Getting the last home

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???

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.

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.

Good idea

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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

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 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’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🌝🍷

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.

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

Is. Sorry for the lengthy rant 🤣

We are in a similar position, in our 70s although both fit at the moment. Our house is for sale.
DH is keen to move but I’m not. Going along with it for an easy life as can’t live w him when he’s unhappy.
DH keen on bungalow mainly from what I can gather so he doesn’t have to clean upstairs windows. Have suggested a window cleaner but he says they don’t clean them properly. Do you see what I’m up against ?
My thoughts are that
a) Bungalows don’t have stairs and landing that need painting.
b) More like to have a larger plot /garden.
c) Tend to be expensive or in dire need of modernisation.
My conclusion is to buy a house and get a stairlift when we need it!

A new build house might be the answer as they are now built to specifications to allow the disabled to live there, especially if you need a stair lift in later years.

Do wonder why some of flats seem to have so many undesirable neighbours, whilst others ( like where I live) have none.
There are 25 flats in my block (23 are 2 bedroomed, 2 with 3 bedrooms). Although no age limits on who lives here, all (but one) are well into their retirement years ranging up to a hundred yeard old.

We have no communal garden, but are five minutes away from a gorgeous park kept by volunteers. All (but one) are owner occupied. We run our own voluntary Committee. Everyone gets on with everyone else extremely well. Some friendly enough to go on holiday with their neighbours, others, more private, but no problems. If a problem does come up, it is quickly sorted out by that Committee, but they ae very rare to occur.

On the flip side, we all care about each other. Someone not too well, no problem about getting shopping done for them or prescriptions collected, etc. etc.

Prior to living here, I was, for sixteen years in a small cul-de-sac in a house, did know my two immediate neghbours, but not the rest. Here, in no time at all, I got to know the people in all the other 24 flats. A flat on the market and empty required its boiler to have a service, No problem for the probate owner needing to travel many miles to be here for that - request to committee and one of us opened up the flat for BG Engineer, sat until they had done their work, and then locked it up again.

Last year a fairly new flat owner here put up (on their balcony) exactly the type of awning I had been looking for to have on my quite large patio balcony. They invited me in to have a close look, gave me all the details as to where to buy it, etc. And, when I thanked them, but said I would not follow through as it needed to be self-assembled, the gentleman there immediately offered to do it for me. An offer I accepted with gratitude.

So, I honestly do not understand what people mean about problems with neighbours in flats.

nandad

We live in a desirable village for families and with easy commuting into London. Our house has 4 bedrooms and now our son has moved out we would love to downsize but the properties in the village and our nearest towns are sold at premium prices. Bungalows sell within days of going on the market and are then redeveloped into two or three storey homes. We now view this house as our final home. Should my husband die before me I know I can never look after the house and garden without help but I don’t know where I could move to that gives me the privacy and independence that I need.

It is disgraceful of the planning officers to allow to convert bungalows into multi-storey houses given the shortage of bungalows. You have just demonstrated how it slows down the housing market flow. They expect retirees just move into flats, which a lot of them find traumatic. Then they find themselves restricted to the walls of their flat, beyond which they are not allowed to do anything. I have watched exactly those neighbours in our block, all in their 70-s and 80-s struggling with the new way of living and with understanding why they just can't change the communal garden how they want it - some want more seclusion, others want to cut the trees to let more sun in, and everybody wants something else that others don't like. Not to mention declining eyesight and parking abilities together with damaged vehicles. What a nightmare!

We live in a desirable village for families and with easy commuting into London. Our house has 4 bedrooms and now our son has moved out we would love to downsize but the properties in the village and our nearest towns are sold at premium prices. Bungalows sell within days of going on the market and are then redeveloped into two or three storey homes. We now view this house as our final home. Should my husband die before me I know I can never look after the house and garden without help but I don’t know where I could move to that gives me the privacy and independence that I need.

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!

It crossed our mind. But we need 2 bedrooms downstairs, so keeping an eye on a chalet bungalow that might have that. An office upstairs would be a bonus

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!

CanadianGran

Have you considered a park home? I see there are some in that area. They don't tend to rise in value like other real estate, but it could suit your needs.

Yes, we have. But you need to pay cash in full, they are not mortgageable - which is achievable on the cheaper ones. BUT they are small, no garage, you can't erect a shed for DH tools, there is no garden and they are packed very tightly. Also, they depreciate with time as you don't own the land for which you pay land rent. It will suit someone on a tight budget or with limited options I suppose