OVER 55 HOUSING

I'm having to relocate in the next few months as I have problems with stairs (I'm in a fourth floor flat with no lift!)Earlier in this thread someone mentioned Extra Care retirement villages: one is being built near me and I registered interest about a year ago, but all it's been so far is a lot of sales talk about the "vibrant community" and very little about costs. If anyone has any information about running costs, please let me know! For instance,I understand that one's electricity and water bills are included in the service charge. How does this work for anyone claiming the "Keep Warm, Keep Well" electricity payment? I also heard that (for retirement villages in general) substantial hikes in annual service charges are commonplace. And then there's that question of exit fees! I would love to contact anyone with first-hand experience of living in such a community.

I have lived in a 3 bed semi with two gardens and magnificent views housing association property for 18 years and I love it to bits. However I have just been given the go ahead to swop to a two up two down mid terrace newish build (3 years) in the village where one of my sons and my daughter live with their families. I am so excited and a bonus is the savings in rent and running costs. In place of the lake district mountains I will still have a countryside view but with the main rail line running through so will have ideal views of the steam trains that run regularly. ? My grandchildren will be able to come along and visit when ever they need some Granny time.
I must get on - today is the beginning of downsizing. Black bin bags and charity bags are the way forward!

In a village near us the parish council recognised that there was a need for downsizing opportunities for older villagers who did not want to move away. The council obtained outline planning permission to build on land on the edge of the village. There will be a mixture of bungalows, chalet bungalows and houses, some for home owners, some social housing and some for the land owners. This is on a site which would not otherwise have got planning permission.

Of course, we need a wide range of options, some of them purpose built, some of them for rent and some to buy. Building bungalows though is not really a viable option in areas where there is a shortage of land available, or the land is very expensive. Bungalows are also the most energy-inefficient type of housing.
We rented a new flat in a block of 6 for a while. You got to know the other people living there and we never had to turn on the heating all winter, it was so efficient.

There has been a lot in the news that older people, not some older people, want/should move to small purpose built properties to free their family homes for younger families.

I quite agree (I did say so) that some older people do want the kind of small retirement flats that are mentioned in the OP, but as with so much in life the situation is much more complicated than specialist builders, and pontificating 'experts' make out.

Downsizing does not automatically mean a flat in a retirement complex, it may just be smaller house or a large bungalow, or a similar property in a more convenient place.

Every household's needs and requirements for their home is particular to them. There is no one size fits all solution to any housing requirement.

Who is saying all older people want to downsize Monica?

I assume you recognise that many do and for a variety of reasons e.g.
Want less cleaning, maintenance and gardening
On a reduced income due to widowhood or other reason
Want to ditch the mortgage and get a cheaper house
Develop disability and want something without stairs
Want to reduce bills that come with large properties
Want to live in a cosier, more energy efficient property (i.e. newer)
and so on

Why is it always assumed that older people want to move out of their existing homes in to small compact homes?

I do not know anyone among my friends and family who have wanted to move to such properties. A number moved to large roomy bungalows with reasonable sized gardens. A recently widowed friend has downsized from a large 5 bedroomed detached house to a 3 bedroomed detached house, both with a good sized gardens, but many stayed in the homes they had always lived in, quite capable of running them and having several spare bedrooms so that they can put up their children and their families.

Some people do want to move to smaller specialised accommodation but not all by a long way.

Those are the same nasty, restrictive conditions that apply to static caravan sites and holiday lodges. Many over 55s live in static caravans but they are poorly insulated and difficult to heat. @Gracesgran

Yes Petra. Price of land, price of land and price of land.
In MK, where I used to live, an organisation called Extracare built 2 large complexes of flats, bungalows and shared social areas. I knew people who moved in (e.g. after being widowed) and found that living somewhere more social was great for them - you have your own space but can eat and socialise communally if you wish.
www.extracare.org.uk/villages-and-schemes/retirement-villages/shenley-wood-village/
Most areas have some council built "old people's bungalows" as social housing provision. Some will have been sold under "right to buy" . But where is the social housing provision for the next generation of those who need it? Numbers are going to increase sharply in the next few years. I'm thinking of people living in social or rented accommodation who can no longer manage/afford to live in a 2 storey house. Any being build near you? Anyone?

Many over 55's properties have an emergency pull cord, and some have a receptionist/care worker on duty during the day, who makes sure that everone is still alive! These people can make or break the quality of life by organizing activities in the shared day room, outings, Christmas Party etc. A sensible precaution if you live in any place where someone else has a key to all rooms in case of emergency, and may be first on the scene when someone passes on, is to not keep much cash on the premises and provide next of kin with a list of all valuable belongings, making sure that it is common knowledge that the you have done so.
For myself, I would hate to leave my garden, which, athough a very small town plot, is my lifesaver - I can never sit outside for long without seeing something to clip or deadhead, in summer I drink in the perfume of the roses and lavender, watch the butterflies dancind round the buddlea, in winter I welcome the robin and blackbird with titbits- even an occasional goldfinch (but could do without the pigeons sitting and crapping on the fence), and the sweet faced pansies make me smile. I feast my eyes on it through the kitchen window when washing up or waiting for the kettle to boil, and feel so grateful to have it.

I have been gently looking round and there is no way I would by an over 55s flat. The leases are incredibly written in favour of the freeholder. Firstly there are the service fees. Living on a fixed (or fairly fixed) income which may depend on the level of interest rates these can become a problem. Then there is the clause in some (most?)that insists they are sold through the original builder or company holding the lease. They take their slice of this too. I have just been told that, with many of the local over 55 flats, rather than add this to the service charge, many leases require a sinking fund payment to be made when you sell the property. This is usually based on a percentage of the sale price and how long you have owned the property.

All this will make a big difference on what you are left with to buy your next property or pay for care home fees or leave to your loved ones.

I see no reason why they can't build terraced bungalows. How can these be worse than flats? People really need very little garden too - just enough for a bit of outside private space - and you need be able to buy outright.

Older people are house blocking (where they are, it's not always the case) for exactly the same reason as the awfully termed bed blocking - there is no where to go!

ninathenana You are right. Friends of ours thought of buying a retirement flat (not McC & S), but changed their minds on seeing the charges associated with buying and selling.

I've heard they are hard to sell when someone dies and I think the likes of McC +S or who ever owns the municipal parts take a percentage of the sale ????

Yes, they are really expensive near us too, but I suppose an apartment with no maintenance worries does hold an appeal, the older we get.However I would so miss a garden.

I've just looked up the nearest McCarthy and Stone apartments near me. You need to have plenty of cash a one bedroom costs £375.000 and two bedroom £509,000

Hope I can stay in my own home for as long as possible.

We went to see a MacCarthy and Stone (just curious) and it looked very nice but there was nowhere to store golf clubs or other sporting equipment, you didn't have your own car parking space and wasn't allowed to hang out washing. That must really limit the appeal.

Personally, having visited a lot of retirement complexes, my biggest complaint would be small rooms and no storage or personal spaces for hobbies and pastimes that require the storage of tools and materials or which can be messy.

The best I have seen is the first retirement community built; Hartrigg Oaks developed by the Rowntree Trust in York. Big single storey bungalows with a staircase to a huge loft area for the owners to use, or not use, according to their needs. I have a friend living there, who uses hers as a rehearsal space, other residents use them as workshops, libraries, sewing rooms etc.

The only other development I have seen was in a building that had previously been the 'Grand Hotel' in a big seaside resort and which had a large basement floor which was divided up so that every flat owner had a large storage room/workshop there.

where I live they are only two high and theres only 72 flats on the complex, I don't think Id want to live in a high rise!

These certainly do not have their own patios. They are about 8 floors high. They are being built on an old Printing works site.

its cheaper building apartments as theres not enough land to build bungalows on. I moved to over 55s housing two years ago best move I ever made. Its nothing at all like an institution! I have my own private patio with my own back and front door, the gardens are beautiful here and are regularly maintained. Ok it might be different here from some places in the country but one really needs to go and have a good look round to see what its really like.

Aren't most properties 'second hand' Never heard that expression before in relation to property.
In answer to your question: it's price of land.