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Original poster

Please could you help me decide what to do with this inheritance?

42 replies

rainbowee · 21/10/2015 22:34

I lost my wonderful df this year and have therefore inherited just over £200,000. Please could you make any suggestions as to the best use of this money?

My first instinct was to pay off the remaining 100k on the mortgage, but a friend gave me pause for thought by saying it might be an idea to invest it in something so that it could earn a bit. I am able to pay my monthly mortgage without recourse to this money.

I will seek out an independent financial adviser but I'm not very bright as far as finance is concerned, and am a bit embarrassed to show myself up. So I wondered if anyone here might have some suggestions or opinions. Thank you very much.

OP posts:

Fuckitfay · 23/10/2015 11:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lorelei9 · 23/10/2015 11:14

I'd pay off the mortgage for sure
where you invest the rest is up to you.

travailtotravel · 23/10/2015 11:26

Please get independent financial advice. WhT you do with the money sends on lots of factors, how risk averse you are etc. I had only £10k after selling a house and sought advice. The advice helped me and DH identify our priorities and goals and this is what we now work towards. Our IFA has earned us far more than we have paid in fees and the peace of mind. Is also priceless.

Please do not seek out financial advice from your bank. They will be all over you like a rash as soon as you pay this in. They will only recommend their own products which are not all that good (I lost £2k of my £10k after bad advice from my bank. My IFA made that back for me in a year).

I am happy to recommend my IFA. He doesn't advertise and only works via recommendations. Neither he nor I get any kickbacks.

He also advised us NOT tonpay off our mortgage for lots of reasons. If you do or not will depend how far along you are and any penalties for example.

IsItMeOr · 23/10/2015 11:32

travail a 25% return on your investment over a single year (i.e. 2k profit on 8k investment) is so high that I would doubt it. It's certainly not the norm, otherwise world governments wouldn't have had to bail out the banks.

An IFA who doesn't advertise, uses word of mouth and appears to deliver those sorts of returns is sounding more like a Ponzi scheme to be honest...

lorelei9 · 23/10/2015 11:50

travailtotravel "(I lost £2k of my £10k after bad advice from my bank. My IFA made that back for me in a year)."

I'm curious about this too - both how it was "lost" and "gained".

Blu · 23/10/2015 12:25

Indeed, given the poor performance of savings accounts, I would view property as an appreciating asset rather than an ongoing cash cow, And unlike having a BTL mortgage, the OP would not have mortgage payments to set against it. It depends on area, and rents and demand, obviously.

For example, in a lovely area of Nottingham you can buy a 2-bed flat directly overlooking the river for £100k, in an area where a similar 2-bed flat rents for £675 pcm. (gross - obviously there will be lettings costs, empty periods, maintenance etc)

But I am not remotely experienced in any of this.

Another q you should ask yourself, OP, is whether your DH's disability is likely to present further needs in the future, and how you could plan for that. A house move, adaptations, care etc, Also whether any benefits might be means tested. I know some are only available if you have less than £8k in savings, so you might need to factor this in if relevant to you.

travailtotravel · 23/10/2015 13:14

To answer the question about my £2k. The bank invested it in a shares isa that was essentially made up of their own services. The banks floundered and I lost money. My IFA switched me to a long term financial product totally legit etc and inmade the money I lost back within a year. Of course the catch is that it is tied up for some time and may also fluctuate within that timeitself. But i have more control over it now and thebdpread of investment than i did with the bank. And I guess II was lucky to catch the market going back up again.

My point for the OP which I clearly did not make very well is that IFA has a broader spread of products than a bank who is pretty much only interested in themselves.

So much depends how much you are prepared to risk and how long you tie things up for. I'm playing a long game with my 10k as it is all I have. It's a gamble but its working.

lorelei9 · 23/10/2015 13:41

Travail "Of course the catch is that it is tied up for some time and may also fluctuate within that timeitself."

ah, so you haven't made it back and got it back in your pocket - guessing it wasn't an option to just cash it in as soon as you made it back?

travailtotravel · 23/10/2015 14:32

I have the option to access if I need to, albeit with some penalties. As I say, depends on your risk / requirement.

curiousc88t · 23/10/2015 21:22

I would pay off the mortgage

I would put some money into ISAs & pension

Book a family holiday

Savings rates are very poor

RJnomaaaaaargh · 23/10/2015 21:29

I would pay off the mortgage too.

I'd also want, on a totally impractical note, to make some happy memories with some of the money.

FurbysMakeSexNoises · 25/10/2015 17:57

Sadly I was in this exact position a couple of years ago so massive to you- I do understand. My IFA suggested paying off nearly all of our mortgage as the interest in it was outstripping any savings we would make.
We didn't pay it off fully as that left us with the option of taking the overpayments out again. We ended up moving to a bigger house as a result that we never thought we could afford and therefore were able to continue saving for the children. Feels like an amazing legacy from my DF and I think he'd feel unbelievably proud.
HTH

FurbysMakeSexNoises · 25/10/2015 17:58

And we also went on one very nice holiday to lick our wounds after a very traumatic time.

FurbysMakeSexNoises · 25/10/2015 17:58

And I bought a couple of lovely pieces of art to have a visual reminder of his inheritance and wear his watch every day.

specialsubject · 25/10/2015 18:44

now there's some good ideas - have a little fun in his memory, especially with something you can keep. Or a holiday, which generates memories.

Onthepigsback · 29/10/2015 00:06

Mortgage rates are cheap now so you could probably get a higher return on investment than the cost of your mortgage so in this case it would not be the best plan to pay off your mortgage. Also include early repayment cosy to work out the figures. I would invest in rental property personally.

littlejo67 · 14/11/2015 22:47

I would buy a property to rent out. You could spend the rent improving your standard of life. If the money was in an account it would make very little in interest as opposed to 100's per month rental income. The property would also gain in value. One option is holiday lets as well as short term let.

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