Downsizing

seven-day-weekend

Luckily our bathroom is downstairs and we have a walk-in shower in it. We could also temporarily use the front sitting room as a bedroom, we have done it before.

It's just that the type of bungalow we can afford in the location we want is tiny. My husband certainly, and me probably, would go stir crazy. The particular one we have seen seems a good compromise on location and space. If we could afford it without selling our house, we would do it, so that it is ready for when we DO want to move. (Note to Self : Premium Bonds must do better ).

Neither of us want to leave our house and garden.

I think we are not ready to downsize yet. We are staying put for the moment, but vaguely looking whilst we are out and about.

Errata

I think the trick to downsizing is to do it when you don't need it. The fickle finger of fate can strike at any time, don't wait until it's about to hit you.

seven-day-weekend

Errata wrote: »

I think the trick to downsizing is to do it when you don't need it. The fickle finger of fate can strike at any time, don't wait until it's about to hit you.

As I said in my OP, this is what I think too,....but now we find we don't want to leave our house for a little bungalow.

That's the dilemma.

System

Every bit of me is screaming that I want to downsize. My house is not big by any stretch of the imagination but I am looking ahead.

Sometimes when the arthritis is bad, walking down the stairs is bad enough, let alone going down the garden to peg out the washing as theres two deep steps to get down. When my son moves out I will have a bedroom that I will no longer need. The garden is too much. At the moment its not a problem but I'm looking ahead. Hubby is having mobility problems and if he has another stroke then I just wont manage it at all.

Realistically though, I know my house isn't worth a lot and to buy something with the money tied up in my house, we will either have to spend money on it and do it up or put money to it.

So for now I am trying to minimise everything, keep things simple. I'm getting the house how I want it but as for the garden... well that's hubbys department and he doesn't see it like I do..

PasturesNew

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

....but now we find we don't want to leave our house for a little bungalow.

That's the dilemma.

No, you don't want to leave it for THAT little bungalow.... what you should do is get a detailed local map and take a walk around, marking down on the map the specific bungalows you WOULD consider buying.

Then get online and look at rightmove to see if there are any past sales data on them - and photos/floorplans..... see if you could potentially afford them if/when they come up for sale next time.

And, finally, you will have it nailed down to a few that you DO like.

I had a neighbour some years ago that ONLY wanted to buy a bungalow in one road.... every time one came for sale she'd put her house up for sale.... (overpriced) ... and then she'd miss it. In the end, I don't know if she did ever buy a bungalow in her chosen road as I'd put mine up for sale and sold mine and moved on .... I think she waited 6-7 years before she finally sold her house (£40k less than she'd first put it on at). She'd overpriced hers by about £20-25k to start with.

Errata

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

As I said in my OP, this is what I think too,....but now we find we don't want to leave our house for a little bungalow.

That's the dilemma.

Have you considered that the older you get the more you won't want to leave it? If you want to stay in it, why not draw up plans to future proof it and implement them asap?
Having said all that, your main problem appears to be that your neighbourhood is going downhill rapidly; that won't be reversed in your lifetime - doesn't even happen quickly in London.

SailorSam

People talking about stairs, there are always stairlifts.
This was my Mums house before she died and has a stairlift, when i moved in i went to get rid of the lift but would have got peanuts for it, so decided to leave it in place, you never know what the future holds i may need it one day.
It's much to big here but i tend to just clothes doors and forget what's behind them. I've got a big garden and massive garage which is great, but i suppose in 10yrs or so i may start to think they're to big.

pollypenny

We've thought about downsizing, but rejected it. We have a big bungalow, three double beds and the garden is too big.

However, it is a bungalow and roomy, easy to move around. it's location us ideal, as we can walk to shops, bank, hospital and library.

We did pay a lot for it in 1987, as there were very few family homes on the market. Since 2000 there has been a number of new houses built, so I imagine families would not choose a bungalow.

We are staying put.

System

SailorSam wrote: »

People talking about stairs, there are always stairlifts.
This was my Mums house before she died and has a stairlift, when i moved in i went to get rid of the lift but would have got peanuts for it, so decided to leave it in place, you never know what the future holds i may need it one day.
It's much to big here but i tend to just clothes doors and forget what's behind them. I've got a big garden and massive garage which is great, but i suppose in 10yrs or so i may start to think they're to big.

Stairlifts don't help you vacuum the stairs, which need to be done from time to time.

pmlindyloo

We downsized 3 years ago (we are in our sixties).

We went from a 4 bed detached house with a granny annex to a small (and I mean small) 3 bed detached house with a very small garden

Out primary reason for moving was to free up some cash to spend!

In fact we rented first and then decided we loved out little house so bought it. We used two thirds of the garage to extend the downstairs area leaving us ample room for storage at the front of the garage (have never garaged our cars)

Do we have any regrets? None at all. If there are two of you just how much space do you need?

Yes, we considered future years if one of us became poorly but have the ability to create a downstairs bedroom and down stairs shower room (present utility room and downstairs loo). We would have the money to make any necessary alterations.

So advantages

1) more spare cash so more holidays, clothes etc etc
2) cheaper utility/CT bills
3) less cleaning (yeah!)
4) a good clear out of all the rubbish we have accummulated over the years.

Our children are grown up but can still visit and stay over - bit of a squash but hey, it's not for ever.

Don't do it if
1) You enjoy keeping loads of memorabilia/clothes/
2) You have a huge extended family and they visit often
3) You have plenty of money and can afford a cleaner, a gardener
4) Your partner has a hobby that requires space