What to do with inheritance

[Treeplant100]

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to do with my inheritance I will receive from a house sale (which I currently live in).

I am currently unemployed as I was a carer for my elderly parent who passed away and I will receive half the property sale split with my sibling. Although it is a huge amount of money to me, unfortunately, it will not buy a lot in Surrey/Hampshire.

I will inherit around 250k but will need to live off some of the money and pay off some debts so could probably spend around 220k on a property but this would barely buy a flat. I have lots of grandchildren and a dog so ideally need someone bigger and a garden. As I am unemployed I am unable to get a mortgage.

I would be happy to rent until I decide what/where I would like to buy and keep the money in a high interest account, would this be viable option? I would look for employment during this time once I'm settled. Another option would be shared ownership but as I am not employed I'm not sure if I would qualify for the rent portion.

Any suggestions would be great, thank you.

Sorry for your loss. Its good that you will be looking at getting a job, 220k doesn't buy much like you say and the high interests accounts often aren't very high interest if you make any withdrawals. I wouldn't go for shared ownership, they are a nightmare to sell and are usually leasehold, renting is expensive, are you able to stay in the house until its sold, find work and live off that for a while

Sorry for your loss

You won’t be entitled to benefits with that much in the bank

I don’t think it makes sense to pay off debt, could you afford a better apartment with £250k!? x

What benefits do you receive? As all but non-means-tested (such as PIP) will stop.

I would look at shared ownership where you buy as much as you can and rent the rest as presumably you get help towards the rent if you are on a low income. A one bed house would be all you are entitled to rent wise though.

Either that or move away.

I'd buy whatever you can afford. Even if it is smaller or in a different area to what you ideally want. Unless you have an independent income (in which case, can't this be used for a mortgage), you won't be getting any benefits with that much money saved and it will erode away very quickly if you are spending it on rent.

Look to move again once you are settled if need be.

Sorry for your loss OP.

What are your realistic employment prospects? Do you have the CV, experience etc to get work that would enable a mortgage? Unless that is a realistic prospect I think I would go straight to the purchase of what you can afford, or rent will chip away at your capital. Though you could get approx £12k Pa interest , depending on the tax position at current high interest rates. (look for a high paying ISA for £20k of it, and bear in mind that Premium Bond winnings are tax free)

Think carefully about the size of place you need as opposed to what you would like! You should not be looking to provide accommodation for lots of grandchildren at the expense of your future financial security. Consider your future income versus running costs etc. As they grow up they will probably spend less and less time with you and have other priorities!! Thats what they do!!
This is about you and YOUR future.

Just a thought, but if you are over 55 (you mention grand children) then a retirement flat or bungalow might be an option, and would be cheaper. Or a static home on a permanent site? (do check the conditions though as many are not open all year).

I know you mention space for grandchildren, but I would look at what you can afford to buy outright. Hopefully enough for a small flat in your area? Then with no rent or mortgage and an income from work, you should hopefully be in a better financial position long term.

You could rent, but if your living costs exceed your income then you could potentially burn through that 250k very quickly as you won’t be entitled to any benefits in that time.

@Caterina99 sadly £250k not enough to buy a flat 😬

Possibly enough to buy a small mobile home.

How old are you, OP?

Where abouts in Surrey Hampshire would you like to be? Best invest the whole £250 into a one bedroomed flat

What about a park home, you could easily get one for £220k, considerably less than that too

You could buy a pretty decent flat or house for that on the Isle of Wight.. id suggest looking around Ryde to start with if you need easy links to mainland

If I were you, I would put the money away for a year at the best rate you can, rent a small property and find a job. When you are settled in work and know how much your earning capacity is, you can see what sort of mortgage you can afford. Hopefully at that point you will still have, say £230k, plus take a mortgage of, say £100k over, say 15 years and will be able to buy a decent home.

How old are you? And where (ish) in Surrey/ Hampshire? Where do your kids and grandkids live… must you stay in that area?

sorry that’s a lot of questions but this is a really good chance to set yourself up well for the rest of your life and you need to make the most of it

I’d buy a one bedroom flat.