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Original poster

No heirs so I want to sell my home and enjoy the money!

46 replies

Aquanaut1 · 26/05/2022 05:20

I have no family or legal heirs and I am 55 years old. My health is ok but I do have health conditions to limit my life into old age. I have worked hard all my life and have seriously been thinking to sell up and enjoy my money while I can. This has been particularly in the forefront of my mind since one of my work colleagues had a brain hemorrhage last year and nearly died in her mid 40's. This was completely out of the blue with no warning.
I don't particularly like where I live either so would not be sad to see the house go. What would you do in my position?

OP posts:
BritInUS1 · 26/05/2022 05:21

I'd sell up and enjoy the money - we also have no heirs and intend to enjoy our hard earned cash

Partial2Cake · 26/05/2022 05:32

What will you do about retirement and housing?
If your house is worth millions that's one thing but if your house is under a million, this can easily be frittered away leaving you in a vulnerable position. If you are in England, there are rules about making yourself intentionally homeless and getting rid of assets to claim benefits so I would look into a financial plan of how you will live the next 10, 20 or even 30 years.
If I had no heirs I would make myself as comfortable and SECURE as I can for the rest of my life and give the rest after my death to charities instead of burning it all away and risk being vulnerable, homeless and destitute in old age for the sake of few holidays and cruises!

hattie43 · 26/05/2022 05:32

You'd have to live somewhere though unless you plan to be on a cruise ship until you die .

Seems very strange to me because you can't know when you'll die or how long your money needs to last .

Bubblegum22 · 26/05/2022 05:34

I would sell up and move somewhere where I liked to spend my time and/or travel more extensively as well as do everything I wanted to do. Plan things so there’s always something to look forward to, however large or small.

I would do this even if there were heirs, there is no joy to be had in limiting your life in the hope of leaving money to someone else, not for me anyway.

linerforlife · 26/05/2022 05:35

Can you downsize and buy the smaller place outright? That is what I would do - release some equity and enjoy it. So long as you have a pension fund that adequately covers your on going expenses, why not!

MagicTurtle · 26/05/2022 05:38

You could look into equity release products. The main disadvantage of this is that you're depriving heirs of their inheritance, but if this is not a problem for you then it might be a good way of increasing your income while retaining security.

Crazykefir · 26/05/2022 05:56

Move into a small flat?

TadLlama · 26/05/2022 06:15

I'd sell up and buy a park home static caravan thing in Spain.
I'm not sure how much savings you need for a permanent visa now free movement has gone though.

Zonder · 26/05/2022 06:16

Sounds great if it means you can live somewhere nice and have money left over.

MargosKaftan · 26/05/2022 06:40

If you have no heirs, that also means you have no back up plan of people who will look after you /arrange others to look after you later in life. Dont spend your money now assuming you'll die relatively young having not had years of limited mobility before hand.

Id go the other way, move to a old age friendly property, decorating it a way you like. If that frees up some cash for nice holidays, great, but be aware you might more than the bare minimum from adult social services later to keep you independent.

BarbaraofSeville · 26/05/2022 06:50

Definitely do it. If you own an expensive home now, you could buy something smaller in a cheaper area and release a lot of money to live on. You could also invest the money or put more in a pension to provide an income that would pay rent if you didn't want to settle down anywhere.

I'd probably find a long term rental somewhere abroad and sunny for a few months, maybe try a few different places. Or you could live in a flat in a city and enjoy city living for a while. The world is your oyster.

Do you have a pension?. You can probably start taking that now (or soon) plus you'll also get the state pension when you're 67, so if you have no housing costs, it's just a matter of investing the money you have to provide an income to top it up to an amount you can live on, which is a lot more doable if you don't have a large sum tied up in an expensive property.

worriedaboutmoney2022 · 26/05/2022 06:52

Oh god I'd do it and enjoy life!!
Travel, have fun and do what you want to do x

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 26/05/2022 06:53

We (38 and 40) aren't having kids and we plan to move from our 4 bed house to a one bed flat when we are approx 60 and enjoy the proceeds.
I know I'm only young, but I'm already looking forward to replacing our large and difficult garden with a small balcony!

Whyareblokesonhere · 26/05/2022 06:55

Do it, vlog it on the tube and if you're any good on screen then bingo, thousands will live their life via you and ironically you'll get a new income stream!

BarbaraofSeville · 26/05/2022 06:59

Same here @ImplementingTheDennisSystem .

I'm a decade older than you and already looking at bungalows with low maintenance outside space. There was a small development of new ones in my town last year and they were perfect, really well designed, good sized rooms, good storage inside and out, small patch of grass but otherwise paved.

And because we're in a a cheaper area, very affordable too.

chickyellowcute · 26/05/2022 06:59

Yeah I'd do it. Sell up and find a cheap little place with nice scenery like hills, mountains, lake, coast etc. Have electricity only so you're not paying 3k just to have gas connected without even using the heating yet. Part time job plus savings. Simple and minimalist living (this would be the only way I could afford it but hoping maybe you have a better position)

RaisinGhost · 26/05/2022 07:00

I'd definitely say live where you want and do want you want to enjoy life, even if you had heirs. But you have to live somewhere. Some people don't particularly want to travel constantly or have an adventure living in a yurt or whatever. Nothing wrong with either way of thinking. Renting also has its pros and cons, investment and money side of things aside (Cons being landlord in your business, potential to be evicted if they sell). If you are inspired to travel, live in a particular place etc then do it.

Doidontimmm · 26/05/2022 07:02

@ImplementingTheDennisSystem why wait? Or do you need 4 beds for some reason now?

pilates · 26/05/2022 07:07

Equity release.

GreenClock · 26/05/2022 07:09

I’d buy a garden flat, somewhere inexpensive but safe, to use as a base. This would be useful in old age m years to come.

NoraBarlow111 · 26/05/2022 08:11

Have a look at Almshouse organisations or cohousing www.owch.org.uk/news

TheYearOfSmallThings · 26/05/2022 08:20

As others have said, spend and enjoy, as long as you have enough money and assets to also be secure. You need to be prepared to live to 90, and you need somewhere to live. A nice ground floor flat in a good area would be fine, but don't leave yourself with nowhere.

StageRage · 26/05/2022 08:30

You haven’t said what your pension / savings situation is.

Absolutely do the things you are excited to do.

But don’t leave yourself high and dry.

Significant numbers of youngish men diagnosed with HIV cashed everything in and went off in pursuit of their bucket list… then that anti viral drug was made available and they found themselves in the happy position of ‘living with HIV’… but no home and nothing to live on!

I would say live your life in a way that is rich and fulfilling, and that really takes care of yourself. Adventures, new experiences, but keeping a secure base, whatever that might mean to you.

nearlyspringyay · 26/05/2022 08:33

It would depend how much the house is worth, whether you own it outright and what you have in terms of pension.

If it stacked up financially I'd absolutely do it. In fact I think like a PP I'd pack up and get a park home in Spain.

converseandjeans · 26/05/2022 08:51

The thing is you might live to 95 & need money for a care home.