60k where/what to buy?

[Milloew]

Because of divorce, exh and i are selling our London home. I live in the EU now with the dc, but would like to keep a base in the UK. Dc consider uk home, and would possibly like to return there in 5/8 years..
Ive been looking on zoopla, but obviously cant afford anything in the SE, which is all i know.
So, where/what would you buy if you had approx 60k cash? Something rentable with good transport links. Not too dodgy or remote. Interesting enough for a young adult?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87309864#/?channel=RES_BUY

Cambridge is a great place to rent and such a great city
Only one available atm that’s central

I spotted that one it’s gorgeous isn’t it

I work in Cambridge. Accommodation is insanely expensive: one of the new build estates on the outskirts was advertising studio flats for £350,000. I'm very sceptical about that flat!

What about Hull?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164478146#/?channel=RES_BUY

Luton

These sort of investment blocks are popping up all over
Concierge
Gym etc

( excellent to rent to Uni of Bedfordshire students )

Here is the thread we had on this about a month ago. Most but not all are shared ownership or auction. With flats you need to think about monthly charges too. But there were some possibilities, mostly in Scotland.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/5439407-if-you-had-ps60000-to-buy-a-property/

From a more positive angle
A great deal is always worth checking out
you just never know

There's a bit more choice further north, around the Co. Durham/Newcastle area:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?dontShow=newHome%2Cretirement%2CsharedOwnership%2Cauction&channel=BUY&index=0&newHome=false&retirement=false&auction=false&partBuyPartRent=false&sortType=2&areaSizeUnit=sqft&viewType=LIST&maxPrice=60000&radius=40.0&maxDaysSinceAdded=3&propFeature=Parking&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E984&currencyCode=GBP&transactionType=BUY&displayLocationIdentifier=Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.html

I love Cambridge ❤️

I just searched for you @Milloew in my area (Derbyshire) and came up with, well, not that much. While some of Derbys is very desirable, there are towns that are much less popular, such as Alfreton, Ilkeston, Ripley, but even there there was very little, sorry.

I found a few one-bed and studio flats, but they all have an annual service charge, maybe as much as £2k or more, which would be a big expense if you were not even going to live there.

Houses I found at that price were mostly auction or shared ownership.

What is your plan with this? Are you thinking money invested in property will always grow (not the case)? The kinds of places I found are clearly difficult to sell (auction, big reductions). Or is it that you want a UK base? In which case surely you have an area in mind, or at least a type of area? I really wonder why someone would buy a random house in a not very nice area and plan to live there later.

This is a retirement flat though?

1 bedroom flat for sale in Arbury Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 share.google/FNuFAVmq4evRJNqEn

Following on from Co Durham, I looked at Teesside because it's very cheap and always overlooked by MN property threads. It's cheap because the region's economically precarious - and there are social issues connected to that - but it's also very lively, well provided with everything including transport links, and lies between a stunning coastline and the North Yorkshire moors.

Current search results: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchLocation=Middlesbrough%2C+North+Yorkshire&useLocationIdentifier=true&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E933&radius=5.0&maxPrice=60000&propertyTypes=flat&_includeSSTC=on&includeSSTC=true&tenureTypes=FREEHOLD%2CLEASEHOLD&index=0&sortType=2&channel=BUY&transactionType=BUY&displayLocationIdentifier=Middlesbrough&dontShow=retirement%2CsharedOwnership

I’d be very wary of renting if it’s your second home and second income. You could end up having to pay a lot of tax. So you might find that investing your money via an alternative route is better from a financial perspective. Then use it to buy something down the line IF or when the DC wish to return in a location they actually want to live in. There seems little point buying a tiny undesirable property somewhere you’re unfamiliar with, and may have to pay surcharges for, tax on rent, as well as a heap of other fees.

There are many properties in Hull in this price bracket. Also you could look at Scotland.

You could look at Aberdeen but I’m not sure if it’s worth the hassle 😬 You might be better keeping the cash in a savings account and helping the children buy where they actually want to live when they’re ready to? The problem with renting a property is that you can’t just move in when you want to, you’d have to evict the tenants and that doesn’t always go smoothly. Plus the various landlord obligations and filing a UK tax return. If you’re non-UK resident you’ll need to double check the SDLT/LBTT that would be due.

for 55 yrs plus
but
OP hasn’t mentioned her age so it could be relevant

( agent has info on restrictions)

Plymouth has quite a few within budget flats
and students that could rent

Whilst searching Plymouth I found this
You might need to rent a portal op though 😁

Great, a leaking roof, damp, needs new kitchen and bathroom, plus flooring. The joists could be rotten too.

Op don't buy a flat, the service charges will cripple you, particularly if there's a concierge.

typo
I meant rent a portaloo 🚽

Knowing that area you'll probably also have lots of fireworks at various times of night and a remarkably transient amount of neighbours.
There's some great people there but it's not a place that would attract reliable tenants.
And Hull can be awesome. Just not a house with that amount of work.

Some areas of county Durham.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/154834751#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167857919#/?channel=RES_BUY

I know this area and it would be ok to live, in fact I've known some young people living here.
Near a train station into leeds and saltaire heritage village. There are other 1 bed flats in the area for around 65k

This sounds like something that will be more hassle than it's worth. Plus what if your DC don't want to live in wherever the property is? A flat in Liverpool is no good to them if they get a job in Leeds.

What if the tenants trash the place? What if you can't rent it out, you'll still have to pay the service charges.

I'd just invest the money and make it available to help with rent/a mortgage deposit if they do decide they want to live in the UK.