To sell or rent?

[Justalittlebitblondie]

Slightly hypothetical at the moment but 99.9% likely going to have to move for other halfs job... good news is that we get tied accommodation of a good standard with all bills paid - but leaves a dilemma - what to do with the house we live in at the moment...

It is good that there is some equity and the thought of having no mortgage is really attractive but would we be foolish to sell and get out of the housing rat race... we would probably never be able to afford this house again - the houses here v rarely come up for sale and literally sell within hours so it would make sense to hang onto it as we would need somewhere to retire to but being a landlord would be a huge responsibility...

Sorry - this has turned into a waffle/rant - just so torn!

Dh was posted abroad in 2004, and I joined him in 2006. We kept the house in UK, and will retire to it in late 2019. It means we still have a toe hold in the UK market; know that we have somewhere to come back to with which we are familiar, and stacks of equity,

We have an excellent letting agent who takes care of everything for us; all we have to do is stump up for repairs when needed, pay annual maintenance costs and do the tax returns.

For us it was worth doing, and I am looking forward to returning to live there for 10 years or so before we look at downsizing.

In your position op, definitely rent it out.
A friend of mine has returned to uk from living abroad for many years and are coming up to retirement age yet are still working hard on account of how expensive property is in their area
I've just sold a property I could've rented out again but at 65 I don't want to do this any more. Property had no mortgage but just wanted to enjoy My little nest egg.
I had no intention of living in it.

If I was younger I might have carried on.

My daughter has rented out the house they couldn't sell and it goes to meet their mortgage. People who live there are happy tenants. In fact they are neighbours of mine. Nice people.
All is well

Will the rent cover the mortgage? Or anything close to? I would rent it out. Even if you decide never to move back there, consider as part of a pension portfolio for your retirement.

Keep a toe on the ladder, even if it costs you a bit.

In your situation definitely keep it and rent it out.

Definitely keep and rent. Your circumstances might change in the future. If you can afford it, get a good managing agent. Set aside a lump sum for repairs and updating every 3-4 years. Save money for your tax bills.

100% keep and rent for now. You can reassess in a few years.

You need to tell your mortgage co, they will prob give you a 6 month grace period, then up the interest rate, then at the end of the term you'll have to move onto a BTL mortgage.

Yes it will be hassle and it will prob cost you money unless you have a really good LTV% but you don't know how things are going to work out in this job and for how long.

Thank you for all your advice - think it has helped clarify my thoughts! We should get approx £800 per month rent - the mortgage is a little higher than this, but if we paid the difference we could still afford to pay managing agents (I don't want to be a rubbish landlord!) and have a sinking fund for the inevitable replacements... just have to change mindset from seeing it as our lovely forever home to in effect a pension...