Should I sell my flat now or wait 5-10 years?

It's difficult to know and obviously your own circumstances will play a part in your decision. However, I think the rental market will remain strong as many people don't want to risk buying so my advice would be to stay put. The chances of you selling it now for the same price you bought it are slim and you would have the selling costs to take account of too. It depends on how long you are going to hold onto it long term too. You don't want to be making a loss for ten years and then still sell at a loss at that point. But who knows what the situation will be in ten years time? Tricky.

Hi ruthy and welcome to Money.co.uk

I think it will be hard for anyone to give you a deifinitive answer here and I can well understand your concern.

There are lots of things to consider here I suggest :

(1) Interest rates are deemed to rise and unless you are on a fixed rate, covering the mortgage from rent may be somewhat harder
(2) The maintenance fee may, itself, be subject to inflation and unpredictable expenditure
(3) What will happen with house prices is unpredictable. If interest rates rise and the recession bites deeper ( as it is bound to do ), then prices must be pegged back. And I cannot see any reason why they should rally over the next 5 to 10 years, certainly not enough to feel comfortable about the situation.
(4) There is always the danger of the flat remaining un-let at times, or tenants simply not paying or going on housing benefits where shortfalls may never be met. Or the tenants simply refuse to pay for whatever reason. With the poor economic climate, this will always be a danger.
(5) While you are letting the flat, you will always face a taxable situation. Plus there will always be refurbishment costs when you finally take it back prior to sale. And legal fees, disbursements and selling fees on disposal.

These are just my opinions of course but if you 'project manage' this whole thing over the next ten years, it doesn't look a good busines bet. I have met many people in similar situations all wishing they had sold before the market receded.

My advice? Get some realistic valuations, thoroughly research the current market for sales of flats, ask honest questions about what kind of offers you are likely to get etc. Also, is you flat 'first time buyer' fodder? if so, unless lenders dramatically reduce their criteria, that could also cause a problem. I don't think any certainty can be put on any of the above factors but perhaps if your research showed you could minimise the damage by selling now ( even though you would not be breaking even ), then I would seriously consider marketing it now. The decision, at the end of the day, is yours. Sometimes it's better to be a few thousand down at this point than face years of uncertainty and financial commitment.

There's no harm in testing the sell of your property and at the very worst you could pull out, that may upset someone but we are in tough times. My wife and I have just today got our first rental property and it was a struggle to get it as the mortgage was difficult to get which is going to be a problem for anyone now with the current economy.

It sounds as though you would not make much if you stick it out but then I do not know you full circumstance, I guess you have to weigh up if you are going to lose or gain, now or later and make a decisive decision one way or another.

£2000 seems very high, I'm guessing its a newish property?

First question is where is the property?

I take it isnt London!

Its in hemel hempstead town centre.

Thank you for answers everyone!

I believe the houses in Hemel Hempstead will hold their values so I would hang on to it maybe rent it out!