Friends of mine are currently pondering what at first seems a surprising problem
Should they sell one of their properties, or hang on to it so they might be in a position to help their grandchildren on to the property ladder? Their eldest grandchild has only recently begun secondary school, so that problem is unlikely to arise for at least 10 years
A more unlikely pair of property developers you could not expect to meet. But by simply following a very ordinary path they now have assets of well into 7 figures
They had a suburban family home. While they were still very young marrieds they bought, very cheaply, a house in Wales, where they often went to walk in the mountains. It was a run down flint & stone farm house which the owners had left to move into a convenient modern house which had the advantage of mains electricity & no drafts. My friends spent all their family holidays there & gradually improved it
When their children were off their hands they decided that they would like the Welsh house to be their family home, the repository for their furniture & books & accumulated memorabilia. Big enough for the grandchildren to visit
However, dad was still working in the city & such a long commute was not feasible. But it was the very beginning of the fashion for converted flats in the inner city. Rather daringly, they decided to sell their suburban house & sink some money into what was then seen as a risky move
Well, you know the rest. Now dad is formally retired, but still very active in his field, they have reached the stage where they want to simplify their lives & would prefer to divest themselves of the responsibilities of dual home ownership, using hotels for their less frequent visits to the city
But there is really no alternative investment for the proceeds which could keep pace with the kind of house price rises we have come to expect as normal. So what seems like a fortune now might seem pathetically inadequate as a fund for helping grandchildren with house prices in 2020
So, hang on to flat, & (shudder) possibly consider the extra responsibility of becoming landlords as well?
On the other hand, if an almighty housing crash is on the cards for any time soon .....
It might seem like a nice problem to have. But when you get to our age you really do want to simplify things. Another friend recently gave up her car because she woke up one morning & thought I just dont want to be responsible for the damn thing anymore, making sure its taxed, insured, etc etc What was once seen as something which conveyed great freedom had just become a burden
