Selling Home When Retiring

selling-home-when-retiring

Many people at a certain point in life make the decision to move in to sheltered accommodation or assisted living in Residential or Nursing Care homes. Retirement Villages are also becoming an increasingly common choice and if you have made this decision and are looking to sell in order to do so then we may be in a position to help you make that move.
When people move on with a property unsold it can become more and more difficult to sell the property in question. As time moves on and the property may fall in to disrepair, there will be costs of rates, heating bills and general maintenance.

Retired homeowners sit on £775 billion of property assets. Many of these are looking to sell their homes to go and rent. Figures from the Prudential show

  • 40{ae7d4a37e988fa9ad92085a62b0a24bc9a95d8c563a676ca97eb82441adb386a} wanted to pay off debt
  • 19{ae7d4a37e988fa9ad92085a62b0a24bc9a95d8c563a676ca97eb82441adb386a} to fund a divorce or separation
  • 9{ae7d4a37e988fa9ad92085a62b0a24bc9a95d8c563a676ca97eb82441adb386a} to aid retirement income

Renting can be an attraction proposition. It means greater flexibility to be near family that has move away. Rental properties are generally smaller – so running costs are lower. If partner has passed away it means that in loneliness one can rent in a retirement complex with other similarly aged individuals. Another great benefit is inheritance tax planning (IHT). If you have your cash in the bank it means that you can plan your estate without the majority of it going to the Tax Man. Owning a home may also mean that if you go into care then home ownerships an issue, when paying for care. If you are in rental then it is a lot easier.

However there are drawbacks to rental. Typically you are on an Assured Short hold Tenancy Agreement – which typically is only 12 months. At which point a landlord could turf you out after 2 months or even 1.

Rentals tend to rise so renters could find themselves paying a lot more in the future years. However, in rented complexes the onsite manager and call systems available may warrant such payments. There is the need to plan your budget, as having a large sum of money in a bank account at the early years of rental, unforeseen increased costs such as heating and food. Another option is of course Equity Release.