Getting the last home

Not just a stairlift but a lift. My friend installed one it’s amazing. It’s a cylindrical and goes through the ceiling.

We downsized to a bungalow when I left work at 65, then the children produced 5 grandchildren for us. It was a squash to accommodate them so we upsized when I was 74, DH was 76. He died 2 years later and now I live in a house too big for me. But I like it. I have made the garden virtually maintenance free and have a gardener once a month.
I think my point is that you never know what’s going to happen. Once you’ve been through the ‘what if’s’ and discarded the ridiculous and the impossible, you just have to make a leap of faith, then never look back and wish you’d done it differently.

We’ve just moved to a bungalow (from a 4 bed). They are expensive in comparison. Ours looks move in ready however we’re going to end up spending many ££££ to manage the bodge ups so my advice would be buy a small bungalow. Many are well maintained just old fashioned. Smaller is doable - getting rid of stuff is quite liberating once you get your head round it & there are lots of options for working from a spare room. Also…don’t delay. I wish we’d moved before DH was over 70 🫣 Get a retirement mortgage if you need to to do it up. It’ll be your taste. I love the ‘bungalowness’ of this & I think you’d struggle to go back to a house. And think of sitting in the garden🌝🍷

I agree not to buy a flat, it's brilliant if the others on the block are nice people and we loved our flat but we recently moved after the neighbour from hell moved in. I won't elaborate but I've never experienced anything like it!
We moved from there, a large ground floor space, to a 4 story terraced house of a similar size but many more rooms. We couldn't find anything more suitable in the area we wanted. It's fine as we're currently fit and well and forgetting which floor I left something is keeping me fit. It's likely to become a real problem if one or both of us loses the capacity to climb stairs - lots of short flights and turns so unsuitable for a stair lift. However, a two story house where there's a place for a small proper lift, not a stairlift, that has space for a wheelchair, would work and may be what we look for in our next move. We're still considering a self build eco house but have never actually found a suitable plot, don't want to move too far from friends and good hospital and medical services. Good luck with whatever you decide, sometimes having choices can make decisions even harder to make!

We're on the other side of this coin - my father-in-law died in 2020 and we're trying to sell his bungalow in Oxfordshire.
The feedback we're getting is that as a three bedroom it's too big for many people wanting to downsize.

I think that's weird Krispii, since stopping work we feel we need more space rather than less 😂

A long way upthread you mentioned that you ruled out looking in Crawley because it is under Gatwick flight path - I lived there for many years, and can assure you that most of it isn't!!

We've recently moved from Milton Keynes to Boston Lincolnshire. This bungalow is about the same square footage as the 3 bed house we've left. A similar in the MK area would have been in excess of £400k, this was £250k. Smaller garden, but included a large chalet style building in the garden suitable as an office (or craft room 😉)
Look at other areas if you can.

Wenmore

Buy a house and if needs be a stair lift or a bedroom/potential bedroom/en suite downstairs. We live in a 3 storey townhouse and we will never move, we have the potential to live on the ground floor.

I second this option.

We have this possiblity in the house we bought in 2015, and it now seems sadly likely that we will need to consider either the stair- lift or a downstairs bedroom soon now.

If at all possible, do not buy a property that will be so expensive to live in that whoever of you survives the other cannot afford to continue to live there on one pension.

We are coming to terms with the fact that my husband's life expectancy, due to cancer, is far less than we supposed when we moved here, and he mentioned spontaneously yesterday that it is a great consolation to him to know that I will not be forced to sell immediately upon his death, but can live here if I want to on my own, or leave selling up until I am over the first period of sorrow.

I’ve just downsized from a 3 bedroom house to a bungalow took me 3yrs to find my home and it’s best thing I’ve done I’m nearly 60 and it really took it out on me. It took few months to get it ready for me moving into. I’ve been in 4 weeks now and I’ve just got the garden to do. But I’ve got a beautiful sea view My oldest bought a bungalow just before lockdown they have had a room put in the attic garage was a double so half turned into a washer fridge room dil didn’t want them in the kitchen and they have an office at the bottom so the garden. I looked at loads until I found the wrong correct for me. Bungalow are becoming very rare unfortunately.

Ask about Equity release. We chose it. We have no kids but just be careful if you have

Another option would be to have a domestic lift installed.
They cost about £15k, but could be worth it!

Good idea

I’d read that nowadays, stair lifts could be made suitable to be installed in almost any ‘ situation ‘, so thought that would be okay when DH’s condition worsened. However, in the end, we did move to a bungalow. Latterly, when his mobility became greatly decreased, I realised that I would have had great difficulty in moving him, as, to get him on to the seat of a stairlift, I’d first have to get him out of the wheelchair, then, once upstairs, I’d then have to get him back into a wheelchair
( a second one ). I realise now that I’d never have managed that. The new build bungalow had a ramp at the front door and wide hall and doorways.

You are looking to move from a flat to a bungalow less than 10 years before you retire. It will be expensive to move, expensive to decorate, to commute, to heat in winter... Maybe try and find a first floor flat with lift in same area. Good luck. And retire ASAP.

Totally left field thought- what about moving a long way further north (there’s life up there too 🤣) somewhere on the LNER line, which is fairly reliable and fast into King’s Cross (3 hours average from as far away as Newcastle for example) which could be doable occasionally.
Cheaper housing, more land, less mortgage???

RTFT

Hi. I renovate houses for a living and looking to downsize as our house and gardens too large. I would think keep looking for a bungalow and take your time finding it. I know there are lots of bungalows in Surrey but yes epsom area has very few. Lots in East / west Horsley village plus many in Great Bookham and Fetcham village which not too far from Epsom. Also Ewell village near Epsom has bungalows but they are pricey as nearer london in south - east . A good surveyor and good builder should be able to make a nice home. I guess depends on how much you want spend and if you need leave money to anyone,? if not then maybe the interest only mortgage a good option. I m struggling to find a house to downsize but I would want an upstairs and then I’d consider a lift if needed in future. Good luck not sure if above helps! Other area to consider is further out so maybe towards Crawley as much less expensive there.

Good idea, Dizzyribs! If travel into London is occasional, consider moving to an area where property is cheaper, unless you have family ties where you are.

OP has explained elsewhere why she and her husband must stay in the Epsom area.

We've downsized to a maisonette and love it, but our neighbours are great - we knew the estate before we moved here. If necessary we will install either a proper lift or a stairlift. We particularly wanted to live in this area, near most of our family, and know there are absolutely no bungalows here.
We would have been happy to buy a small house with enough room to live on the ground floor when we're infirm, perhaps with a new room in the garden for more space.
Not all flats are a nightmare. We have a share of the freehold here and the on-site management and security staff are quick to deal with antisocial behaviour of any type.

RUSBUN have you thought of a housing estate for over 55’s? We had a beautiful bungalow in East Sussex which we stupidly sold after 20 years because we wanted a change of scenery (really needed a holiday after family problems but thought at the time we wanted to move!) Bitterly regret it but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Moved out of East Sussex and after 2 years didn’t like where we moved so wanted another bungalow. Couldn’t find what we were looking for but long story short ended up in West Sussex in a house for over 55’s. I wasn’t keen to begin with as husband is 8 years older than me. I was 63 when we moved here and was concerned that it would feel like a ‘nursing home’ to early for me but it has pleasantly surprised us, not only was cheaper but we are in a prime spot for the village and all amenities, doctors, bus stop etc. we are freehold so there is no monthly charge but the flats on our little corner are leasehold. We have our own private garden and parking spot. Have you thought of Steyning, Storrington, Lingfield, Chiltington or Billingshurst, where there are some of the 2/3 bed houses for over 50’s and direct train to London. There are some over 55 bungalows in 3 of the above villages to my knowledge albeit fairly small. As we found our house during Covid and am still doing it up, if I need a stair lift here I’ll have one fitted but eventually I will probably move into a flat as long as it’s got a balcony.
By the way (light bulb moment) Christs Hospital have some beautiful bungalows and houses for over 50’s also some normal properties as our son rents a home there.

Fleurpepper

Friends sold a lovely 4 bed detached home with great private garden, in top condition, in the Midlands- to move nearer their ACs north of London- could just about buy a 2 bed bungalow.

Wonder if it would be cheaper to buy 'normal house' but with space for 1 bedroom and 1 suitable shower-room WC downstairs, and forget about the upstairs!

Yes, we thought about a chalet bungalow with two bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs, it would work. But have not seen one that is not dilapidated and big enough downstairs.

Design100

Hi. I renovate houses for a living and looking to downsize as our house and gardens too large. I would think keep looking for a bungalow and take your time finding it. I know there are lots of bungalows in Surrey but yes epsom area has very few. Lots in East / west Horsley village plus many in Great Bookham and Fetcham village which not too far from Epsom. Also Ewell village near Epsom has bungalows but they are pricey as nearer london in south - east . A good surveyor and good builder should be able to make a nice home. I guess depends on how much you want spend and if you need leave money to anyone,? if not then maybe the interest only mortgage a good option. I m struggling to find a house to downsize but I would want an upstairs and then I’d consider a lift if needed in future. Good luck not sure if above helps! Other area to consider is further out so maybe towards Crawley as much less expensive there.

We are thinking along the same lines and looking in the villages you mentioned. And yes, Ewell is much closer but pricey. We are not looking in Crawley despite it being affordable as it is on the Gatwick flight path. We used to rent in south Reigate over a decade ago, and even there it was so bad, we moved within a month.

Jess20

I think that's weird Krispii, since stopping work we feel we need more space rather than less 😂

Agree, there is never enough space and we could always do with one more room.