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AIBU?

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Original poster

Inherited house, what to do?

84 replies

meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 09:56

I live in social housing with right to acquire, worth about £100K and could stay here.

Left house worth about £100K that I don't want to live in.

Nicer, downsized for age, homes priced £200K

Never had a mortgage, 45 years old.

What would you do with the house? Sell? Buy my place? Put down for mortgage on other place? Invest?

-never had such money before

OP posts:
JuneOsborne · 05/06/2023 09:59

Do you mean you'd like to buy a £200k house?

PinkFootstool · 05/06/2023 10:01

Sell the inherited house, buy your home, job done surely? Saves on the costs of moving, worries about future mortgage costs etc.

Original poster
meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 10:01

JuneOsborne · 05/06/2023 09:59

Do you mean you'd like to buy a £200k house?

I would prefer to move to a small bungalow but that's the cost yes. Unsure if wise to think about mortgage at this age and whether it would be more reasonable to just buy the place I'm in now or invest the money and continue to pay rent here. (£80/week)

I'm only on track for full state pension too, nothing over.

OP posts:
Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:01

Your post is a bit hard to understand.

Why don't you want to live in the house you have inherited?

Can you afford a mortgage?

RosesAndHellebores · 05/06/2023 10:02

Can you let the inherited house for some additional income?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 05/06/2023 10:03

Sell the inherited house, use the 100k equity from it, along with whatever mortgage you can get on your salary, to purchase a future proofed home. Hand the social housing home back to the provider for someone else.

Original poster
meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 10:03

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:01

Your post is a bit hard to understand.

Why don't you want to live in the house you have inherited?

Can you afford a mortgage?

Because it needs some work and I like where I live now.

I afford rent so assume I can also afford a mortgage.

OP posts:
Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:03

On a societal level, I think buying social housing is immoral. If you moved into the inherited house, your current place could be used to house a homeless family.

On a personal level, it could be the sensible thing to do for yourself.

Original poster
meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 10:03

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 05/06/2023 10:03

Sell the inherited house, use the 100k equity from it, along with whatever mortgage you can get on your salary, to purchase a future proofed home. Hand the social housing home back to the provider for someone else.

I will look into it thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 10:04

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:03

On a societal level, I think buying social housing is immoral. If you moved into the inherited house, your current place could be used to house a homeless family.

On a personal level, it could be the sensible thing to do for yourself.

I don't understand why it's even an option, but yes I am being selfish at this point and seeking a solution for me, not wider society.

OP posts:
Original poster
meanderingmanchild · 05/06/2023 10:05

RosesAndHellebores · 05/06/2023 10:02

Can you let the inherited house for some additional income?

I thought about it but seems a lot of hassle. ALso think landlording has become too cumbersome of late.

OP posts:
WakeMeUpWhenGoodOmensIsBack · 05/06/2023 10:12

Do some research to work out what size of mortgage you could get on your income and how much it would cost. Think about what term you'd be borrowing over - 20 years might be more realistic than the standard 25 at your age.

Don't forget moving costs, but you shouldn't have to pay stamp duty.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 05/06/2023 10:12

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:03

On a societal level, I think buying social housing is immoral. If you moved into the inherited house, your current place could be used to house a homeless family.

On a personal level, it could be the sensible thing to do for yourself.

But this is assuming the inherited house is even in a location for the OPs job and life? Not everyone lives in the same location as their bequeathers (sp)

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:13

RosesAndHellebores · 05/06/2023 10:02

Can you let the inherited house for some additional income?

I don't think you're allowed to do this. Pretty sure you're not allowed to own a property if you live on social housing

mrsbyers · 05/06/2023 10:14

Find out first if you could get a mortgage and how much for them you will know if selling inherited house plus mortgage will be enough to buy - factor in the fees involved etc

Waspie · 05/06/2023 10:15

I think it really depends whether you want to move from your home OP. If you are happy there you could sell the inherited property and use the proceeds to invest into a retirement fund (not necessarily a pension, but ISAs and bonds perhaps) so that you will be able to supplement your state pension when the time comes.

You can always reassess in a couple of years.

Flopsythebunny · 05/06/2023 10:16

You'll either have to sell it asap or live in it.
You are not allowed to own a property if in rented social housing

Cyclistmumgrandma · 05/06/2023 10:16

Acquire social housing house. Sell both, buy nicer house. The question is whether that would be ethical as social housing is in such short supply.....

bussteward · 05/06/2023 10:17

Remember that on top of affording a mortgage you also need to be able to afford buildings insurance, ideally some sort of mortgage payment protection such as critical illness cover, life assurance (if you have kids you’d want to have the mortgage paid off for), house
maintenance – everything from the annual boiler service to “oh shit, need a new roof”.

SilverOrchid · 05/06/2023 10:18

I also disagree with buying social housing (particularly at a discount), but that’s a government policy decision and given it’s an available option you should consider it.

Are you entitled to a discount on your current property?

If so, I’d sell the inherited property, buy your current property, live in it for the requisite period and then sell for full market value when you want to move on to fund a new purchase for your retirement.

You would need to think about whether you would need a mortgage on your next property though and whether ages would allow that to happen.

AMonthOfSundaes · 05/06/2023 10:20

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 05/06/2023 10:03

Sell the inherited house, use the 100k equity from it, along with whatever mortgage you can get on your salary, to purchase a future proofed home. Hand the social housing home back to the provider for someone else.

Yup, this is the option I'd go for.

Coronationstation · 05/06/2023 10:20

I afford rent so assume I can also afford a mortgage.
You pay £80 a week which is peanuts compared to private sector rentals and mortgages. Check some mortgage calculators online but £100k mortgage with £100k deposit over 20 years (which would take you to retirement age) is around £650 a month. And that's assuming you earn enough to get a £100k mortgage.....

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:23

£80 a week is a tiny amount. Even if you owned the house outright with no mortgage, you will have to pay for buildings insurance and be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance. If your boiler goes, that could be thousands.

GasPanic · 05/06/2023 10:24

Comedycook · 05/06/2023 10:03

On a societal level, I think buying social housing is immoral. If you moved into the inherited house, your current place could be used to house a homeless family.

On a personal level, it could be the sensible thing to do for yourself.

How many people are realistically going to pass up the chance of getting tens of thousands of pounds for free ?

Thelnebriati · 05/06/2023 10:25

If its a HA house then no you aren't being immoral buying it - HA's can use the money to build another house.

Talk to your housing officer about your options. You might be able to rent out the house for an income. Or you might have to sell it.