Friday, January 26, 2007

Confessions of an accidental UK landlord and property speculator

Moving abroad can turn expats into accidental landlords and property speculators. If you own your home, what do you do with it if you leave the country? Hanging on to our flat in Edinburgh was a mixture of maths, cowardice and indecision. Only time will tell if it was the right thing to do.

When Barbara and I moved to Ibiza we hadn't planned on a long stay. Letting our UK home was part of the deal. The rent was supposed to cover our Spanish accommodation costs -which it did. Almost.

Everything became more permanent when we decided to buy a place in the sun. The obvious thing to do was sell up in Edinburgh, but that meant stepping permanently off the UK property ladder. Instead we took out the biggest interest-only mortgage we could and put the cash towards our Ibiza house.

Read the full article on my website A Desk In The Sun

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