Sell up or rent it out quandry.

[condor]

I've been getting the house redecorated with a plan to put it up for sale this month with a view to then moving 'darn sarf' to be close to my brother and his family on Hayling Island. This re-decorating will have cost c £4K
I also have it in mind to take a year out travelling/working abroad...probably from September,or it could be slightly earlier.
I currently own my own house outright and would probably clear £100K from its sale. I could just invest this money until I return, though I would have to pay storage costs for the furniture etc. I want to keep. Or I could rent it out as furnished, minimising storage costs, and getting c£400 a month rental income with a letting agency supervising the collection of rent/repair type things.
My brother thinks it's a better idea for me to buy a place on Hayling Island with the proceeds of my sale, and rent it out there ( when I go travelling) with him keeping an eye on it...and if it's not rented out, we could both always use it as storage.
The main problem down there is that it's a lot more expensive than up here and I'd be looking at a retirement flat/apartment for a similar amount my house would fetch. Also they'd be a monthly service charge which even at the lower scale would be c.£150, with probably higher council tax. This is looking to be the most likely scenario.

If I don't do the working/travelling abroad then there wouldn't be a problem, I'd just move. I do expect to be away at least a year, I'm 50 and currently unemployed so now seems to be my time to do it

Any views on my quandry would be appreciated