people are bred to need the "security" of bricks and mortar. Unless you sell your bricks and mortar at sometime during your lifetime your house as an asset belongs to your children, not you.

Of course this house thing is the biggest discussion point of fulltiming. Our view is that if fulltiming is a way of escaping the worries of life then if you have a house in tow the escape is not going to happen.

Many, many will have the view though that if they do not have a house in tow they would be very worried.

stew

Bryan

geraldandannie · Moderator

Good points, Stew.

We've had a tenant in our holiday flat for 9 months. They finished their 6 month contract, and asked to go on a month-by-month basis. We knew they'd moved out 3 weeks after the fact when the estate agent managing the flat told us they'd found a new tenant.

The flat is now upp for sale - as Stew and others have said, fewer worries and cash in the bank (or, rather, lower mortgage around our neck).

We want the freedom to be able to go where we want, when we want. Some of our close friends are reaching the age where they're scattering around the country in semi- and early- and full-retirement. We'll use the van to visit them, and then maybe go on into other areas. We feel the need to bricks and mortar, and will retain a house here or France or by a canal or God knows where. But for us, retirement is about cessation of worry, and our plans suit us down to the ground.

Each to their own, and there is no 'right' or 'sensible' way. I have great admiration for those who sell up. Good luck to them.

Gerald

DABurleigh

"It is illegal now in the UK to leave a house empty and if you do so the government can seize it after 6 months"

So what do many overwinterers in southern Europe do? Must confess I haven't thought about this aspect, so I'll add it to my research list. Our vague long-term plans would be to leave our house empty for a year, being looked after by friends & neighbours.

Dave

artona · Moderator

Hi Dave

It falls under the Empty Dwellings Management Order laws

stew

Humber-Traveller

Greetings,

Thanks for all your replies folks, there is more than this than meets the eye.

Maybe go for a month or so, to go full timing would present problems with hospital appointments, doctors visits, traveling around, finding low cost long stay sites etc.

Would like to discuss the pros and cons at a full time meet if one was organised but for the time being this thought will have to go on the back burner.