Returning to UK after aged 60

[Marisawright]

50 minutes ago, ramot said:

We wouldn’t rent out on Airbnb, but even though we are far from financially uncomfortable in our retirement, wouldn’t consider leaving 3 properties empty with only limited use. There would be concerns about the upkeep, possible insurance restrictions if empty? and as another poster mentioned, break ins, squatters.

I think as long as you bought apartments, not houses, you could largely avoid those concerns.   In a well-maintained, secure complex, it's not even obvious whether an apartment is occupied or not.  Insurance is certainly an issue but only if the property is vacant for six months or more.   Ausvisitor is proposing to split their time fairly evenly across the three so that wouldn't be likely to happen. 

Like I said, at their age, I would have found the idea attractive, but now it doesn't appeal to me at all.  It's difficult to be part of a community if you're only dropping in for a few months each year, and as I get older, that is becoming far more important to me.

[InnerVoice]

2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Even if I could afford it (which I couldn't), I can't imagine myself taking full advantage of this idea.  I think the novelty would wear off after the first two or three years.

I say that because in retirement, just relaxing wears off and you feel the need to "find your tribe" and reawaken the shared sense of purpose you had at work (and didn't even realise you'd miss).   If you're jumping from one place to another for three or four months at a time, you can't really become part of the community in any of them.  

I've got to the point, now, where it's very difficult to even think of holidays, because I'd miss so much of my usual activities. 

We have a lot of fancy ideas when we're younger about what we'll do in retirement, or at a point in our lives when we're no longer tied to the 9 to 5. It's interesting to note that when people win the lottery, very few just up sticks and move to an exotic overseas destination. Most buy a lovely house in their local area, help out family members, local charities etc, and spend more time doing the things they love. Something you become acutely aware of as an expat - particular as anno domini approaches - is the importance of a sense of belonging. Family, friends, and even work to a degree, are the commitments that holds our lives together. Not the freedom to float through life fancy-free.

[Toots]

25 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I think as long as you bought apartments, not houses, you could largely avoid those concerns.   In a well-maintained, secure complex, it's not even obvious whether an apartment is occupied or not.  Insurance is certainly an issue but only if the property is vacant for six months or more.   Ausvisitor is proposing to split their time fairly evenly across the three so that wouldn't be likely to happen. 

Like I said, at their age, I would have found the idea attractive, but now it doesn't appeal to me at all.  It's difficult to be part of a community if you're only dropping in for a few months each year, and as I get older, that is becoming far more important to me.

I'm with you there @Marisawright.  Also the thought as you get older of the long flight/s.  What was an adventure when young doesn't have the same appeal in older age    ..........   at least for me.  

[InnerVoice]

33 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I think as long as you bought apartments, not houses, you could largely avoid those concerns.   In a well-maintained, secure complex, it's not even obvious whether an apartment is occupied or not.  Insurance is certainly an issue but only if the property is vacant for six months or more.   Ausvisitor is proposing to split their time fairly evenly across the three so that wouldn't be likely to happen. 

I appreciate that there are different types of insurance cover, but for an owner-occupier the longest period you can usually leave a property unoccupied is about 30-60 days. If you leave it longer than 6 months then the property can be classed as an empty dwelling, leading to all sorts of problems.

Buying apartments would be a safer option, but it doesn't negate the fact that it would be a tremendous waste of money. If you owned three properties then obviously two will be always be empty at any given time. From my own perspective this would present me with a moral dilemma, given the lack of affordable housing around the world.

[Toots]

46 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

I appreciate that there are different types of insurance cover, but for an owner-occupier the longest period you can usually leave a property unoccupied is about 30-60 days. If you leave it longer than 6 months then the property can be classed as an empty dwelling, leading to all sorts of problems.

Buying apartments would be a safer option, but it doesn't negate the fact that it would be a tremendous waste of money. If you owned three properties then obviously two will be always be empty at any given time. From my own perspective this would present me with a moral dilemma, given the lack of affordable housing around the world.

Three houses in three different countries would take quite a bit of upkeep.  It doesn't take long for a garden to look very unkempt if nobody is there to keep it under control which would highlight the fact that the houses were empty.  Apartments in the different countries would be a better option if you can afford to do that.

[InnerVoice]

28 minutes ago, Toots said:

Three houses in three different countries would take quite a bit of upkeep.  It doesn't take long for a garden to look very unkempt if nobody is there to keep it under control which would highlight the fact that the houses were empty.  Apartments in the different countries would be a better option if you can afford to do that.

I have a job just keeping on top of one!

[ramot]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I think as long as you bought apartments, not houses, you could largely avoid those concerns.   In a well-maintained, secure complex, it's not even obvious whether an apartment is occupied or not.  Insurance is certainly an issue but only if the property is vacant for six months or more.   Ausvisitor is proposing to split their time fairly evenly across the three so that wouldn't be likely to happen. 

Like I said, at their age, I would have found the idea attractive, but now it doesn't appeal to me at all.  It's difficult to be part of a community if you're only dropping in for a few months each year, and as I get older, that is becoming far more important to me.

We bought as investment properties which is why we would never leave them empty. We only go to UK to visit our son and grandsons, don’t need to feel part of a community as we have never lived there. It did became increasingly hard though to bother to readjust to living in each country and community after 10 years.

Edited May 15, 2023 by ramot

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Insurance is certainly an issue but only if the property is vacant for six months or more

It’s usually a lot less than six months. When my mums house was left empty following her moving into a care home, the insurance company agreed to keep the policy on (at a higher premier) until the house was sold providing someone went into the property and checked every room at least once every seven days.  I had to sign something to say that would be done.  It was easy for me to pop in once a week on my way home from work but that wouldn’t be the case for someone living in a different country.  It’s all about risk.  Imagine the damage that tiny leak could do if it went unnoticed for six months or that about broken window letting in the rain and a bunch of squatters. 

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, ramot said:

We bought as investment properties which is why we would never leave them empty. We only go to UK to visit our son and grandsons, don’t need to feel part of a community....

No but that's my point.  You want to be part of a community somewhere. I'm sure that's partly why you've chosen to have a home base, where you stay most of the year.  I was agreeing with you, that's what I would regard as important in retirement too.  So although I'm not as worried as you about the practicalities of leaving properties empty, I still feel that living in two or three different countries for only a few months at a time, wouldn't be satisfactory for very long.

[ramot]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

No but that's my point.  You want to be part of a community somewhere. I'm sure that's partly why you've chosen to have a home base, where you stay most of the year.  I was agreeing with you, that's what I would regard as important in retirement too.  So although I'm not as worried as you about the practicalities of leaving properties empty, I still feel that living in two or three different countries for only a few months at a time, wouldn't be satisfactory for very long.

Yes you are right, I meant not being a part of the community when we visit our son in Bristol. We have never lived in our investment properties, and always had a home base, which for the last 20 years has been the Sunshine Coast. I don’t worry at all about leaving a house empty, as we have never ever had a house/flat without a tenant. I was just pointing out the pitfalls that others might not have considered.

I didn’t intend to confuse, I was trying to fill my time in hospital waiting for my husband to have the  plaster taken off his broken ankle, X-ray etc, so kept stopping and starting while I was writing. His ankle is mending but another 6 weeks before he can drive, not a happy husband.

[InnerVoice]

@ramot good to hear your husband's on the mend