Frugal neighbours, 7 houses no intention of selling ever

[Mrspitt3]

My neighbour and wife live in a 3 bed modest semi, is in late 50s, has been really frugal (still has 20 year old carpet tiles in kitchen etc) all their life which I do respect actually, they have always invested in property (totally understand), what I don't get is that they are now retired they have no intention on selling any of the houses and having a really nice retirement even though the rented houses cause them a lot of stress with their tenants, I said to my neighbour a few weeks ago about one particular troublesome property, why don't you just sell it? His reply was "well what would I do with the money?" ...... if they had no intention of selling them/enjoying a nice retirement then I don't understand why you would buy property. I understand they get a monthly income but they still live frugal lives. It feels immoral to me and greedy when they could help the housing market by selling the houses. AIBU?? Have I missed something??

Frugality becomes such a habit that with some people they'll never break it

I think it is more that debt/living beyond your means is so acceptable now that someone who doesn't 'live for today' is considered to be wrong (hence the OP).

This thread is hilarious! Not least because couple are only in their 50s .

OP, sorry but what planet are you on? Millions of people are now unable to rely on pensions being sufficient into old age and buy property to safeguard against this. If they sell these properties (or just one) they will have to pay significant capital gains tax. Why do that if they don't need the money now? How are they immoral because they don't want to cash in their assets NOW? They could be in care homes for decades and need this money in the future. Anyway, if it bothers you that much, why don't you just ask them?

suk and Cresc both get to the heart of it.

It is very very wise to put off what you want today to protect your future later and provide for yourself. Don't expect anyone else to take care of you.

The fact it might be seen as morally dubious to cut back today so you have money tomorrow is a sad feature of some people today. I suspect the answer is to get those people to change their views to be more frugal!

OP - are you now trying to turn this into a 'serious' debate about the ethics of BTL because you didn't get the reaction you wanted when you were just having a bitch about the neighbours' tatty carpet?

I suspect these neighbours thrive on the drama and chaos that the tenants provide them.
Late 50s is still young and not everyone wants to retire and go off travelling the world.
Owning those properties probably gives them a reason to get up in the morning.

YABU