Retirement second home in country

[devon2018]

Dear Mums,
I need some help please - I feel completley lost. I would like to buy a country house as my retirement home. I don't want anything too fancy but enough so that my two children can visit me so it should not be too far from London. I currently live in London and I am in my mid 40s. I would ideally like to start planning now so that I can build enough amount of money for mortgage free living in my old age.

Here are my questions:

1. How do I even get around buying a property in country?
2. How do you select a area?
3. Where should I even start looking at properties?
4. If I do buy I would like to rent my property as air B&B so that I can earn some money for mortgage cost etc. I am only planning to make this property my permanent address in next 10-15 years.

If anyone has gone through this process please can you advice.

Have you full thought this through?

How will you fund it? Buy outright, or with a mortgage? If you don't rent it out, can you afford the mortgage payments?

As it is a second property, you would pay extra stamp duty, another 3%, so a significant cost.

Buying it is the same as buying a house, its irrelevant that its a second home.

Looking at area, where do you want to live, when you retire, as that surely has to be the key factor in deciding where to buy?

Look at the property websites; Rightmove, Zoopla, Onthemarket, and also contact agents in the area you want to move to. Explain what you are looking for and your budget.

Are you financially secure otherwise, e.g. do you pay in to your pension, have savings, have an emergency cash fund to cover unforeseen expenses, etc..

Are you going to have to fund your children through university, if so, could you do that as well as paying the mortgage on the second home?

Lots for you to think about and decide before taking this further

Country Life www.countrylife.co.uk/property/best-country-houses-for-sale-this-week-70713 is the standard place to start for a large house purchase in the £millions.

Browsing through the properties here should focus your mind on what you want and what you can afford.

@Residentnumber1 great questions to start thinking about. Yes I have created a separate fund for my children's education and for my emergencies. I have pension in place. This second home (so called) will be an investment at this stage but will become my primary house later in life. I plan to move out of London for retirement but circling on a area to live for near future is something I cannot decide at all. It also depends on the money I have.

@ItsReallyOnlyMe not planning to buy in millions at all. My budget was actually rather small. I couldn't find anything useful in good spots of Kent for example.

You need to decide where you want to live and what size property you would need to retire to. How longterm a plan is it, circumstances may change in the interim and whatever you buy now no longer fit your purposes then. Cheaper properties and locations may not be in high demand as holiday lets. If you plan to use it for breaks yourself it needs to be accessible. Some areas restrict second home ownership. There are also ongoing costs like council tax and potential CGT to factor in. What is your budget and search area?

@LIZS Over the pandemic I have spent a lot of time exploring and I would ideally like a hilly area with excellent view. I don't mind getting work done to modernise the property but it should reflect on the price. My budget was just half million.

So you could afford Kent! Unless you are after a substantial property.

No I don't want substantial at all. I want something small which can be looked after by myself. I do want a big garden though.

A big garden is not of great benefit while you are not living there though. If you rent as a holiday let it needs to be well maintained plus in SE it will come at a premium.

If this is to become your "forever" retirement home you need to think ahead about how you want to spend your time.

Do you want pubs and shops you can walk to? What about cinemas and theatres..sports facilities. Do you need to be by a train station to get to...London? Would it help to be near an airport? That ought to narrow things down a bit.

I suppose it is possible that government and councils will invest in local bus services, but think about how you would cope without a car.

In any even it is probably worth spending a couple of cold, wet weekends "testing" your chosen locations (as rural winters aren't for everyone).

DH and I are early babyboomers, been retired some years. We live in a suburb of a northern city, not far from some beautiful countryside. If we get to a point where we can’t drive, we’ll be fine. Lots of shops, doctors, hospitals and great transport links to them. Health often deteriorates as we age, and whilst country and seaside living is very appealing to younger retirees, isolation and the lack of amenities can be real issues.

Younger family members live in a lovely village, but there is no shop, no bus service within a mile, no GP. Everywhere is accessed by car, nit always viable as we age.

‘not’

Small cathedral cities might be a good place to start looking.

Is the plan to Airbnb the property as a holiday let or a short term rental? I don't know whether they ever got round to it, but I seem to remember our council charges double rate council tax on second homes and some places insist you make use of business waste removal services.

You have given me some great thoughts to think about. Thank you so much.

Yes age will be a factor. Both of us drive and I am much younger than him. Even though, I am looking not too far from hospital as well as children. Assuming children will want to live in London or fly to different countries.

So accessibility from airport or hospital is my top priorities.

Yes the plan was to run it as air b&b for a while before we can move in. Is that a bad idea?

If it’s a downsize situation, then an interest only mortgage would make it more achievable

@devon2018, I think we are more of less the same age, I have also planned for retirement so here are some thoughts.

As an immediate investment you won't need a forever retirement country house. You will most definitely not benefit from a garden either.

The best investment property profile for someone with regular day job is a holiday let in Devon, Cornwall, the Lake District or Edinburgh where you can easily find someone to manage for you for a fee, and to use it yourself during the low/shoulder seasons - more importantly you can keep it under your name and have all the expenses including mortgage interest charge claimed against income.

Tax rules always change. I don't think its even possible to decide what type of property you want in 15 years time. But if done well the holiday let will appreciate in valuation and hopefully give you long term capital appreciation and regular income.