Property: Sell or Let?

[Popaholic]

I recently inherited a house and cannot decide what to do with it.

My instinct is to sell the house even though the market is falling, as I just keep reading that being a landlord is all pain and little gain. Realistically I could have the house on the market within a month for about £500k.

However the house is a perfect rental property - 3 bed family house in a great location (near me, good school catchment, on a bus route to town centre, walking distance to a GP and supermarket). It is in a condition ready to let (maybe I'd need to spend a few thousand but do-able within a handful of weeks).

This would be my only opportunity to become a landlady and invest in property

DH and I've never considered becoming landlords ... but would I be a fool to pass up the opportunity?

For background, DH and I are both higher earners in our 40's living in the SE. Neither of us earn 6 figures but we have done pretty well by hard work and scrimping and mortgage free).

If we sell the house, we would blow £90k on a currently-overpriced attic conversion and the rest... I've no idea. Put it in a pension or some kind of investment so our 2 DCs inherit?

Do I need a financial advisor?

I'm bereaved, and so lost.

Hello, sorry for your loss. I became an accidental landlord about 10 years ago when my dad developed dementia and I had to manage his 2 neglected rentals. I found it very challenging at first ( actually I hated it). It was problem after problem . However, I eventually inherited the properties and now am a fully intentional landlord. I think if you are organised, don’t mind admin, are good communicators but also aren’t afraid to say No to unreasonable tenant demands ( and they will come) it’s certainly doable. What I found helpful was 1) joining theNRLA, doing some of their courses and they have a landlord helpline 2). taking out British Gas insurance for breakdown, gas safety checks etc 3) eventually building up a list of trusts traders- I was ripped off by some cowboys early on. Have a look at the Landlordzone forums for a taste of common issues. Good luck with your decision.

We've inherited our parents' houses as both died this year. We had the same conundrum (me and my sister), as one would be a great rentable property, but in the end, we decided to sell up as we live 150 miles away and both have enough of our own shit going on with work and parenting and life, that the thought of doing up a property and managing a rental miles away just wasn't workable. But as you are close by and the property doesn't need loads of work, in that case, I'd keep it if you don't think you'll need the money anytime soon.

I wouldn't sell it and spend the money. It seems a lot of money to leave in one investment. It obviously depends on how much rent you get.
I wouldn't make any rash decisions if you're feeling bereaved. Rent it out for a year or so and then talk about it with your family when you are ready. We have a few rentals. It is a bit of hassle the rental income is ok but the capital appreciation is what makes it worth it.

As higher rate taxpayers you will loose 40% of your rental income after costs. There is the hassle factor and you've got a lot of money tied up in one asset. In addition when you come to sell the property, assuming over time it increases in value form the value you inherited it at, there would be capital gans tax too. Properties are not tax efficiant investments and can be headache. I'd sell up and seek some proper indipendent financial advice on what to do with the proceeds.