Dream Retirement Property - but can we afford it?

fred246

We live in a five bedroom detached house. When we moved in their was a couple next door living in a similar five bedroomed house. They were very ambitious and worked all hours at their businesses. Too busy for children. We used to say "If you were a couple would you buy a five bedroomed house?" Their businesses did well and the last time we saw them they were showing us pictures of the 15 bedroom house they had just bought. If you have a house bigger than you need you only live in a small bit. The rest only comes in handy when you have visitors or if you designate rooms as cinema rooms or gyms. I would have thought DQ if you sit down with a pen and paper and write down what you actually need you could get something that's cheaper and less trouble. If you're having neighbour noise you don't need to live miles from anyone. Most detached houses are free from noise. Our neighbours never cause us any trouble and you can have a chat when they walk past with their dog. How many bedrooms and bathrooms will you use? How many are just for visitors at christmas? How big a garden do you really want? The story sounds like someone who has always lived in a smaller house but dreamed of a bigger one. The reality might be good for a bit of time and then it might all seem too much. I am sure the listed bit will end up nothing but trouble.

crv1963

cfw1994 said:

AnotherJoe said:

DairyQueen said:

AnotherJoe said:

DairyQueen said:

The property is listed (Grade II) and it’s large.

Strike One.

Madness to buy as a retirement home but this is our dream home.

The cost of maintenance and insurance is likely to add at least £10kp.a. to our non-discretionary expenses.

Strike Two.

Our planned starting ‘number’ was around £45kp.a. from 2021 to include a generous holiday allowance and a lot of fat. This property would eat all of the fat and (I suspect) the holiday allowance if I was widowed

Three strikes.

I entirely fail to see why this is a dream home, sounds like a nightmare  to me, but then again I also fail to see why you both are continuing to work when you have limited life expectancy (genuinely sorry to hear that  )

Wake up before you sleepwalk into a nightmare house.

Retire now, into a house that isn't a whacking big boat anchor on your truncated retirement plans

Yep, the common-sense thing would be to buy a new 4-bed bungie (UPVC, triple-glazed, heat pump, solar panels). The dream definitely isn't this kind of financial commitment. Problem is that 'sensible' has always been my middle-name and I am in danger of being sensible once too often. That's why I seek a range of well-informed opinions.

The dream is space, peace, privacy, character, fields and trees. These are highly sought-after and only the building's antiquity and listed status prevents an extra £100k on the price. If this was a new barn conversion or of conventional construction the London escapees would be in a bidding war. I can't overestimate the extent to which lockdown has impacted our local market. We are smack-bang in the price range, and seeking the property type, most requested by Londoners. The market was crazy before the SDLT reduction was announced, now it's a bloodbath.

Mr DQ continues to work because he enjoys it and he would be hard-pressed to keep himself occupied in tiny home otherwise. He earns well and is able to pick his clients and that's a great position for him. As a former weekend visitor he has yet to establish a life here and will likely take some time to do so. Incentive to stop working will increase when we are settled in a home that gives us pleasure and roots. Yes, it could be a financial nightmare but isn't the potential pleasure worth the risk?

I just don't see much pleasure in a house that needs constant maintenance and cleaning, nor whose cost sucked away the pleasure you were planning with trips etc. 

Sometimes one has to go with the heart!
If we went with the head every time, we spend far too long being logical, and missing the beauty in other things.
If your next viewing makes you go "YES, this is what we want!".....go for it! 

I'm with cfw1994! If the house ticks all of your boxes, you are going in with eyes wide open and both want it then go for it. As for size and running costs, these form part of your decision making. We're preparing our home for retirement, we have already had a lot of work done and are having a further extension to increase the available space. We have gone into it knowing if we sold it we'd lose money as purchase cost plus building and landscaping costs totals more than it is currently valued at on the open market. 

However we're not planning on selling it anytime soon so we intend enjoying what we have, in the end the most sensible option from a financial point of view isn't always the best decision from a quality of life point of view. Our view is that when we die (or end up in care) the work we've done will increase its attraction to buyers, so making it easier to sell on for our heirs.

If we took the sensible financial option, would we be any happier? Unlikely seeing the sparkle Mrs CRV shows when sorting her new hobby room out, or my joy at the landscaping and greenhouse(s) we're putting in place. On the downside it has been a long haul since April 2019 and only a few weeks without some sort of workman/ professional asking for a cuppa or trailing muddy boots across the Hall floor!

DairyQueen

cfw1994 said:

Well?
C’mon DQ: How did the viewing go?  Have you said “YES!” ??
Enquiring minds need to know!
  

Many thanks to all contributors to this thread. Your views gave us plenty of food for thought and helped with the second viewing.

We have been in a daylong pow-wow and there is now white smoke.

Our second viewing took place in stonking weather and mid afternoon. This revealed a few things good and bad. Firstly, harvest was in full swing next to the house but country bumpkins like me enjoy the combines and tractors. Their noise isn't intrusive to me and a field only takes a day.

Secondly, there is precious little landscaping close to the house so finding shade proved a challenge. Thirdly, the upstairs rooms in the 16th century (listed) wing were sweltering and, on closer inspection, that side of the roof needs some work.

At this point I was still undeterred...

The hospitable owner invited us to join her for cold drinks on the East (shady) side of the house. This happens to be adjacent to the road. This turned-out to be a mistake for the vendor.

The road has all the characteristics of a quiet, country lane. As we sat there, the early rush began and the traffic increased, and increased, and increased. It's even on a bus route (and they are rare things in our part of the world). I think I mentioned that peace and privacy are our top criteria. A rat-run of traffic twice a day is the housing equivalent of a passion-killer.

We have tried our best to argue against the impact of the traffic but we knew that we would never reconcile to it so the decision is 'no'.

Having said that, we have discovered much about what is really important to us. The situation of the house far outweighs the style, vintage, size, or anything else. We have our minimum criteria on size but we will consider anything that sits in a tranquil and private location. It must overlook fields at the rear and it must be sufficiently distant from neighbours to give all parties elbow room.

We have also crunched the numbers and we could afford to stretch to £700k - including any major changes or upgrades - but are more comfortable at the £600k level. We could also stretch the budget to meet the higher running costs of a listed property but our limit is would be an additional £8k per year.

Back to rightmove... the quest continues.

Notepad_Phil

DairyQueen said:

It must overlook fields at the rear

Just be careful with this - a friend bought a house with lovely views.   ten years later they were building houses on it.

DairyQueen

Notepad_Phil said:

DairyQueen said:

It must overlook fields at the rear

Just be careful with this - a friend bought a house with lovely views.   ten years later they were building houses on it.

A very big risk around these parts but fringes of villages are the favourite view-destroying target for our local council. Stay in the sticks and you are reasonably safe.

theoretica

Another thing to consider - which clashes a bit with loads of space around you - is the downside of moving somewhere where you need to drive for everything.  One or both of you could develop problems with driving, eg cataracts, putting an increasing burden on the other.  Some friends of my parents are facing selling a very beloved home for this very reason because there is no bus stop or shop in walking distance.

OldMusicGuy

DairyQueen said:

Having said that, we have discovered much about what is really important to us. The situation of the house far outweighs the style, vintage, size, or anything else. We have our minimum criteria on size but we will consider anything that sits in a tranquil and private location. It must overlook fields at the rear and it must be sufficiently distant from neighbours to give all parties elbow room.

Thanks for the update. I think you are right - it's the situation of the property and the lifestyle it enables that is more important than the exact style of property. Best of luck in the search. 

shinytop

 The situation of the house far outweighs the style, vintage, size, or anything else. We have our minimum criteria on size but we will consider anything that sits in a tranquil and private location. It must overlook fields at the rear and it must be sufficiently distant from neighbours to give all parties elbow room.

That's exactly our view too.  We just moved to a type of house we weren't really looking for - a 1990s bungalow. But the location - cul de sac, small village, conservation area and the absence of traffic noise did it for us. 

Good luck with the search. 
 

TBC15

£700,000 move to Scotland you could get staff at that price.

crv1963

Thanks for the update DQ, at least you've found out a drawback before it was too late- lesson learned, visit at different times of the day/ week to check on possible drawbacks at any future venue?