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?

£60k total or £60k cash + mortgage?

if £60k total anywhere you find will be in an area you would probably not want DC to live. And would get minimal rental for the costs involved.

you mentioned Leeds, it’s a great city

Flats have service charges too You won't get anything habitable for 60 grand even up north. You'd need around 100 grand.

Yes… the daughter of a friend of mine is looking in Liverpool, anywhere which looked like a good deal had something significantly wrong with it.

buy a dodgy property and you could end up with a liability. Property really isn’t an investment for many people nowadays unless they’re in the building trade and can buy a doer-upper local to them.

And the idea that when and if your kids returned to the U.K. they’d want to move somewhere random is quite odd.

I was just about to say that. I think the OP can safely disregard Cambridge.

This is a crazy idea. None of you will want to live in anything you can buy for 60K. Plus it’s not needed for at least 5 years anyway. You would be far better off investing the money surely?

OP I think you'd need to be really careful buying anything in that price bracket. Id say one of the following would almost certainly apply;

High service charges

A lease that will drop below 80 years during the time you'll own the house

Retirement property

Area of deprivation (you need to check the indices of deprivation for any postcode you consider)

Significant structural or environmental issues

if £60k total anywhere you find will be in an area you would probably not want DC to live. And would get minimal rental for the costs involved.

In a nutshell, yes. At least in terms of houses. £60k will not get you much anywhere. Please think about local amenities, travel links, employment opportunities, research crime in the area.

The good news is that there are tons of flats up for sale, many at your price point and often in good areas - but then you have to deal with leasehold issues and pay service charges. Also flats don’t keep their value as much as houses. If you’re OK with all that, then I would look in Liverpool or Sheffield for a studio or one bed flat. Just checked and there’s lots of those properties up for sale in those cities.

You could get some great properties in the EU for 60k. The OP wants the UK though.

If you’re looking in England you won’t get anything for £60k but small towns in Scotland have loads of flats for that price. They’re not all dodgy or uninhabitable either, just on the small side and not in fashionable areas. Depends on what you mean by remote - if you mean far from London then yeah they’re remote, but they’re not the middle of nowhere either, think towns of about 20,000 in proximity to regional cities.

Yes, very valid points here.
Financially i know doing something else with 60k would be wiser. My concerns are geopolitical. The country we are in might be in trouble if Trump and Putin seal this 'peace' deal in Ukraine. Russia will move on to somewhere else next using the same strategy. I just want to have a uk address to flee to if it comes to that. The concern is real. Its not looking great atm.

OP, if your Dc return but it doesn’t suit them to re-locate to wherever you have found a cheap property, you will be liable for Capital Gains Tax on any increase in value.

Which with tax on rental income, maintenance costs, potential legal costs now that rental tenants rights are so much stronger could mean that you would have been better off investing the money for them to use as a deposit on somewhere suitable for them to live.

Are you experienced as a landlord?

Yes. Our family home in London has been rented out for the past 4 years.

These all seem rather unrealistic offerings.

They are auctions or offers over or retirement flats.

This one ⬆️ you have suggested is unmortgageable and leasehold and has a massive service charge. I know she doesn’t need a mortgage but it’s not going to make it easy to sell on.

I heard on the radio that Rightmove have about 70% of the market, or something like that. Apparently estate agents are complaining about the costs to them but they need to list on Rightmove to reach more potential buyers.

Do bear in mind that flats will have service charges, sometimes quite substantial ones.

Good luck with your search.

Sorry, cross posted.

I am sorry you are living with this fear OP.

But that increases worry even more that a tiny unsuitable property with tenants who cannot be made to leave could be of less help to you than readily available money in a (UK?) bank.

£60k is a v decent deposit were you able to return to the UK and work / your Dc get a mortgage.

Isn’t a bit random to just buy a place in a northern city you don’t know though? Your kids aren’t going to consider that “home”? Surely you’d be better off investing that £60,000 (because a £60,000 1 bed purchase in a deprived area isn’t likely going to get much return) and use that as deposits or support somewhere they want should they choose to return in future?

Im not a Uk citizen, so don't know if i could return. Probably not. The dc are in theory, but they don't have a uk passport right now. Which is something else im working on.

These all seem rather unrealistic offerings.
They are auctions or offers over or retirement flats.

Not unrealistic at all. I filtered out shared ownership, retirement flats and auction properties for flats in Liverpool and Sheffield - there were loads for sale and not all wanting offers over.

Not a good time to become a landlord in the U.K!

I just did a search for within 40 miles of me here in Glasgow with a ceiling price of £60k and tbh there's not much. What there is, is either plots for building, properties which are already tenanted and let as a going concern, or in dodgy areas. There is the odd 1 bed flat which is in an OK-ish area like this one https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169605581#/?channel=RES_BUY or this one https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169343249#/?channel=RES_BUY but once you have factored in fees and taxes they could also be over your budget. Plus you're moving to the other end of the country which might not be idea for you either.

Auction property so might not be ok but Portsmouth so not so far from London where it sounds like you have links
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169345703#/?channel=RES_BUY

Would you have the money, know how and energy to rent out this property properly and legally? Would you do so via a letting agent or yourself?

If you suddenly needed to move back to the UK where would you stay for the period of notice for your tenants to leave? That could take months.

Being a landlord is not an easy option. And buying a property in a cheap area and leaving it empty would be foolish (and invalidate any insurance).

I would instead look at how you could maximise the £60K in savings in the UK so you could access the money as and when you need it should you have to return at short notice.

I have a house, mortgage, car, and a good job and life where we are. Dc are happy and settled. Just hate having to rethink everything again because of some egoistic old man with illusions of grandeur. Needless killing of thousands, destroying homes and causing suffering...

Why do you think having a property would automatically give you a right to live here?

Edit: sorry, I misread your post. But this still seems daft. I really don't understand why you think buying a property here is advantageous.