AIBU to want to keep my house?

[NotJustACigar]

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?

Someone I know who moved abroad is renting their 4 bed out of £3k a month...do it!

I think you need to look at as a pension/investment keep hold of it

Good god I'm shocked at your Dh. Don't sell. Rent it with a very good agent. Easy.

Oh Lord, the eternal optimist has turned up. Not every marriage is doomed!

Did I say they were? It can happen and you have no way of knowing if it will be you. Living overseas can put a strain on a marriage and the last thing you want is to be stuck overseas with nowhere to move back to.

We are buying a house in Crete and hope to live there full time next year. We like the village we live in here so will be renting it out as when we want to move back where we live now is brilliant everything is 5 mins walk away doctors, vets, shops, post office etc. We will get a reputable letting agent to manage it and take out landlords insurance for the rent. I would advise you keep it and do the same

Absolutely keep the house. My brother did this 10 years ago and has never been able to get back to where he was. Even with pay rises and promotion he can’t afford the 4 bedroom house he once had.

Oh Lord, the eternal optimist has turned up. Not every marriage is doomed!

No, but so many do fail, we are forever telling women here to safeguard themselves financially because you never know even with the most rock-solid seeming of marriages. It’s like life assurance for a healthy young person with a family, they probably won’t die for another 50 years but they could also die tomorrow and leave their spouse and children in terrible difficulties. Writing wills - how morbid right? Yes, all very depressing but taking precautions against potential future eventualities is something everyone should consider.

In this case OP is being sensible not because they may or may not split up but because holding on to the house is beneficial in the long term for both of them. DH and I don’t envision splitting up but should one of us die in the interim period we have the security of knowing the other will have our house as a fallback.

I'd sell. Never rent out a house you have personal attachment to. People treat rented houses terribly, you'd hate to go back and see it destroyed.

What?!? Who doesn't want to rent 5 beds ???

What a wonderful position to be in OP! I would definitely work to pay it off in 3years (amazing!). Then it makes no difference if you keep it, it is a brilliant bit of security. I would also try Airbnb or renting. I must say, I'm with your husband on renting being a ball ache but perhaps the odd few weeks holiday let would be less stressful!

Deffo keep it. Rent it out. Mothball it but don't sell it if you dont have to.

large rentals are always in demand, and they tend to be families who have trouble finding large enough homes, so the tenants are willing to stay as long as you want and that's a stable income for you.

As someone who has done this though, let me say, even the nicest and most considerate tenants in the world are not going to care for your well loved and perfect home the way you would. If you ever do go back to live in it, expect to have to do everything all over again as if you'd just bought it. Whether it's you or tenants, things get worn, stained, spoiled, torn and scuffed. Expect it to look like a rental house you just bought, because it's been a rental home. We had bought the house new, and as neither of us had ever in our lives lived in a new house, we were crazy to keep it clean, detailed like some people clean their cars clean. all the nooks and crannies. But after 28 months as a rental, grime and grunge of the sort that's hard to ever clean had build up.

that being said, the rental income covered our rent here and then some, as well as let our equity keep building at a higher rate than the same money in savings. I don't know how it works in the UK, but this house was in the US and the down payment had come from closing out an untaxed retirement fund. It was/is legal to move such funds to a house deposit and you won't be taxed, but if the house is sold and the funds not used to buy another house/or returned to an retirement fund, taxes come due. So it really was not in our best interest to sell the house for a known to be temporary move as we knew we were returning to that house. We returned, made a decision about long term life plans, he sought another job here, then we sold the house and invested the funds in a new downpayment here.

If you aren't returning to the same community, I'm not sure that the effort of being a landlord will be worth it. Even if you imagine retiring to that home, will you really want to remodel large 5 bedroom former rental property in your retirement years?

admittedly, the house, even having been a rental, may be worth holding onto for the resale value to fund the purchase of a smaller home in a warmer place for retirement.

We rented ours out while away for 3 years. Make sure you get permission from the back to let if you have a mortgage. Also make sure you are all square with HMRC on your rental income. If you need to remortgage while away Ex pat offshore buy to let mortgages are very difficult to get hold of now and very expensive. Also agree with PP that your house will get trashed and it won’t feel 100% like yours once you move back in. If we go again we will sell.

One point to note is that you have to maintain whatever is in the house, so take out any free standing white goods like washing machines, cookers, freezers etc otherwise you will have to replace them when they break down. (Assuming you rent unfurnished which most people do)

If it’s built in to the kitchen then you will have to maintain it if it goes wrong.

I think renting it out is sensible but speak to a few lettings agents to get a feel for prices in the area and the package they offer including references from satisfied landlords. Whether there's a market for 5 beds depends on location and condition eg near universities it would be snapped up (and students pay good rents) but they would not be interested in other locations or houses that are really fussy plus it needs to be furnished in a certain way. Whatever you decide you will need to look into long term storage for sentimental things

Do you think you could use it as a holiday rental? People take more care of those than they would a rental home, and you can keep it the way you want rather than painting everything magnolia for home renters. Also you receive the money in advance so you'd definitely be paid rather than having the worry with renters not paying, and then when you do return to the UK you just remove it from use, not having to make a family homeless. Plus if you came back to the UK you could stay there.