this has thrown me......

[noddyholder]

OK Dp and I have been developing houses for years with a view to making enough eventually to be mortgage free.We finally did this last summer and sold our last place and are now in rented with the money in the bank.We have been looking at houses this week and there are quite a few in our price bracket that would take an offer and tehy all need renovating which i am used to.They are not in such nice areas as we are used to but are houses none the less.Now dp says he has been thinking about things and he now wants to buy a flat or maisonette with a garden be mortgage free and have the rest of the money in the bank(It is quite a lot).I have always had bad health and he says he just wants us to live now adn spend and holiday etc whenever we like and forget investments and houses etc.Would you sell up and live the high life or would you invest all in a house?

Would depend on age really.

I wouldn't at this stage in my life (30 with 2 under the age of three)

Kids grown up and lefthome - possibley

I am 42 dp 47 and ds is nearly 14.We have talked about travel and an easier life and he says why wait?

I would keep my money in property tbh, coz long-term, property will always increase in value. Whereas your nest-egg will gradually be eroded and once it's gone, it's gone.

But, each to their own.
Hope you are Ok, btw Noddy, it was nice meeting you before Christmas.

Can you afford to buy yourself somewhere and invest in a smaller property ?

The philosopher in me says agrees with him when he says 'why wait?'. You should be able to enjoy some of your wealth now if you have it. Life is short and you don't know whats round the corner.

What if you wait til you are in your 60's and your health isn't up to enjoying travel or other pleasures.

I would do it - you don't have to blow every penny but do enjoy life while you can!

Would you be happy in a flat/maisonette - ie having someone else living upstairs, with possible noise issues?

I think your dp is right that you should enjoy life as much as you can now, rather than waiting for some day in the future but enjoyment can take many forms - some people would rather live in their dream home, than have lots of lovely holidays, for example. Only you can know what your priorities are...

How about waiting until your ds has left school before making any dramatic decisions? If you are mortgage free, presumably you have a bit more disposable income anyway for nice holidays, as it is?

i would buy an investment property to live in - and take a yr to travel etc and then rethink.

cx

I no longer have the belief in property and wouldn't buy what i see as a falling asset.I have lived in many flats and there is similar noise in terraces tbh which is the sort of house we would buy.I am coming round to his way of thinking now.We would still have a property worth 250k plus mortgage free it is just the extra money we would have left over that would probably get spent!

BTW I am talking about a huge victorian conversion 2/3 beds big rooms and gardens in nice area I am not exactly going to be ramoed but it is still not a house although we are looking at freeholds.

noddyholder I agree with your DP on the basis that:

-your DS may leave home/go to uni/etc in 4 years time
-life is short and it is a great opportunity for you to do whatever you want/relax a bit and not worry about the mortgage
-sounds like your DS is an only child so I wouldn't worry about "increasing your wealth" if it is going to take more effort than you would like - your DS will inherit all your money anyway
-I think as long as you have enough space to live in, I don't worry what type of property it is (flat/house etc)

I have always wanted to travel and this will be my chance.I travelled a lot in my 20s adn there are more places I want to see.I was on kidney dialysis for years so know that life is short I am going to view some of these places and then think it through.

I think I might go with dp we have been having similar discussions recently. As I have heard others say there is no money to be made in property now (by the time there is you can start all over again!)

noddy... should you decide not to travel and live the high life.... could you tell your DH that I am available?

I agree with your dp. Life is too short. I just spent 3 months and a considerable amount of money travelling from Australia to UK with 3 children under 10. I am not mortgage free. I don't regret it one bit.

Well with all the talk of the property market dropping I don't think you would be sensible to use all your hard earned profit to buy now and see your money eroded by falling property values.

Smaller properties are more likely to hold their value.

I would probably buy at the lower end of the market now anyway if I were you. If prices do drop you can always go for something bigger.

We recently talked about downsizing so that we could be mortgage-free, but actually when we looked at the cheaper/smaller properties we didn't want to live in them!

I am going to look at the smaller properties this weekend.I am an interior designer and have remodelled about 15 houses over the years and think I could do something with at least 2 of them.I have no real desire for a huge house nowe as ds is never in and we do go out more than when he was little.As long as I can fit in a big dining table for guests I am happy.marslady I will send him to you if I change my mind

Our plan was to move to a smaller house and be mortgage free, thus enabling us to have nicer holidays, things in the house etc

As it turned out our chain kept falling through so we ended up still buying the cheaper (smaller) house and buying the one at the bottom of our chain to rent out, so instead of being mortgage free we now have 2 mortgages, and am living in a smaller house.

It makes good finacial sense in the long term, def get more rent in than the mortgage costs etc BUT I hate living in a smaller house!

I am finding it really hard not having the space I once had - or any extra money either!

Definitely only buying one property in a good area which hopefully will hold its value and increase in time.Its definitely a dilemma