At 70, I sold my house for £500,000 profit – now I rent a £4,000-a-month flat

Private renting is surging among over-65s and the Pensions Policy Institute predicts that the number of rented households headed by someone over 65 will triple to 17 per cent by 2040.

Carole Railton, 75, is a body language expert who lives in Wapping, London. She sold her house in Islington in 2021 following a health scare and chose to rent. Here she explains why she will never buy again

In 1989, I had just broken up with a boyfriend. I liked the area, and so I found a house up the road for £62,000. It had no gas or electricity, but it seemed easiest to stay local, so that’s what I did. It was a three-storey Georgian terrace house, absolutely beautiful, and in a lovely location on a no-through road near the canal. But it was not even livable at first – I spent the first few months bashing the walls, pretending it was the ex-boyfriend.

I spent the next 32 years renovating and maintaining that house, and it became a labour of love. It didn’t have a bath, and the garden was all concreted over when I bought it, so it was a full-on renovation and a significant investment. But it was on a good street, so I felt very lucky.

I had a good job as a sales training manager for Xerox and I also had lodgers to help fund the renovations for about eight of the 32 years I lived there. I made loads of friends that way, actually, including an Italian woman who had me at her wedding when she moved back to Italy.

I know it sounds extreme, but I would estimate I genuinely spent about £500,000 on the renovation because I did everything at a very high level. I was the first on our street to have induction hobs and so on. Even after 30 years, it was an ongoing project; it was always cracking or needing maintenance. I had a guy who I would book to come one day a month during the last two years, and he would do touch-ups – filling cracks in the plaster, sorting problems in the garden, or if there was nothing to do, I’d still pay him, and he’d come and polish something.

Five years ago, I ended up in the hospital with Covid and as a consequence of my illness, I can no longer climb stairs. I already had a pacemaker and heart failure, and my heart was ravaged by the illness. I was issued with a commode, which is the most demoralising thing you can have in your life. I obviously had to have a single-level home. I considered putting in a lift that would go through all the floors, but I couldn’t face doing it. I couldn’t hurt the house after spending so long making it perfect.

So I decided to sell. It would release my money and free up cash for cabs as I’d need to give up my driving license. It essentially answered all these questions I suddenly had to deal with.

My estate agent sold the house very quickly because I was in such a hurry, so I didn’t make as much as people would think. But there’s no doubt that I made a good return on investment: I bought it for £65,000 and sold it for £1m. By that time, I was also mortgage-free, so I had considerable equity.

For the past seven years, I’d dreamed about living within sight of the Shard, so, while I was still very weak with my illness, I got a cab to an estate agent in Islington and told them I wanted to live on the river with a partial view of either the Shard or the Tower of London. The estate agent looked on the computer and found that in Wapping there was a flat with a glass front and a balcony all the way round, where it had views of both.

I reminded him that I couldn’t take any steps, but he said this was a block of flats where you came straight in off the pavement and into a lift. We went to visit the two-bedroom flat and that was it, really. I decided instantly to rent the flat for £4000, and that’s where I am now. It was in a terrible mess when I viewed it, so I had to specify what I wanted done before I could move in. I also had to stay in a hotel because my completion date and move-in date didn’t align. But it was all worth it.

If I had bought again, I would not have been able to afford this flat. It’s one level below the penthouse, it’s completely glass, and I’ve got a City view from one set of windows and a Thames view from the other. It’s stunning. When I first came here, I was virtually immobile, and I could just sit and watch the boats go up and down the water.

When you’re older, it makes more sense to have that capital and spend it. If you’ve worked all your life and you’re not spoiling yourself, what’s the point? I go to Thailand once a year to work and holiday, so I still have quite a good life, even though I’m not 100 per cent physically fit. This is money that I’ve invested over the years so that I can have the quality of life I wouldn’t have otherwise now.

I didn’t plan any of this. I certainly didn’t plan to get Covid and be in the hospital, which was pretty alarming. But in a way, it’s worked out for me. Financially, I’m in a lucky position; I’ve planned out my money for the next 10 years of my life. The doctors said I have eight years to live because of my heart condition so I have enough to enjoy life until then. My mother died at 50 so I’ve done quite well.

I’ve been quite happy in my rental. I just hope my landlord doesn’t find out that there’s a shortage of flats since the Renters Rights Act. I’m really upset about the new law because it’s wiped out my two-year contract. It doesn’t make me feel comfortable like I felt before. He just has to give me four months’ notice and he can take the flat back. It’s nothing.

He recently told me that he wants to move back. I told him that I have this expected life span and asked if he could just wait until I’ve popped off. He just thinks that’s hilarious. Before I had a two-year contract and right now it’s months. It’s made me apprehensive.

Still, I have a good relationship with the landlord. There was a leak recently in the bedroom where it is carpeted – I would never have carpet, I’d rather have wood or tiles. I asked him to put in either of those, which he wouldn’t, but he let me pick the colour of the new carpet that replaced the damaged one, which was quite nice.

Living here has absolutely made the recovery process smoother. I don’t have to climb many stairs; it’s all on one level. There is one side looking out onto the river, and on the other, there is a pond with ducks and swans. I’ve even created a local pub quiz team called Feeding the Swans. I think I’ll be okay.