How many of you are positive about flat living in retirement?

cupcake4

Leblanc, your posts strike such a chord in me.
I've lived happily in my flat for years until the flat downstairs was sold to a BTL Landlord last July who has left letting to a local agency.
The 1 bed flat has been let to a couple with a severely handicapped child of 7 who screams most of of the day and night.
You can imagine how loud this is when I say that the floors are made of concrete and the flats are purpose built.
Last summer was a nightmare as I was driven indoors from my lovely balcony by the noise coming from the child who was in the garden below
(I have a first floor flat) and the downstairs is a garden flat.
My father had just died and all I wanted was some peace and quiet.
I'm home a lot at the moment as I recently had surgery and had to stay with a friend for 2 weeks as I simply could not stand the yelping and screams.
I wrote about this before but came under 94 pages of abusive comments from the 'Mumsnet' brigade, and was accused of bigotry etc.
However, what about the poor person who has been living in their flat, and has to endure sleepless nights and constant noise.
I now have to sleep with earplugs.
The local authority simply don't want to know as every sympathy goes to the child and the letting agency only want to make a quick buck and don't want to know either.
My only way out is to move, but my flat won't realise very much in the local vicinity and, surely if I don't declare neighbour nuisance when I sell, this can go against me. I doubt that anyone viewing my flat would be interested when they hear the noise, so it comes down to the fact that this disturbance has the knock on effect of rendering my flat unsaleable.

downshifter98

The more I read the more I wonder if 'owning' is worth it once into retirement mode (ie 60 plus). Perhaps we should just feel lucky that we (hopefully) own outright so we can sell and stand on the path with our downsized belongings and chunk of cash and think how lucky we are to have started out with nothing (true) and now have the freedom (as most Brits do) to wander the world without the cares of being a 'stakeholder' (except morally), then when I'm really old and decrepit I might just be happy to go of my own choosing or, having spent all the dosh on good living, ask the government to stick me in any old care home safe in the knowledge that they are paying (out of money they collected from me and mine in the past). Sounds like a plan....

missile

cupcake4 wrote: »

....My only way out is to move, but my flat won't realise very much in the local vicinity and, surely if I don't declare neighbour nuisance when I sell, this can go against me. I doubt that anyone viewing my flat would be interested when they hear the noise, so it comes down to the fact that this disturbance has the knock on effect of rendering my flat unsaleable.

I believe one only has to declare neighbour disputes, not noisy neighbours? Thus provided you have not had a dispute with said neighbour there is no requirement to declare. However if the child screams when prospective buyers view they are unlikely to buy:(

I too am a light sleeper. I find ear plugs are not very effective and sometimes have to resort to wearing noise cancelling head phones.

Leblanc_2

Cupcake4, I am sorry to hear of your situation. It is definitely worse than my own. I can see how impossible and stressful it must be for you. Unwanted noise no matter the origin will eventually wear you down.

It must be extremely difficult but in your situation I would have to admit defeat and move. Alternatively many tenancies run for only a year and in due course there may be a new tenancy. However, there is always the worry when a new tenant moves in.

Leblanc_2

downshifter98 wrote: »

The more I read the more I wonder if 'owning' is worth it once into retirement mode (ie 60 plus). Perhaps we should just feel lucky that we (hopefully) own outright so we can sell and stand on the path with our downsized belongings and chunk of cash and think how lucky we are to have started out with nothing (true) and now have the freedom (as most Brits do) to wander the world without the cares of being a 'stakeholder' (except morally), then when I'm really old and decrepit I might just be happy to go of my own choosing or, having spent all the dosh on good living, ask the government to stick me in any old care home safe in the knowledge that they are paying (out of money they collected from me and mine in the past). Sounds like a plan....

Can you really adjust to being rootless in your 60s? However, the last part sounds quite appealing. 'It's better to burn out than fade away'.

Leblanc_2

kittie wrote: »

we `downsized` in 2005 from a 4 bed large detached in 1/3 acre in village and we went 4 miles away to a new townhouse in a leasehold development of 40 properties developed from a manor house with new builds close by. Amenities were good and lots of acres to walk in. Gardeners, window cleaning etc included. It was supposed to be a dream potential community. Then landlords invested and 1/4 were let to `couldn`t care less` tenants and our communal facilites were many times abused. Then we took over the management and bought the freehold, all well and good, except it only takes 2 little hitlers to block everything that we wanted to do for the community. Suffice to say that stress took its toll. Add this to noise from the house on one side and the 3 flats on the other and the ever increasing energy bills, tenants were stealing energy to heat their flats

We got out, never ever again to return to that sort of communal living. Now we are detached in a lovely calming eco house, cheap to run and with sheep and an orchard behind us, neighbours nearby but we cannot see them from the south side, which has all the large windows. We are in a village but are self contained and don`t worry about getting older, we can always get taxis and internet shopping and there are people about but no-one in our face any more. Stress has all gone, so no flat for us, ever

edit just to say that we sold at a big loss but it was worth it, just to get out

kittie, your current situation sounds ideal. We tried rural living when in our 30s. Two bad winters with power cuts and snow drifts that trapped us for days put an end to that idyll. In addition my wife is an urbanite through and through, so it looks like town living for us. However, having control of your boundaries is such a good thing. 'Good fences make good neighbours'........generally!

PS we are still avid watchers of Escape to the Country!

getmore4less

Always been a small town/outskirts of city type of person, work/commute can dictate where you live sometimes.

Tried city centre Glasgow over the summer loved it, so city based retirement not off the list.(although not sure about Glasgow in the winter)

key features, a city needs,
good accommodation, well run if a block and ideally low running costs.
Relatively compact.(Glasgow ticks that box)
great public transport to get about(drop dependency on a car)
loads to do as much as possible free,
Easy fly to get away so airports quite close with good cheap links.
(handy for ports for cruises, but coastal may not be so hot an option now)
Good healthcare facilities.

The idea of becoming nomadic with a UK base is quite attractive long term either loads of holidays or longer term stays away(especially over the winter) which makes a lock up and leave place attractive.

Temp work is a good way to test a few lace so a move to semi retirement or contracting if the career allows is an option if not sure where you want to live.

The comments about /flats/apartments ring true, noise and community are an issue if you get them wrong(perhaps rent before buying)

A top floor with access to the outside(preferably private) could overcome some of the down sides although anything with stairs and lifts has potential issues if/when mobility becomes an issue.

Bungalow would be better but tend not to be available city centre

For in home care visitor parking would be essential.

Moving from a compact 4 bed det, double garage place packed with stuff to a much smaller space will be a hard change, finding somewhere with storage(although we do tend to keep stuff and the years to use it are getting fewer)
There will be places with similar sqft so not that big a deal if good layout and if the storage is available.

I have always been a believer get the last move right and early(to rebuild your social if you move far), so much harder when you have to do it for health reasons.

Still working on it, loads of research and would like to try few more places over the next few years.

Leblanc_2

Here is an American perspective on flat living:

"Many benefits of the condo:

- Much cheaper to maintain, heat, cool – and in general cheaper than houses. My wife retired when our son was born 3 years ago thanks to the fact that our housing expenses dropped dramatically.
- Someone else is doing the yard, snow removal, garbage removal etc. Time saved for enjoying family life, making more money and traveling.
- With condo, we simply turn off the AC system, lock the door and go on long vacations (we enjoy taking month off each year for major trips – again, thanks to low housing costs, we can afford it and still save 50% of our income.
- Condo forces you to enjoy outdoors more – my wife and son spend every day in the parks, museums, zoo’s etc. Usually, my son is the only person in the gorgeous city provided parks and pools – other kids are stuck in the daycares as their parents have to pay for the 2 guest-rooms, 3 car garage, big back yard etc.
- Condo limits stupid purchases – there is no space to keep all the dumb things people buy when they have a house. It makes us keep our possessions to the minimum, strangely making us feel more free.
- Condo high-rises are usually built more sturdy – reinforced concrete, bricks etc – keeping potential for damages due to weather and environmental issues.
I can keep going"…