41, houseshare, just got a unexpected amount of money!

[Greysmanicfan41]

i have just inherited £300,000 and ive no idea what to do with it, obviously the the biggest thing i need to do is pay debts off, pay dad back cash i owe, and buy a house. I am clueless 41 year old, suffer PTSD obvious will no longer receive benefits. I havent worked in year and recent years only worked part time, share house with family and another friend. Nice houseshare. No idea what to do in regards to buying a house or where to start. eg stamp duty, how much does solicitor cost, do i buy new build or a solid old house, what do i realistically require for myself. the list goes on - any advice will be appreciated immensely

You don't need to buy if you're happy where you are. For that quantity of money I'd probably want to see some kind of financial advisor for ideas of how to manage it most effectively

I don't think I'd jump straight to a house - there may be other ways to make the money work for you that fit your circumstances better. Will you be able to return to full-time work, are you likely to be able to sustain p-t? Realistically it might be better to use the money to generate income than have it tied up in a property when you already have a nice house share.

You could buy and have a lodger to help pay bills while you sort out work situation?

That's a sizeable windfall - potentially life-changing depending where you live/want to live and what your aspirations might be. I'd suggest that you don't rush into making any hard and fast decisions. (Although you'll want to stick it somewhere so that you don't lose value on it before you decide.)

That will be difficult with inflation higher than savings rates on larger sums. Get it safe for now by splitting it between banking licences, no more than 75k in each one.

You can get about 1.2%, still over £3k.

I think it also depends which part of the country you live in too, if you can do that and buy a house. I guess it depends on debt etc. I say don't rush into anything.

Do take advice but don't take advice from a bank though - they will only invest it in their own family of products, and this is how I ended up turning £10k into £5k!

Yes - I should really have said ....so that you don't lose too much value .......etc etc. I guess I was advising against using it up in eg treats, gifts and so on. It would be sad if you turned round one day and you only had eg twenty thousand left. It's easy done, I fear.

Sorry for your loss.

You may be able to continue receiving benefits depending on the type - my PIP and ESA (contributions based) were unaffected when I got a big inheritance. For me it was a good opportunity to buy somewhere to make sure my living arrangements were secure long term, it is definitely worth thinking about. But do get advice on what you'd be able to continue to claim and don't assume you won't be able to.

Do not fritter it away, you will regret it later. So much depends where you live -this sum whilst still useful - would be only an average amount in London but a fortune in SWales!
Another main factor is your attitude to risk. You could use some or all of it to buy some security or invest SOME of it to get higher gains . As others have advised keep away from Banks. It is worth seeing an IFA as they offer a much wider range of products.
Nb If you keep your current living arrangements but buy somewhere
else you will technically have 2 homes which can attract taxes, so u need to look into things. Take your time

Wait to see what happens Brexitwise- wouldn't want to invest in property till I knew- I would actually invest some in gold

Pay your debts off and then sit tight I would agree until this referendum bollocks is out of the way.

Do you mean like different saving accounts?
an example 75k into barclays
75k into natwest
and so on im just trying to be clear

I live in epping but plan to go to a university to do a 3/4 degree at local university which is based outside london, so was thinking once EU referendum was done possible buy a 2 bed flat and get a student lodger when enter uni 2017/18

so 75000 in different savings accounts which arent banks or building societys - how would i find a financial advisor ??? sounds like this will be required as i was considering putting it into banks 75k in each bank saving account

Right so get debts paid around 15k then go see financial advisor and invest it until we clear about EU referendum, and put maximum of 75k in each account so 4 different savings accounts and do not see banks advisors.

Put it into different banks like you said. If you want to buy soon there is no point in investing it long term because it costs money to invest and it takes a couple of years to get back to the amount you invested in the first place. You could end up with less than you started if you take it out sooner than the investment term.

Don't lend any money if you don't want to lose it and don't go on spending sprees or as someone above said, it will be gone before you know it.

If it was me, I would buy and rent out a room.

Yes - I'd pay back debts but neither lend 'new' money nor give it out as 'presents'. You'd be astonished how many people might suddenly come out of the woodwork for 'loans' or might make assumptions about you picking up a tab here or a tab there - and it all adds up very quickly.

Independent financial advisors can be found here :

www.unbiased.co.uk/

Yes, different accounts in different banking licences. Look up who owns who to see who shares licences - for example Halifax and Birmingham midshires share .

4 banks - co-op, nationwide, barclays, hailfax

You won't be able to claim jobseekers or get housing/council benefit etc , you maybe able to get some disability benefits still but be prepared that they will expect you to live off your savings, it would be better to get the cash out I to property to live in (and rent out rooms to lodgers) than having to dip into the money for the next couple of years to pay rent etc.

I think National Savings & Investments are 100% guaranteed no matter how much you invest which may be easier than opening lots of different accounts for now. Don't rush into buying and if you do don't assume you need to use all your cash - a mortgage may be more advantageous.

Pay debts
see financial adviser
Make sure cash is safe (try to live limited so dont waste it)
split money into 4 different banks so its safe 75000 max per one
(someone mentioned if i brought property rented rooms out cheaply to cover bills insurances and council tax- i may be able to still claim ESA- until i can get into work or go to university)
Landlord insurance for year is 300 if employed people living in property
I wont be looking at university till sept 2017 so have a year and would anyone buy property for 3 years and not be guaranteed to stay there its 50/50 depending on after degree where i would get job may even stay on to do masters so could be 3-5 years in different more expensive area would you buy a property in that area??? or just buy a house where i live and commute 45-60minutes each way and live in same area as i do now
i been advised by many that property is concrete investment and i always have somewhere to live, and roof over my head when being off sick does help tremendously - and if a crash does happen then it always come up after a few years, so say i buy somewhere for 280k and its a new build in university area - it will lose value as a new build but with money i sell for i should still be able to buy a 2 bed house where i live, so many decisions and so much money, im still in shock, i knew about inheritance but expected 3-5k lol

with my crappy debt and credit rating and with long term health conditions i highly doubt i be offered a mortgage anytime soon.

Knowing you have somewhere to stay is wonderful - but 280k uses pretty well all your inheritance after paying back debts? You might be better advised to go for a slightly smaller place and keep a little for other expenses.