Pensioners to be encouraged to downsize

Oh Germanshepherdsmum I know it's wrong but you have made me roar with laughter at your next downsizing plan. Thanks for making me smile and I hope your next 'move' doesn't happen for a very, very long time.

I have several friends who are planning to move into a residential apartment complex so they can all have their own apartment but be together.
It is my idea of hell!

We have lived in our 4 bedroom house for over 40 years. Lots of love and money has been invested in it. Memories made and still being made. I love our town and have friends , family and many interests here.
We worked hard to buy our home, going without many things in our earlier years.
I would hate to live with just older people around. We are not moving out until there is no other choice . I’m not ashamed to say that our children’s family home will hopefully be passed to them and will enable them to enjoy and use the proceeds.

Thanks scones. No, I have no plans to move for quite a while! (Touch wood!)?

30 years in our current home. We extended the kitchen, utility and dining area 12 years ago. It’s made our family home an even better one. Our grandchildren can stay over in the bedrooms their mummies used as children, we can host large family get togethers for as long as we remain fit enough
The utility now has a shower toilet and sink. Ideal for muddy dogs and, if one of us becomes forced to live downstairs.
Who are these pensioners rattling around in bit houses? I suspect there are a few who didn’t move or adapt their houses till it was too late

Also does anyone else get fed up with youngsters ( mumsnet) moaning about baby boomers?

Yes Ginpin. I do. We get blamed for so much. We worked hard and went without a lot to buy a house.

ginny

We have lived in our 4 bedroom house for over 40 years. Lots of love and money has been invested in it. Memories made and still being made. I love our town and have friends , family and many interests here.
We worked hard to buy our home, going without many things in our earlier years.
I would hate to live with just older people around. We are not moving out until there is no other choice . I’m not ashamed to say that our children’s family home will hopefully be passed to them and will enable them to enjoy and use the proceeds.

We sold our large family home to our son to house his growing family. They divorced; home lost as it has to be sold to apportion each partner.

Where I live the houses with gardens are very expensive so they are bought by builders, to be knocked down and flats built.

The law here is for each town to have 20 per cent of social housing, if the town does not meet this percentage they have to pay extra taxes to the government.

I think the point is that older people, like me, live in large houses, if we move out, our houses will be bought by families wanting to move up the housing ladder, not necessarily first time buyers. The market does get stagnant when the middle layers are not selling so that first time buyers cannot buy because their sellers cannot buy a slightly higher value house and so on up the ladder. I’m not saying I agree with this theory but it is often quoted as justification for older people to downsize.

It’s odd though, I do live in an area where most residents are elderly as it’s an estate of two bedroom bungalows even though I did not initially want to. But I loved the bungalow when I first saw it, I downsized financially by being mortgage free but put all the equity from selling the family house into it. I actually have three bedrooms, one a loft conversion, and is also extended downstairs to create an extra dining area so quite large for just one person.

But it is not an area designated for people of a certain age like some apartments are, anyone can buy the bungalows and recently some younger people have moved in - still tend to be over 50 though as the bungalows are very expensive. They buy a slightly run down one from someone whose lived there for many years, rip it apart, extend it and spend a fortune! They then look nothing like the original one!

I have found that I enjoy having elderly neighbours, I was 55 when I moved in ten years ago and my neighbours look after me - bins taken in while I was out at work, shut windows I leave open, check I am well if they’ve not seen me for a while etc. I have no plans to move for now although I will at some point when I’ve run out of savings. For half the price of my bungalow, I can buy a two bed apartment in the area and then have a lump sum again to spend. My financial advisor thinks that is a canny plan and property values near me are high enough to protect my investments. I have no emotional attachment to this house, my move here was the tough one so I now I will be able to move when the time is right.

However, no politician is going to tell me what to do with my life, if I choose to downsize, it will be my decision and when I am ready.

How many pensioners live alone in a 3 bedroom council house which they do not own, which could house a family?
I know there is a dearth of smaller properties for them to move into, but it doesn’t seem right that they are also ‘rattling around’ in a too-big home, especially if they are in receipt of housing benefit and not paying full rent.

As TeacherAnne has pointed out, it’s not first time buyers looking for suburban homes, it’s a chain, flats to terraced housing to three bed semis to four bed detached and so on.
While older people are hanging on to bigger houses the chain stops moving.

I’m sure no one can insist, it’s a free country, worthy of discussion though.

I'm in a 3 bed semi in an area where they are popular with young families. I would happily move to a 2 bed bungalow but they are like hen's teeth where I live.

Same here. If a 2 bed house, with gardens and parking facilities was available, I'd move into it tomorrow.

Calendargirl

How many pensioners live alone in a 3 bedroom council house which they do not own, which could house a family?
I know there is a dearth of smaller properties for them to move into, but it doesn’t seem right that they are also ‘rattling around’ in a too-big home, especially if they are in receipt of housing benefit and not paying full rent.

It wouldn't be right to force them to move if they have made it their home, same as owners have.

PollyTickle

As TeacherAnne has pointed out, it’s not first time buyers looking for suburban homes, it’s a chain, flats to terraced housing to three bed semis to four bed detached and so on.
While older people are hanging on to bigger houses the chain stops moving.

You explained so much better than I did!

Calendargirl

How many pensioners live alone in a 3 bedroom council house which they do not own, which could house a family?
I know there is a dearth of smaller properties for them to move into, but it doesn’t seem right that they are also ‘rattling around’ in a too-big home, especially if they are in receipt of housing benefit and not paying full rent.

I thought they would have to pay bedroom tax now in rented council houses?

How appalling. Anyone remember the film Soylent Green?

"While older people are hanging on to bigger houses the chain stops moving" older people are choosing to stay in the houses they've made their homes and in all probability raised their families.

I don't like this being referred to as "hanging on".

In many ways first time buyers and older people downsizing are looking at the same sized properties.
Older people spend more time within their home so too small a dwelling is not good - lots will be running round a bigger house not rattling round !

I'm not selling my house, I have 3 bedrooms and have slaved to buy it on a low income. If I could afford it I would have a nice bungalow but not one near other oldies. Bungalows are out of my price range so I will stay where they are. The rich have their pile, I have my little heap

Well spotted Smileless, sorry, poor choice of word. How about ‘remaining in’ large houses.
I’m one of them by the way but do feel guilty.
Worth discussing don’t you think?

They will have to make it appealing to move and also some initiatives for moving in later years. I’ve always said they do starter homes but never later in life homes!

Teacheranne

Calendargirl

How many pensioners live alone in a 3 bedroom council house which they do not own, which could house a family?
I know there is a dearth of smaller properties for them to move into, but it doesn’t seem right that they are also ‘rattling around’ in a too-big home, especially if they are in receipt of housing benefit and not paying full rent.

I thought they would have to pay bedroom tax now in rented council houses?

Pensioners are exempt from it.

However, when the bedroom tax came in, there weren't enough small properties for the number of people wanting to downsize anyway.

Well here I am rattling round in my very many bedroomed house - having given a home to my own children, foster children, asylum seekers, refugees, lodgers and homeless people. It’s also been used as my church, as a base to give free English language lessons - and a home from home for many people who live alone and join us here for a bit of company.

So, no I won’t be downsizing just yet - although I love the idea of having just a few rooms to clean. ??

The number of bedrooms is not really a good indicator of house size anyway, is it!

The house next door to ours used to be almost identical to ours, but while theirs still has three (small) bedrooms, ours now has only two.
Our third bedroom has been replaced by an upstairs bathroom, while theirs is still downstairs, stuck on the back of the house.

The two houses are still the same size - small!

The living rooms are only 11' x 11', and every wall in them has some thing that restricts where furniture can go: window on wall, doors on two walls, and the protruding fireplace and hearth on the remaining wall.

Families with young children simply don't want these houses, as they are to small.