Should you buy a bungalow as you get older?

BungalowBel

We chose location over everything else and didn't think we could afford a bungalow in any of our locations, so were prepared to get a house that could be adapted.

We found, by accident, our bungalow, a probate sale which needed a stack of work doing to it, which was reflected in the price.. We were able to do the essential  work before we moved in.  

Loved it then and still love it.

Murphybear

I would definitely say yes.  We had a bungalow in a tiny village, it was lovely.  We found the spare bedrooms got a lot more use than those in a conventional house did.

When I had my knee replaced we were living in a house with no downstairs loo.  It was a nightmare for a while.  You never know if you are going to break a leg or sprain an ankle.  

It’s not just for older people.  A few years ago my secretary and her boyfriend decided to buy a property together.  I was quite surprised when she told me they had bought a bungalow. She was 25 

Dustyevsky

Everyone's different. We bought a bungalow because it came with the land we wanted. That was 16 years ago, when I 'retired.' The land is much more of a consideration than having no stairs to climb.

One reason for buying land was knowing I'd never go to a gym or be disciplined enough to go walking regularly. It forces me into the outdoors to work, especially in winter, when I'd otherwise look for indoor activities. There are many jobs that may only be done in autumn and winter.

The idea we must get old and frail after retiring at, say, 60, isn't something I buy into. While there are some with physical infirmities which can't be beaten, the majority of us can expect 20 years of good  health after retirement, if we put the work in. Having a sport, hobby, or regular physical activity of some kind helps so much.

 As I'm now heading towards the end of that golden retirement time, various options are possible in the future. We could sell off the land and keep our bungalow + enough garden, we could ignore the land and return it to nature, or we could move when it gets too much. At the moment, the option chosen is, “Keep going till we drop!”

As a good friend said to me when she'd just purchased a large, new, detached house at the age of 68. “I can't bl**dy downsize when I get old, if I don't upsize first!” 

Bigphil1474

I think if you want to future proof, you either go bungalow or house that can be adapted. Stairlifts are easier to fit than through floor lifts, but both come with problems (especially when they break down late at night). We bought a house with bedrooms upstairs but with plenty of room downstairs for a bedroom/bathroom combo should we need to in the future. We'll probably get a shower room fitted downstairs next year, and we've already set up one side as an emergency guest room with a sofa bed. 
If you are physically active, the lack of stairs in a bungalow shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Olenna

Section62 said:

daveyjp said:

The bonus of bungalows is ground floor living.  If you are buying a bungalow and are then looking at opening up the loft thereby converting it to a house just buy a house.

Or stay put.

My expectation is future planning guidance/policy will make it harder to do loft conversions of bungalows.... if it is deemed that a dwindling stock of them means those still available should be retained for those in 'need' of them then it would be easy for councils to adopt policies to resist conversion.  There's probably also an argument that the more affordable bungalows (perhaps fitting in with the 'need') will become less affordable if they have the loft converted and therefore represent a larger and more valuable dwelling.

If I was buying and moving into a bungalow with the intention of doing a loft conversion then I wouldn't hang around waiting to do it.  I'd get full planning consent ASAP.

These are private property not council houses - so they'd need a something a lot more substantial (e.g. listed status) to refuse planning permission to retrofit an existing property. 

Section62

Olenna said:

Section62 said:

daveyjp said:

The bonus of bungalows is ground floor living.  If you are buying a bungalow and are then looking at opening up the loft thereby converting it to a house just buy a house.

Or stay put.

My expectation is future planning guidance/policy will make it harder to do loft conversions of bungalows.... if it is deemed that a dwindling stock of them means those still available should be retained for those in 'need' of them then it would be easy for councils to adopt policies to resist conversion.  There's probably also an argument that the more affordable bungalows (perhaps fitting in with the 'need') will become less affordable if they have the loft converted and therefore represent a larger and more valuable dwelling.

If I was buying and moving into a bungalow with the intention of doing a loft conversion then I wouldn't hang around waiting to do it.  I'd get full planning consent ASAP.

These are private property not council houses - so they'd need a something a lot more substantial (e.g. listed status) to refuse planning permission to retrofit an existing property. 

As I suggested, a local plan policy should be sufficient.  If they can come up with a reasoned justification why a policy is needed to resist conversions (perhaps limited to certain locations), coupled with an Article 4 direction to remove PD rights for conversions, then they would be in a relatively strong position to refuse consent.

Clearly there would be a need to consider all material issues and each case on its own merits (as with any application), and there is always the risk of appeal, but if a dwindling stock of bungalows is causing an issue for people who need a property of that type then it wouldn't be unreasonable for a council to take that course of action.

Baldytyke88

Bobinyorkshire said:

My MIL recently died and my wife and her brother are going through the process of probate. 

The bungalow is a good sized 3 bedroom home with double garage and large unconverted loft space with a small garden with backs onto fields.
We live in a large family home which is now too big as the children have left home (youngest will start last year at uni in Sept). 

 

My guess is that you could live downstairs, without the need to use the upper floors.

But the upper floors are available if you have family staying over.

I personally dislike bungalows because they are a poor/inefficient use of land.

Spikeygran

Do you like sleeping downstairs?  A lot of us dont care but some absolutely hate it and cant sleep unless they go up.  

We moved from bungalow to cottage with bedrooms upstairs, it was location for us.  To be honest I kind of missed stairs I'm still sliding down them for fun occasionally. I am thinking about getting a stairlift fitted and taking the chair off for now, so its ready to go should it be necessary in the future.  But at the moment with 2 handrails I'm nipping up and down most days, and can plod up on bad ones, keeping fitter in the process.  I've found that having a toilet on each floor is essential, and despite being unfashionable having a bathroom on the groundfloor has many advantages.  I know if I get stuck downstairs, I still get a shower.

I can see there might be some issues later on  if you buy the MIL bungalow.  Even if the money is sorted out to all family members satisfaction first, if bungalow values shoot up over the next few years (some years theres a shortage which pushes prices up) the brother might feel you got an advantage and he didn't get a fair cut.  I think all in if you are contemplating a move make it another house or bungalow, in a place you  both want in an area you like that suits all your needs going forwards.

Bobinyorkshire

Thank you all for your comments. We need to decide soon as probate pending and then a home needs to go on the market, either ours or the bungalow. Might get ours valued anyway to help further understand the money side of things 

twopenny

I'm accidentally in a bungalow and it's tiny compared to my previous places so that's taken a lot of getting used to.

Pluses, storms no problem. Tiles don't seem to come off but if they did easy and cheaper to get sorted 
Gutter cleaning easy.
Heating it's warmer.
Housework quick.
I have more time to socialise and do more interesting things.

Only downside for me is bedroom window opening at night. I can open one small one but I miss spring and summer having a warm breeze when in bed.

Small garden but I grow lots of fruit, veg and flowers. That's just organisation. 
Same for storage. You learn to store what you need conveniently and not all the 'what ifs'. I think that was tough to get used to but when I did it was a revelation 😊

But location is the key with any property. The reason I've stayed here is it has all the things I was looking for and more. It's quiet, convenient for shops and beach. Can hear the sea, owls and stars at night. Sun all day.
We each have things that give us pleasure.