My wife and I currently live abroad but are just about to close on our future family home in Ireland. We have a glide path of 2-4 years to move back to Ireland. The house is a new build, ideally located and is our dream home for the long term. Handover is expected in February 2020.
We are cash buyers. After purchase (for 400k) we will have around 100k left over in terms of net worth (some of which will go to furnishing the house) and reasonably expect to be able to save around 75k per year after that for the next 2-4 years.
We are a young family living in a Middle Eastern country that is experiencing a slump and rising costs of living. It is important for us to have our living arrangements sorted so that we can focus on other aspects of financial planning and have some certainty and peace of mind about our next steps in life.
Although it is certainly possible we will need to move home sooner than 2 years, on balance it is probably unlikely.
We are happy to leave the house vacant and gradually fit it out so that when we relocate it’s is 100% ready for us to live there. My parents live an hour away and are willing to monitor it, open windows etc on a weekly basis.
The proposal has been made that we rent it out on a short term lease (6 months) so that we generate some income on it. It would make around 1800 per month. My wife and I don’t like that idea. We would have too much anxiety about potential damage to the property and negative impacts on the families who will be our neighbors.
Another proposal has been made that we allow my brother to live there rent free in exchange for him taking care of the place. This would save him around 1800 monthly and in return we’d know the house was in good hands. (He is a safe pair of hands - single, no kids, responsible)
What I’m looking for here are comments and perspectives on the positives and negatives of letting my brother do this. Are there any rules of thumb or governance best practices to follow here? Should he pay anything apart from utilities (basic furniture for him to use for example, like his own bed and mattress)? Would we need a legally binding agreement? We would want access at will (in practice we will only be home in Ireland twice per year and this will be well flagged in advance) and might want to stay there during our holidays in Ireland for example.
Thanks
We are cash buyers. After purchase (for 400k) we will have around 100k left over in terms of net worth (some of which will go to furnishing the house) and reasonably expect to be able to save around 75k per year after that for the next 2-4 years.
We are a young family living in a Middle Eastern country that is experiencing a slump and rising costs of living. It is important for us to have our living arrangements sorted so that we can focus on other aspects of financial planning and have some certainty and peace of mind about our next steps in life.
Although it is certainly possible we will need to move home sooner than 2 years, on balance it is probably unlikely.
We are happy to leave the house vacant and gradually fit it out so that when we relocate it’s is 100% ready for us to live there. My parents live an hour away and are willing to monitor it, open windows etc on a weekly basis.
The proposal has been made that we rent it out on a short term lease (6 months) so that we generate some income on it. It would make around 1800 per month. My wife and I don’t like that idea. We would have too much anxiety about potential damage to the property and negative impacts on the families who will be our neighbors.
Another proposal has been made that we allow my brother to live there rent free in exchange for him taking care of the place. This would save him around 1800 monthly and in return we’d know the house was in good hands. (He is a safe pair of hands - single, no kids, responsible)
What I’m looking for here are comments and perspectives on the positives and negatives of letting my brother do this. Are there any rules of thumb or governance best practices to follow here? Should he pay anything apart from utilities (basic furniture for him to use for example, like his own bed and mattress)? Would we need a legally binding agreement? We would want access at will (in practice we will only be home in Ireland twice per year and this will be well flagged in advance) and might want to stay there during our holidays in Ireland for example.
Thanks
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