I've been worrying about posting for a while now as I want advice, not unkind comments.
My Grandparents recently passed away and left me £70,000 and we have about £30,000 in savings. This is all now sitting in a BS account paying 2% interest. This is obviously not making the best of returns but what else do we do with 100k that we will need in 7-10 years when DC will be off to univ.
We do not have a mortgage as such, although have £250 left on a borrow-back mortgage. This means we can borrow back up to 100k at 0.9% interest without having to pay arrangement fees.
With this in mind we have thought about a buy to let. I spoke to an estate agent about a flat that we could buy out-right, but when lease extensions, maintenence fees, ground rent etc. came up I realised buying a freehold property might be better. We have thought about a 2 bed terrace that will cost 140K and get 750pm. Is this a good yield? What sort of fees do property maintentence companies charge? How much hassle is BTL? What are the other hidden charges?
Is there a better investment for such a large sum of money? I invested a small amount in some IT shares years ago and lost 80% of my money so am quite wary. Will a financial advisor just get me to invest in high commission products? How much is their fee...I have no idea? Will they give me the hard sell until I sign my money away?