House on the Market

We moved to our bungalow three months ago. I found the whole thing incredibly stressful, but am really happy with everything now although it took a while to feel like home instead of being on holiday. We moved from a new build townhouse which was on three floors which was becoming a bit much. We now have a large kitchen/diner large enough for a sofa and tv, a small cosy sitting room with log burner, two bedrooms, and are in the throes of having a new bathroom fitted with walk in shower. The previous owner was a builder and extended very well into the loft area, so upstairs is a smallish wet room and two more bedrooms. We have a small garden. We are detached, (just) which I love after being on a modern development which was quite small, but quite dense.

We had a wish list, which I would recommend, although don’t expect to tick all the boxes! The compromise we made was not being in the nicest road, but by far the best house for us. Be prepared to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the right one.

We have spent money a new bathroom but feel it will add to the value of the house for future sale or renting.

We are near a largish village with everything we need, about 20 minutes from both DD’s. Just start de cluttering NOW! And be prepared to find it exhausting. I’m 73, my husband 75. No major health problems....yet! Just do it.

There is little sense of community in this new village; indeed I have never met one neighbour!

Luckygirl after three years? !! Do you have extensive grounds?

LPA news.

I've just dumped all my LPA forms in the recycle bin after discovering this excellent online service:

www.lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk/home

It is so much easier than the paper-based option.

We moved two years ago into a new build apartments. It a 5 minute walk to the station, bus stop and the town centre where there are plenty of shops and restaurants. Best thing we ever did. I don't miss the garden as we have a largish balcony.

Nannyfrance; we purchased - in west Lancashire.

David 1968. That sounds perfect. Which part of the country is it? Were you able to purchase this property? Or are you renting?

We bought a house that was quite new. Has downstairs loo. Esentual. Has stairs but some advice says it is best for arthritis etc to have stairs. Also has good storage. Bus nearby. Also shops. Very good hospital catchment area. Son lives nearby. Smallish garden. Also set up LPAs. Oh a walk-in shower too.

We moved about 3 years ago. We lived in a magically beautiful village and our lovely cottage had a bedroom balcony with views across a Welsh valley. The community was lovely and I was very embedded there and felt it was my home in every sense. But........it was on a steep hell, the drive was a sheer drop, there were steps inside the house.

OH has PD and I have a still broken foot and a painful hip replacement, and it was out of the way for the two DDs who live locally.

So.....we moved to a nearby village, to a bungalow, closer to town, 10 minutes from each of the DDs, on a bus route, and above all else flat.

The successes of the move have been that our lives are physically much easier, we still have beautiful (but very different) views, our DDs can pop in whenever they want without it being a bit of an expedition, they can drop off the little ones for child care on their way to work etc.

But there are downsides - I left my heart in the previous village, and indeed travel back there (about 25 minutes) several times a week to join friends, take part in activities, go to school governor meetings etc. There is little sense of community in this new village; indeed I have never met one neighbour!

Also my OH's health took a bit of a downward slide with the general stress of the move.

If there are chores that your OH does that you have not usually done then do bear in mind that these might fall to you if he becomes ill. So look around the house you choose to try and make these easy.

And look into what is going on in the area - are there things that you might enjoy?

Good luck!

Make sure both the kitchen, bathroom and utility rooms are large enough to be wheelchair accessible. Is there room for a ramp at the outer doors, if one of you is in a wheelchair later on?

Either no garden, or one that can be turned into an easily cared for garden, if you either are not enthusiastic gardeners, or visualize becoming less able as time goes by.

Chose a locality with plenty of shops, banks, etc. remember you may not always be able to drive.

Lastly, face the question: will whoever outlives the other want to live there alone? If not will the house be easy to sell for the widow or widower?

Don't buy too big a house; it will be difficult to run later on.

DH & I are in our 60s. Our only child (plus family) live overseas and we've no other family near to us. Last year, after much planning and consideration of the future, we sold our 3-bed semi and moved into an "up-market" residential park home. (We understand fully that this would not be everyone's choice but it suits us well.) It is, in effect, a brand-new, detached, two-bedroom bungalow on a "park" where residents have to be aged over 55. Our home is designed to be "disabled friendly", should we need this as we get older. We have a small, easy-to-manage garden and a drive-way with parking space for two cars.. We can have visitors (of any age) staying for up to six weeks. The neighbours are friendly and supportive without being intrusive. There's a health club on-site; we use the gym, pool, and classes, and there are social events. Just outside the park there's a bus stop (on a main road) and we are located just on the outskirts of a lovely market town, with shops, services and the GP surgery a mile away. All this should support us as we get older. Oh, and we set up our LPAs (for ourselves) years ago; as Missfoodlove says, this is crucial!

We have just decided to downsize but also to move back to the UK. I could not cope with the house here if left by myself and my husband could not cope with the language by himself. Houses here take a long time to sell so we have plenty of time to think about what / where we want but we are thinking of somewhere we could both cope with by ourselves and as we get older.
I am not keen to move back but understand my husbands feelings and our son thinks it is the best thing for us to do.
I have read the replies with interest - lots of food for thought!

My mother is in a nursing home and owns a house. The house has been empty for 13 months and is haemorrhaging money because she refused to give me power of attorney.
I applied to the court of protection and have finally got LPA.
So whatever you do make sure this is in place.
It can be done on the government website for around £80.

I am divorced and moved into flat near my children. It was new build ( some snagging but only small things easily remedied) So no stairs all on one level. I still drive but bus route at the bottom of the road which drops me near shops, doctor and dentist and same bus carries on to nearby bigger town if I want it. I am homesick sometimes as moved 150 miles but am content, love my flat and great to be so near my children. They are fine with that they suggested it. Would you downsize to a flat rather than a house?

Around here most of the new developments have a small group of shops, including a chemist and a little cafe, and a community centre, play areas and green areas to walk yourself or your dog.

Taking all on board that others have said perhaps look for somewhere that has these too. It’s fine while you are fit and active but as your mobility decreases you might find these kind of facilities close by become more important.

specs I am in a very similar situation but doing this on my own, widowed 4 years ago. I looked at a 30s property with a large garden because I am giving up my allotment but it took the survey to make me see sense and I opted out, was worth the cost.

The first part of my decision was the area, not to cling limpet-like to where my children live, they might want to move one day. An hour away, it is fine for me and them. The area I chose has buses and old fashioned shops and community and crafting clubs as well as U3A

I chose a new build, one of only 10 and just a short walk into the centre of the market town. I spoke to the builder first and immediately had the goood vibes, he builds the old fashioned way with high standards. Good enough for me.

I would have liked an extra room downstairs with space somewhere for a downstairs shower, like in the blue cedar homes but as always there have to be compromises. Future proofing is in the house in that I could get a stair lift if needed but for now at 71 I am healthy and active and wanted stairs

Future proofing also means a small garden and my garage will be fully fitted out as a workshop, so I can go in and potter at my wood hobbies. Heating is a choice of a turn of a knob or a beautiful stove as long as I can maintain it. Widowhood happens to most of us, not something people want to think about but fact of life. Future maintenance, upkeep, costs particularly energy. The very high insulation in a new build was a big factor for me

My new home is surrounded by the end of other gardens and is detached, whoever moves locally, I will not be affected by any noise or child squabbles

I exchange very soon, the most important thing for me right now is having a very good hand-holding solicitor, one who picked up on sewer aquisition etc

Carrying on with future proofing means easily maintained flooring throughout and I chose quickstep up and down. I will be getting window shutters so that there will never be heavy curtains to maintain and just a quick wipe will keep them clean. The en suite shower is walk in. Later I will get much storage fitted in the house

WOW, what amazing replies. Please keep them coming, you’re helping us to focus on the realities of old, old age. And truthfully none of us have got any experience of growing old old (thank God?). All your experiences are helping us focus. What might seem obvious to you might be something new and unconsidered by us. We need the negatives as well as the positives.

Sorry, I already have a bit of problem with short term memory recall so I can’t mention much but good luck to all of you doing/considering the same as us. Thanks, we wish you all well.

Tangerine ?, this is more controversial. ‘care home costs eating away at the children’s inheritance’. Our kids love us, no doubt. BUT. RANT. Why should we have to pay for care home costs when some get it for nowt?? I don’t begrudge those who can’t afford help or relief but don’t penalise us cus we plan and prepare. Growl????

Don't worry too much about your children's inheritance. If they love you, they will be concerned with your comfort.

I accept it is nice to leave your children some money but you can't spend your whole life worrying about such things.

I think a bungalow might be best for you but they can be pricey. If you go for a house, downstairs WC is a "must".

Gosh paddyann, how lucky are you. I hope we do as well, if and when we downsize.

We decided just last week to downsize.Would you believe it we've found a house that could be just right for us ...with the addition of an extension .So we've put in an offer and will wait with bated breath for an answer tomorrow or when the seller decides to get back. Now to get ours market ready though if it doesn't sell quickly we might rent it until it does .Leaving it empty isn't something we'd want to do .Good luck with your move hope it all goes smoothly for you.

We have a three bedroom semi, and I would dearly love to move nearer to the town centre.
To afford that, we would have to pay out a lot more, for a lot less.
My health is dodgy, and DH is not as fit as he was. We are 75 and 79, and I have, in the last year, become resigned to the fact that we shall probably not make a move.
Luckily we are only roughly a mile from the town centre, the Dr’s surgery is 5 minutes distance, and are almost on a bus route, a 2 minute walk.
Taxis would be used, if we had to give up the car, and we could easily put in a stair lift, or move our bedroom downstairs. We have a downstairs loo, though not a complete bathroom.
I have been thinking, talking about moving for 2/3 years, but DH is very reluctant.
Our neighbours are lovely, and we have altered the garden, so that it is very low maintenance.
So, summing up, I think this is where we shall stay, happily.

My aged inlaws were looking to move/downsize. They wanted to be closer to amenities and family.
We steered them towards a house my friend was selling. It's on a 1970s estate with a mature garden .
It's on a bus route and near the doctor's, quite near shops and library. It's a bright house. The sun shines in.
They grumbled a bit at first that it was too near the neighbours.
Now they have a stair lift .
Having a downstairs loo has been great.

Make sure the rooms and doorways are big enough to move round the house easily in a wheelchair or with a walking frame.

Make sure the staircase (if any) can easily take a stair lift.

Make sure there is a ground floor shower room

Make sure there is a downstairs room that can be used as a bedroom.

Make sure there is space for you to get away from each other indoors, a comfortable armchair and small table in the kitchen or bedroom. However much you love each other there will be times when being on top of each other all the time can be too much of a good thing.

Something to think about. Our friends, newly retired and mid 60s downsized to a new house on a small estate three years ago and have put it up for sale. The estate proved the wrong setting for them. They had the noise of children playing in the gardens on both sides of their house, and in the front close too, cars drove by at all times (work, school runs, friends visiting) so the road was always quite busy and lots of younger couples close to them were so busy that their front gardens weren't looked after.

The house was lovely, their neighbours friendly but the location was wrong for them as retirees. Not only that, phase two of the development is almost complete so the road in and out of the estate is getting busier.

They have their house on the market now and hope to buy an older bungalow which has been well cared for and has the downstairs loo and bathroom that they didn't have on their tick list before. It's in a leafy suburban road full of various styles of older houses.

Stairs may become a problem later. I have a stairlift but it also has its problems. If you have bedrooms upstairs, you must have a downstairs loo. I would love another room downstairs in case I could not negotiate the stairs for whatever reason and washing facilities downstairs would be the icing on the cake.

I agree, near transport and local facilities is a must- not for now but later.

Specs exciting and scary times! I think you have answered some questions for yourself .
Personally I would avoid brand new homes.. from what I hear from people who have gone for a completely new build the snagging lists take time to sort!

Easy maintenance is good. We made the mistake, though I love our home, when we moved 8 years ago (aged 60& 63) of falling in love with a late Victorian property. It is a lovely house but realistically we should have gone for something lower /easier maintenance and not so heavy on the heating, though we have done what we can to insulate and draught proof! Also the staircase is quite steep.. we can both manage it now but I am aware that a more gentle incline might prove easier in the future.

Access to transport & amenities we did get right! So easy for shops/post office , doctor etc etc. Also close to trains & access to main roads so we can get out and about easily and friends /family can get to visit easily.

Good luck!