... to spend my inheritance on a house in France?

[CurlyWurlyHurlyBurly]

An elderly relative has died and left their estate to me and my siblings equally. As a result I am getting an inheritance of around £30K. I currently live in rented accommodation along with my DH and 2 DC and we will probably never be in a position to buy within the UK.

My idea is to buy a small property in the Dordogne region of France (an area we have family links to) and relocate over there. Our budget is small but we could manage it. We nearly moved over there a few years ago, but finances didn't quite work out at that time so we stayed in the UK.

DH's idea is that we use the inheritance to clear our loan/credit card balance, invest some in the highest interest savings we can and spend some on "fun" stuff.

I feel slightly resentful about his plan as he is a spendthrift, and most of the loan/credit card debt has been for his benefit, and his idea of "fun" stuff includes a motorbike for him.

So, AIBU to tell him that I have thought about his suggestion but I still think buying a house in France should be the way forward?

Pay off the debt first, to avoid the compound interest. Use the remaining 24k as healthy deposit on a UK property. Live in the property for a little while, thus making it your PPR for CGT purposes.

Then you are in a great position to go to France, rent there, while renting your UK place out (having got mortgage co agreement to rent).

Let's you see if France is really for you without the risks of buying there, while getting a foothold / investment on UK property ladder.

win-win.

whirly is wise.

Why, thankyou Seriously

OP, maybe you can tell us what part of the country you're in and how much you currently spend on rent? It might help build a picture of what's feasible.

Gizzy, it's only 70 sq m! They'd have to sit on top of each other!

It's small but not that small. I used to live in 24 m² a few years back!

I was completely wrong about the size - I'm an idiot. I was thinking it was 70 sq ft!

Sorry!

Why wouldn't you just use the £30k for a deposit on a house here?

op has family connections to the Dordogne dont forget.

I think I'd go for using it as a deposit in the UK .Then you can both still work and kids go to English speaking school.
You are currently paying rent so could afford mortgage repayments and 24k is a decent deposit

if i had 30k and had to put it as a deposit for a uk house where it would only be a small fraction of the actual cost, rather than an actual house, albeit a doer-upper in the dordogne,i think id die a bit inside