Several people have raised the issue of Downsizing in the current thread on "Does your car fit inside garage? "
SWMBO has raised the question several times and I have rebuffed it that whatever/ wherever we go to , it must be in the same area, have a minimum of a 3.5 car garage workshop with pit, parking for 4, a totally unspoilt rural outlook. The need for 2 studies is a also a little difficult to match - currently of our 4 beds, 2 are used as his/hers studies.
My most suitable (nearby) location from the from the survey site that was linked here recently was St Albans.
I have also suggested that if it is the property that is too large, surely the answer is just to seal off rooms, and when you cannot manage the stairs, you just start living downstairs. The garden is currently small and manageable The actual cost of moving with Agency and legal fees would pay for a lot of ongoing maintenance.
Has anybody solved the problem?
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>> Has anybody solved the problem?
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As always it is down to money. As you age you will become more reliant on others, care is expensive, as is transport when you can no longer drive. We downsized to a bungalow with a nearby rail station, shops, hospital, bus stops, and our adult children and grandkids. A megga garage and workshop will become unusable in time, although the pit may be of use eventually. It is all about compromise and priorities with a big dose of reality.
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My property is not too large, it is just larger than I realistically need! I/we used to live in an even larger place, but used four of the six large double beds as warehousing! Much cheaper & more convenient than an actual warehouse. Paid commercial rates of course.
I currently get 25% single occupancy discount on the council tax, and even with a 4 bed 2000 build property my gas/ leccy is only £40 pcm DD. So no large overheads then. Easily manageable garden, most of the steep lawn now turned into stone flagged patios. Glorious views, sun trap rear patio.....and yet, I feel the need to downsize. The extension was a labour of love and helped my recuperation process, so it will be difficult to say 'adios'. Although it's only bricks & mortar.
As Sherlock says, moving is a costly business. Legal fees, agents commissions, probably Stamp Duty to pay. Then possibly repairs & renewals. Even an expensive new kitchen/ bathroom.
I think I have just talked myself into staying put, at least until I have spent all my pension, which will take 3 years @ the current personal earnings allowance pre tax limit, so 62. If I'm still on top, I shall reconsider then.
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>> As Sherlock says, moving is a costly business. Legal fees, agents commissions, probably Stamp Duty
>> to pay. Then possibly repairs & renewals. Even an expensive new kitchen/ bathroom.
>> I think I have just talked myself into staying put, at least until I have
>> spent all my pension, which will take 3 years @ the current personal earnings allowance
>> pre tax limit, so 62. If I'm still on top, I shall reconsider then.
>>
It is the sort of thing you do once and have to get right. The country cottage with fantastic views is no good if there is no transport and you can no longer drive. As you get older your loss of driving licence can be as simple as a fall taking out a hip joint, as recently happened to a young (68) pal of mine, he doubts if he will be able to drive again. His wife died last year so no backup there.
Sorry to be a miserable old git but you all have old age coming. :-)
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>> Sorry to be a miserable old git but you all have old age coming. :-)
>>
James Dean didn't.
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You could always take in a couple of lodgers LL.
Preferably Scandinavian, attractive, young, female ones with good cooking skills and big...eyes...
;-)
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Runfer, that would be no good for my BP. 'Twas bad enough last night in the pub after work. Spent the evening in the company of a single, attractive friend. Then my pal came in with his two daughters who are spending Easter with him.
The jury is out on lodgers. Not had any since I took two in to help pay my first mortgage. I think if I were that desperate to cover the overheads then I would downsize.
And you can only eat so many meatballs and watch Scandinavian TV series.
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it must be in the same area, have a minimum of
>> a 3.5 car garage workshop with pit, parking for 4, a totally unspoilt rural outlook.
>> The need for 2 studies is a also a little difficult to match - currently
>> of our 4 beds, 2 are used as his/hers studies.
Not too much then ;-)
>> Has anybody solved the problem?
>>
I think you have to change your (not yours specifically) mentality. What you can do now you might not be able to do or want to do in 10 years time. Perceptions might well change, closing down parts of the house might seem ok know. But you might just want a smaller place by then. I know someone who is on the cusp of downsizing, still wants the space for the gkids, but by the time they don't want it anymore feels they will be too old to move.
Or some do it for financial reasons either for themselves or to give the money to their kids to see them enjoy when they are still alive.
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>>What you can do now you might not be able to do or want to do in 10 years time<<
I am well aware of that! The last 10 years has proved it to me.
Having just moved my 94 yr old father into a flat from a house and garden has seen him become much more lively. He can now walk to the shops - which means lack of driving opportunities means that his driving skills may deteriorate faster :(
Last edited by: sherlock47 on Sun 5 Apr 15 at 15:45
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>> SWMBO has raised the question several times and I have rebuffed it that whatever/ wherever
>> we go to , it must be in the same area, have a minimum of
>> a 3.5 car garage workshop with pit
You may not want that as you you get older. Even as a sprightly 61-year old, some of the jobs I'm still tackling on the one aging car we now have seem a lot harder work than they used to....I commented to my wife some months ago after a particularly hard session that there's going to come a point where I just won't feel like grovelling around on the ground in the cold. My back isn't what it was :-( Mind you, a pit would make life much easier, it's something I've always wanted but never achieved, mainly for financial reasons.
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We went to downsize last time. Sadly our two properties sold the same weekend and we ended up in a bigger place...damn. Next time.
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I find it odd that in all the talk of a housing supply crisis, and the calls to dig up the countryside and cover it with more houses to be snapped up by buy-to-letters, we hear very little about the under-occupation of family homes by those who no longer have (or never had) the families to fill them. This creates a blockage at the top end of the housing market that prevents the natural flow of owners up the size ladder, so those at the bottom are stuck there and those below can't get on at all.
I'm not suggesting forcible resettlement, of course, but the tax system could be adjusted to make taking up more space than you need an expensive privilege (as it already is to drive a bigger car than you need). Of course we all like a bit of extra space, but the country isn't getting any less crowded, and the whole idea of storing wealth in property isn't helping. There are some interesting ideas here, with which I'm broadly sympathetic.
www.yppuk.org/p/manifesto.html?m=1
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Not great surprise that it isn't covered. Most of them are lived in by pensioners, they vote more than any other group i think.
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"This creates a blockage at the top end of the housing market that prevents the natural flow of owners up the size ladder, so those at the bottom are stuck there and those below can't get on at all. "
I don't know where you get this idea but a quick chat with an estate agent will quickly convince you otherwise. There is no lack of large properties on the market and demand is comparatively light for those medium to large properties. The problem is at the other end where there is a dearth of affordable starter policies and small family houses where competition is fierce causing rapidly rising prices.
What were are lacking in this country is affordable housing. Builders are not particularly interested in this sector as the margins are lower and would prefer to build 4 bedroom "executive homes" and very little social housing is being built.
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Downsizing is a good idea only if you can get nearer to the services and support you will need and to release some equity build up. After all you can't take it with you.
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The biggest problem that the old suffer after illness is loneliness, It is easy to forget that if you have a partner one is going to pre-decease the other. If you lose the ability to drive and you are by yourself however big the house and however many cars you have in the garage you are going to be lonely. If you live miles from anywhere and don't see anyone from day to day that loneliness will be ten times worse.
The problem is that many people do retire to the country and buy themselves a large house or bungalow with a huge garden and there comes a time when they can no longer manage but by that time they can no longer face the prospect of buying something more manageable near to the facilities they need and with public transport available.
The important thing is to make the move whilst you still have the physical and mental strength to cope with it.
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>> The important thing is to make the move whilst you still have the physical and
>> mental strength to cope with it.
>>
Indeed I mentioned similar above, I see it now in someone I know; 'I don't want to move now, but not sure I could in 5 years time.'
I see people upsizing when they retire, well according to the shows the OH has on. I get up off nights and they are on, seems to be no end of retirees who want mega £500k with 5 or 6 bed houses in the countryside for 2 of them. Possibly they're all made up, but I do remember a few where I used to live, all 70+ living on the edge of a tiny village in a huge house and garden.
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Issue with 'more mature' people is that they seem to become creatures of absolute routine and habit. Oh, and stubbornness . Change and upheaval is not something they do well.
Having said that we are often talking about their home, a place full of memories.
Perhaps abolish the single occupant reduction or give a limited timescale as a bit of a push.
I'm still trying to sell my Mothers old place. The time for a council tax exemption has expired and I am paying full whack with no reduction entitlement whatsoever. And even better after a certain period the amount increases. So if this is not a push to sell (at whatever price) or rent I don't know what is. The state are more or less dictating how you manage your property.
But as we are talking about here the larger property, these are only affordable to a certain group and there are plenty available. Just because we lever out their occupants doesn't mean the rest of the population are going to move up the rung, freeing cheaper/smaller properties.
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The time for a council tax exemption has expired and I am paying full whack with no reduction entitlement whatsoever. And even better after a certain period the amount increases.
How can you pay more than the tax band for the house?
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>> The time for a council tax exemption has expired and I am paying full
>> whack with no reduction entitlement whatsoever. And even better after a certain period the amount
>> increases.
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>> How can you pay more than the tax band for the house?
>>
Some councils, though not all I don't think, increase the charge on properties that have been empty for more than 2 years by an additional 50%:
www.gov.uk/council-tax/second-homes-and-empty-properties
There are a number of exemptions though, so check carefully!
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Selling house is easy, assuming it is wind & watertight - if the house lingers on the market it is overpriced.
Neighbour put their house up 2 weeks ago and the "Sale Agreed Sign" went up on Friday.
Nice house and apart from a ski slope drive, a nice family home......realistic advertised price and in 2/3 viewings he had 2 offers both higher than the asking price. Job Done!
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"How can you pay higher than the tax band?"
Don't know but that is what I was told by a Council employee. As you put it that way you have a valid point. As long as they are getting their money that should be it.
I'm currently giving it a bit of a makeover as it has fallen behind somewhat in the interior maintenance and upgrade dept.
Overpriced? Maybe slightly. But I aint giving it away and I'm being realistic in the current market. some stuff is selling but they seem slow to move in our area.
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>> Don't know but that is what I was told by a Council employee. As you
>> put it that way you have a valid point. As long as they are getting
>> their money that should be it.
We have a problem with shortage of houses and in some areas significant numbers of properties empty as either holiday homes or, in one form or another, investments. Empty properties also tend to detract from the amenity of an area and can become magnets for vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
In order to 'nudge' owners away from such practices Councils have been allowed to charge additional tax.
As others say a place will sell if the price is right.
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>>As others say a place will sell if the price is right.
But if one is prepared to wait until a really keen buyer comes along, often a higher price can be obtained.
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>> >>As others say a place will sell if the price is right.
>>
>> But if one is prepared to wait until a really keen buyer comes along, often
>> a higher price can be obtained.
Possibly, but not guaranteed and in the mean time the asset could be costing you money. However its true to say, in other parts of the UK the asset could be appreciating in value above the cost of maintaining it empty.
Its amazing how true the oft cried estate agents mantra is - Location, Location, Location.
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Update
Well a buyer came out of the blue. Really keen. Wanted to move to the village but couldn't afford top money for a fully upgraded equivalent. Up at £132K with a bottom figure of £125. Offered £127 and settled on £129. Only one other in the chain and they are sat on boxes at the 'in laws'.
Now pushing hard to finish off the work I started :) . Paid £129 for it so bit out of pocket but that is the market at the minute.
So all being well its sold. But it aint sold till its SOLD.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Mon 20 Apr 15 at 12:55
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That's good, congrats. (if saying that doesn't jinx anything!).
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Everything sells ... eventually. I've bought & sold 9 properties over the years including 'abroad'.
You only need that one buyer to come along - and take 'the bait'.
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>> Issue with 'more mature' people is that they seem to become creatures of absolute routine
>> and habit. Oh, and stubbornness . Change and upheaval is not something they do well.
>>
>>
>> I'm still trying to sell my Mothers old place. The time for a council tax
>> exemption has expired and I am paying full whack with no reduction entitlement whatsoever.
It MUST be too expensive, either for its type/condition or its location.
Priced correctly it will sell.
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Something is only worth what somebody else would pay, not what the owner thinks it is worth.
Oft forgotten these days but as true as ever
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Quickest way to sell a substandard property that is not selling is by auction. Auctions attract those who want a bit of a project and are prepared to do some work.
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Or a BTL type of person, we've used them. A relatives house needed plenty of work doing, a chap we knew owned lots of properties. Paid cash, minimal amount of paperwork and very quick, below market price of course.
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I like to stay where we are now.Three bedroom average detached house and close to amenities.
We more than likely need a stairlift for my wife.Our garden is small which is easy to look after.
You are right about loneliness so many old people in houses they can't keep clean or maintain.
I found that out last year doing some gardening work parttime.I ended up cleaning and helping out instead of gardening.I am to old now to start as a social worker to much on at home.>:)
Good points about builders not interested in social houses or what they did in this town build massive estates with all the problems with it.
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Downsizing? - Old Navy
