What would you do with 30-40k?

[ChiChaNaYubi]

We have this spare atm. No mortgage to pay.
We have a couple properties that we rent out so that provides a steady income plus we both work.
We were thinking of using it to buy a flat to rent out but having been thinking about if there are better opportunities.

Airbnb is one possibility but we know that is quite unstable.
A holiday let is something we don’t know much about, does anyone have any experience in this?

Just looking for some ideas to consider as we would like to do something with it to generate more income.

You mean you don't know that interest rates are very good at the moment. Thought everyone knew that.

There's your answer save it and get interest. No need to do anything.

Pension? Especially if additional properties are to benefit you children.

One long holiday or a couple of holidays to destinations you have always wanted to visit.

We're in the same situation. We're putting £5k into premium bonds for each of our young DC, taking them on their first holiday and putting the rest into our own premium bonds.

The sooner people realise that landlords are essential, the better.
Around here loads have sold up, pushing prices for rentals to absolutely silly levels - with more landlords this wouldn’t be an issue.

Social housing would be the ideal solution, but it’s clear no government will ever actually make that a reality!

This ..maybe give something to your tenants.

What’s your pension like? If it’s not enough, I’d put at least 75% in a pension.

Save some
Spend some
Donate some

so these properties have just disappeared off the face of this island?

When a landlord sells up, I assume someone buys it?

With inflation at 10% you will need to be making at least this on whatever you invest in

If you don’t already have it I’d look at solar on your house and the rentals.

If your children don’t already have any savings/trusts I’d put some away for each of them.

If your pension isn’t already generous id invest the rest in pension

£30k won't be enough for all that? How much do you think the extension will cost?

solar on the house which would be around 10k then the rest straight into the kids’ investments.

I’m of course going to be the one with the unpopular opinion. It’s my speciality

if you’ve accrued spare cash as a landlord after making sure your properties are not just up to code, but genuinely good places to live, then maybe the answer is you’re charging more rent than is needed.

airbnb is honestly a travesty of our times and has led to not only the gentrification of so many places but is actively creating wastelands for seasonal and low paid workers in holiday destinations. If no one can get a look in on a cheaper property to rent or buy, then there’s no available staff to keep the bars and restaurants open in these locations. Where I live it’s gotten so bad we can’t even staff ambulance crews or doctors surgeries or supermarkets. Yet all the holiday makers care about is the fact that most places don’t have staff.

and whatever contribution these tourists make to the local economy, 99% of that is NOT staying local, and min wage jobs aren’t a local benefit if the government still tops up the wages. Obviously you and others may disagree.

I’m not advocating donating 40k to charity, because you’re not a billionaire and there’s a difference between doing your part and self flagellating

but how about investing in a business or like others said a higher risk portfolio or your pension.

you could also just double and triple check the houses you already rent don’t have issues that would make it more pleasant to live there and that the amount of rent you’re charging is reasonable.

Claiming that being a profiteering private landlord is some sort of philanthropic, benevolent act and giving back to society is not only disingenuous, it perpetuates the poverty and inequality on which they profit, it is a delusion - they are vindictive sociopaths

2.2m families were unable to buy a home in the UK last year due to price inflation from private landlords

I would use the 30k to see the world over a series of wonderful holidays, and sell off the needless extra properties for the of good of society

Too many clueless folk pedalling the premium bonds and ISA narrative.

Sure stick your £40k in them if you want to watch it lag behind inflation and lose money.

Personally I'd invest it all, 50% for you and 50% for your kids in a stocks and shares ISA/JISA respectively You can get away with a riskier fund for your kids as they have 18 years to rise it out.

I would use a percentage of it for a nice holiday but given they are young If you invest and it keeps up with the growth of any decent fund there will be a nice little nest egg to take them to Disneyland in Florida with later in their lives

Also unrelated but I see all of the socialist anti-landlord crew have arrived. Landlords are not to blame for the housing crisis, 15 years of cheap credit is along with the attitude of the banks to renters in their ability to keep up mortgage repayments. With some government decisions sprinkled on top. Don't berate those that have seen opportunities and have taken them to better their own lives.

If you don't have any debts I would enjoy at least some of it ! Plan a few trips over the next few years. You could spend your whole life making sure you are more financially secure but you sound like you already are. Whatever you have left put the rest away for kids as long as you have a few months worth of expenses in the bank for emergencies.

Please stop buying properties / Airbnbs to rent out

Housing crisis aside, I’d say the same from an investment point of view - you have all your eggs in one basket, essentially. UK property is not the only investment! In your position, I’d definitely look at investing in equities (and probably a European/global fund). Have a look at Vanguard or Fidelity or the like. If income is important to you (rather than capital growth) , you can choose a fund aimed at that.

Assuming that you are happy in your current home, with no desire to move or extend, and that your pensions are generous, I'd max out on premium bonds. They return about the same as a savings account but there's always the possibility of a big win.

Premium Bonds?

And what do you propose people who can’t ever afford to buy a home do? Live in boxes?

The housing crisis is affecting the mobility of most strata of of society if they need to move and your attitude is part of the problem. If you’re such a force for social good as a landlord, improve the properties you already own.

A local business we know well recruited a fantastic experienced manager on a decent salary from out of the area, but they ended up not taking up the position because there was NO housing for him and his family to move into, either to rent or to buy, within a sensible commuting distance: it’s largely because homes are snapped up before they even hit right move, by people like you. And don’t even get me started on Airbnb! You own enough housing already, don’t be greedy.

The very idea that by being a private landlord of various properties is some virtuous act saving people from homelessness is exactly what I am referring to here.

You have created and are intending to exacerbate the very problem you claim to solve - whilst of course extracting 'passive income' whilst doing it

The hilarious thing is it’s normally folks that have this attitude that complain most about lack of services in their chosen holiday destination.

where I live Airbnb absentee owners are begging for help cleaning their properties. No one will do it, because the properties are rural, a pain to get to, and no one can afford to live close enough on the wages they are offering.

local pages full of ranty posts about people not being able to get deliveries, no daily post, lack of access to health service, can’t get a cleaner, can’t get tradespeople, and god forbid there are no local shops aside from tourist tat any more.

if a nurse, or a GP or a teacher cannot find accommodation for love nor money because there just is nothing to rent or buy within the area, how the heck will anyone on min wage manage it? Big clue here… they don’t.

Airbnbs can be great, when they are properties no one would live in full time like a cabin, or a spare section of your house, but taking up every town centre flat, and cheaper family home as a holiday home just doesn’t work, and anyone still with their head in the sand about this better hope they don’t have a heart attack whilst visiting here as you’ve no hope of surviving it.

theres a huge amount to be said for personal responsibility but lots of people confuse good fortune, lucky opportunities and some kind of privilege whether that’s good health or access to education with being better than everyone else.

I am where I am, it was at least 50% luck plus a lot of hard work, but still I wouldn’t be here without the luck.

If it was us, it would just go in the household account and get used up over time. If you don’t have many outgoing though, I’d spend it on a holiday or several holidays. Otherwise how about hobbies you have?