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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to want to keep my house?

92 replies

NotJustACigar · 09/06/2019 12:18

DH and I will be moving abroad next year for his job - his employer will provide housing. We will be gone for 3 years and when we come back we'll get another assignment in Britain but again DH's employer will provide housing.

So we don't really need our house for the forseeable future but I'm struggling with the idea of selling it because I love my house. I personally have put a ton of time and effort renovating it and have finally got it just how I want it to be. And I love the location, the neighbours, etc.

DH wants to sell because we don't need it and because it's not the kind of house that most people would want to rent as it's quite large (5 beds). He also thinks renting would be a hassle.

I want to keep it not just because I love it but because it keeps us on the housing ladder. I also gives us a place to keep our savings and to save more - over the next 3 years we would pay off the mortgage instead of keeping the money in the bank. And I think due to Brexit house prices are depressed now but will hopefully rise in the medium term. So I see keeping the house as a good investment.

So who IBU, me or DH?

OP posts:

fedupandlookingforchange · 09/06/2019 12:48

Keep the house as security, if house prices fall it won’t matter as you’ve still got a house to live, if they rise your asset will rise roughly in line with everything else. People who get off the housing ladder rarely get back on at the level they were.

Youngandfree · 09/06/2019 12:50

Do you have any extended family that you trust who could live it and pay a rent you both agree on??

madcatladyforever · 09/06/2019 12:52

Absolutely keep and rent. It would be madness not to. My first husband sold his house worth £300,000 when he went to work abroad. What with one thing and another and house prices going up very fast he never managed to get on the housing ladder again. He lost everything.
Rent it outo with agent fully managed and don't take no for an answer from your husband. If you sell you will regret it forever.

LakieLady · 09/06/2019 12:52

It would be madness to sell imo.

I know the housing market isvery uncertain, but as you only have a small mortgage, it's not as though you'd be risking negative equity in the event of a price fall. If you sell and prices rise again, it would be a huge struggle to buy an equivalent property when you get back.

I'd hang on to it and rent it out. And I'd squirrel the rent money away to put towards redecorating when I got back, so that it was all immaculate for me to move back into.

gokartdillydilly · 09/06/2019 12:54

My brother moved to Spain with work on a three, extending to five years, basis. They sold their large family home. After just 12 months, his company got taken over, the departments streamlined, and he and some other colleagues were sent home with little notice. They had a nightmare getting back on the housing market and ended up having to move somewhere they weren't keen on, just to get the kids back into school. Keep the house, rent it out on a rolling contract. It is an asset, not a millstone

Treacletoots · 09/06/2019 12:58

I've been in your situation and I held onto the house. There's no way I'd sell in your situation. I am however enjoying the irony, usually the mere mention of landlords brings out the pitchforks from the landlord hating brigade on MN!

sergeilavrov · 09/06/2019 12:58

It's worth considering how his career may pan out. I work in a field that means I move countries frequently, and when I was employed by a large company we were provided with housing wherever we went. We kept both of our properties, and invested in more over time in the places I was working such that we could have something constant and familiar for our family. It allowed me to eventually go out on my own, start my own business doing the same thing but without a company skimming the profits. Having these houses significantly reduced the costs of running my company - and it's put us in a great position both financially, and more importantly as a family.

We didn't rent out our houses, as I didn't want to have to pack away our things in each property, and just sent in a cleaner every so often. However, renting is a great way of generating income so I'd encourage it!

Littletabbyocelot · 09/06/2019 13:02

If you sell and the housing market goes down you can probably afford something nicer - but it would have to be a big enough shift to outweigh selling costs, stamp duty etc and it doesnt sound like you want nicer anyway. If you sell and the market goes up, the work you've put in to be mortgage free is undone and you either have to downsize or borrow more. If you keep it, whatever happens to the market you'll have finished paying the mortgage off and either have the house you love or if you need to move areas the value of your home will have changed with the market. If it's crashed, the house you want to buy will be cheaper too.

To me, the worst case scenario is selling and finding property prices have boomed so if you can afford to keep it I would

mrsplum2015 · 09/06/2019 13:04

Definitely keep it.

We're in a similar position and have been away for six years. Never regretted keeping our house even when we had shitty tenants who didn't pay for a long period and trashed the house!

At the end of the day the value is still rising and a new carpet / coat of paint fixed it all up.

It feels like a massive insurance policy. We always have somewhere to go to if needed with a v low mortgage or ( more likely ) great investment to cash in one day in the future.

We've bought a house in another country now but won't pay it off for a long long time and the value is not as safe

AlwaysCheddar · 09/06/2019 13:05

No way to selling, that would be stupid!

Bluerussian · 09/06/2019 13:07

You'd be surprised at how many people would want to rent a a 5 bedroomed house. I do actually know someone who is renting such a house and is letting her four bed house in London while she and husband are working in another part of the country.

Professional people over here on contract might be interested, there are agencies which arrange such lettings. Set the rent at a percentage less than the usual for a five bed house and that will make it even more attractive.

I wouldn't do it through airb'n'b, that could work if you were on the spot but not if you are abroad for three years.

Good luck and - how exciting for you to be exploring new pastures for a while.

SpeckofStardust · 09/06/2019 13:07

You’d be mad to let your house go. We’re in a similar situation, we had to move for DH’s work, 5 years we’ll be away from our house which will be our home when we retire. We own outright but, if we’d sold, we couldn’t afford to buy a house here (it’s a crazy expensive market) and the way the property market is rising in the area we left we would not be able to afford another house outright there in 5 years time either.

In the meantime we’re renting it out through a property management company. We pay them a percentage of the rent and it’s worth every penny because they take care of everything re tenant background and credit checks, tenancy agreement, repairs, collecting rent. The money is paid straight into our bank and the management company provide us with monthly statements and an annual breakdown of expenses for our tax returns.

LurksNoLonger · 09/06/2019 13:08

Keep it! We had a five bed whilst living abroad and it rented v easily as hardly any on market. Several friends we met overseas who sold their homes are now effectively trapped as they are now priced out of any areas they wanted to live. Not a nice predicament to find themselves in and one to which they will struggle to get out of...

MrsMozartMkII · 09/06/2019 13:12

I was looking for a 5 bed house to rent, albeit for a comparatively short period (a few months).

I echo PPs - everyone I know who move around do keep hold of at least one house.

ceirrno · 09/06/2019 13:16

Landlords perspective- larger houses are the best to rent! The main reason being that people wanting a larger house are generally at a fairly stable point in their lives, so they tend to be reliable and long term tenants.

Check that your mortgage company will allow it, make sure you have landlords insurance and find a good agents to handle everything- it's worth paying them so that you have no hassle as you can't be hands on when you live abroad.

If you give it up and put the money in the bank it won't have the same ups and downs as the property market. Leaving your money in property gives you a much easier way to to get back into it when the time comes.

Hth

QuickQuestion2019 · 09/06/2019 13:16

Gosh yes, you're following your husband's job so completely dependent? You absolutely must keep your assets as a safety net.

He is BVU to expect you to leave yourself so financially unstable. Rent it out and make sure half goes into an account in your name, as a trailing spouse you're very vulnerable!

TriciaH87 · 09/06/2019 13:17

I would be keeping it anyway. What if something happens causing him to loose his job. You would then become homeless too.

HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo · 09/06/2019 13:19

Totally keep it! The mortgage can be covered by renters while you’re abroad, and then it’ll pay for your new rent when you’re back. It’s an asset.

MulticolourMophead · 09/06/2019 13:23

Keep the house and rent, it'll be better than a savings account, and as a back up should things not go well and you have to leave the employer's housing. Get a good agent in, large houses for rent in my area tender to go very quickly.

Original poster

NotJustACigar · 09/06/2019 13:25

Wow! A 100% unanimous set of answers and all in my favour - I was definitely not expecting that ! Thank you all so much - I will be putting my foot down and we will not be selling. I love this site so much sometimes!!! To all who took the time to answer, a massive, massive thank you.

OP posts:

Goodenough06 · 09/06/2019 13:27

I agree you should definitely keep it. One tip (which is a bit controversial) that my parents taught me was that keeping the rent at a slightly lower level will encourage people to stay longer. When they moved abroad they could easily have got £800+ a month for their property, but they kept the rent at £650 or so. They got a nice family living there, made enough to continue paying off the mortgage and didn't have to worry about new tenants every year.
Plus the people knew they wanted to stay long term so took more care over things and didn't 'trash' the place.
Obviously no one will ever look after your house as nicely as you would, but definitely something to think about. Good luck convincing your husband!!! Maybe use the fact that YOU are uprooting your life for HIS career as means of persuasion...

LondonJax · 09/06/2019 13:27

Definitely keep it. After all, if your DH's husband will be providing a home (which they will presumably rent from the home owner), why wouldn't another company need a home for one of their employees? There's a possibility that your DH's company may be prepared to take your home onto their rental books - if it's in good condition and families are moving around in DH's company, they may need additional family homes to offer. Either way there are always large families on the move.

chitofftheshovel · 09/06/2019 13:29

If you need a guardian to look after the house let me know. My family and I are about to be made homeless.

myhamster · 09/06/2019 13:29

I agree that you should hold on to the house. Treat it as an investment for the future, or a home to come back to if you need it one day. You would have to give your tenants 2 months notice to move out if you wanted to move back in.

If you are going to be abroad, then get a Lettings Agent to look after it for you then they will deal with the day to day stuff and only contact you when necessary, ie, to authorise plumbers etc.

If you are a Non Resident Landlord, then you will need to complete a form to that effect or otherwise HMRC will deduct tax from the rent, but it is easy to do the form online.

Somebody will want to rent your house even if it is 5-bed and if it doesn't rent quickly then you could reduce the price so that it does rent.

Make sure that you get proper Landlord insurance on it and that you contact your mortgage company. There are also certain things that you need to do, like fit smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, but the agent would advise you on all of that. If you have a boiler then you will need to pay to service that each year. It would need an up to date EPC as well with a high enough rating, but again, an agent would advise on all of that, after visiting your house.

Obviously the agent charges commission, but for that they would deal with everything.

WhatIfIHadnt · 09/06/2019 13:29

I wouldn’t sell it in a million years. It would be madness!

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