Getting the last home

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.

Rusbun you have all my sympathy.

Chardy

A retirement flat in Epsom?
Failing that with family who started in that area, they moved out to Crawley, Dorking, East Grinstead etc, and commuted back. Epsom Downs is well placed for M25 junction

Thank you.
We are not ready for a retirement flat yet. And since living in a flat for the last 10 years we have had nothing but stress from the neighbours.
Crawley is cheap but under a flight path from Gatwick. We lived on a flightpath before.
Dorking has no bungalows to speak of.
East Grinstead is too far to commute, as DH sometimes has to work in London.
Hopeless!

Thank you Franbern, you so brilliantly described everything I suspect and fear. I also had the experience of being trapped upstairs when I had my bunions done on both feet and was unable to walk, also lived by myself. This is why I am trying to choose carefully. We are living in a flat now, and our experience really put us off going into another one. There is a lot of stress in communal living. Maybe 15 years later we will feel differently, who knows?

A retirement flat in Epsom?
Failing that with family who started in that area, they moved out to Crawley, Dorking, East Grinstead etc, and commuted back. Epsom Downs is well placed for M25 junction

I would add that our housing needs can change a great deal between early60's and early 80's.
I was 62 when I downsized from the family house, I was t hen living by myself and moved to an inner-terrace, 1930's house. Loved this house and over next few years had one big job carried out every year whilst I was working. When I moved in I actually told my AC I would be here until I left in a coffin. Even had extension into roof to provide bedroom space for visiting g.children. By the time I retired at age of 70 that house was everything I wanted it to be and I looked forward to living out the rest of my life happily there.
BUT....as the years rolled by, found my needs really changed and by the time I was 78 I would view the stairs each evening as if they were 'everest' A stair lift was NOT the answer, fine for getting me up and down - but not for taking larger items in either direction. The small garden which I had cherished became too much for me and I had to employ a gardener (not cheap). ANd on occasiins I did not feel well, I found that I felt very isolatd upstairs in my bedroom, not able to make myself anything to eat without going down stairs (*and if I stayed downstairs, missed my bed and nowhere to have a bath or shower.
I turned 78 whe I moved to aflat - found thiis absolutely brilliant. First floor, so often u,se the stgairs, but have lift if I am not feeling too good or have something bulky or heavy. Also such a feeling of security. My kitchen is directly opposite to my bedroom, so easy to make that vital cup of tea etc.
Even with this I noticed gthat my requirements changed from when I first started flat hunting (I was then 74) and only wanted a ground floor, garden flat. When I was looking some four years later, I most definiotely did not want an- really wanted the extra security of being a little higher.

Just saying that any move may not be to your final home.

How about
1) Downsize to a 2 bed bungalow
2) Use lump sum from modest pension and hire someone to do up say kitchen and bathroom
3) Buy a cheap well insulated garden office room for DH to use whenever he works from home.

Unfortunately bungalows in good repair and with everything done are very few and far between, Friends of ours are currently looking for exactly that due to mobility problems for the husband , they currently have a 4 bedroom house ( which is like a show home) on a estate that was built 20 years ago and would like a 2/3 bed bungalow and be mortgage free, they can not find anywhere half decent in their price range despite looking at 20/30 bungalows in the last 12 months. They all seem to need refurbishing, bathroom in various colours with tiles in patterns that will give you a migraine, 70s kitchens , ceilings with polystyrene tiles, you name they have seen it. I was lucky when we found ours most of those things had been done but 6 years on I do need to start replacing some carpets and updating if I don't want to be one of those people who move in and never touch it again because I don't have the energy of cash to do it.

I dont know your area at all.
And I may not be the best person to ask.

My opinion.
What Wenmore and Luckygirl13 say.

You said yourself
We prefer recently built due to the energy and repair costs

I would say
I dont know the cost of stairlifts.
I dont know about alternative accomodation ideas in your area.
I dont know if prices will fall. Nor the future mortgage finance costs.

I downsized a few years ago when I was your age. So glad I did it then.
Please don’t leave it much longer. You are young enough now to deal with the upheaval Your decision to move to a bungalow is the right one. I downsized to a smaller 4 bed house. I can easily manage the stairs now, but if needed, I will have a chairlift installed, although climbing stairs is a form of exercise. When I moved, I was helping out with the grandchildren on a regular basis, and needed the 4 bedrooms. But I chose a house with a small, easily managed garden.
I am really pleased with my decision. At times I feel the house is too big for one. On the other hand the costs involved in selling and buying again, will outweigh the costs in heating etc.
So, this will be my “last home”.

Rusbun my parents faced exactly the dilemma you face over 40 years ago;wanting to move, in their case from a big family home to a bungalow - in the Epsom area, only to find that because they are so few they command higher prices than they are worth.

In their case they ended moving away from the area to the Sussex coast where they were able to buy a good quality bungalow with a nice garden and lived there very happily for 25 years

Not much help for you, although moving elsewhere is another option.

We have an interest only mortgage, which we took out 2 years ago when we had an extension build. and when we sell, either to down size or go into care, the house will be sold, the mortgage will be repaid and what is left will be what is available for another house or to fund a place in care. It is quite straight forward and such a mortgage has no repercussions related to care.

The other thing to do is take out equity release. Here you borrow money against the value in your house, but instead of paying the interest on the loan, you let the interest mount up, compound interest and it is paid with the capital when the house is sold.

I have just noticed that you are both in your early 60s, so steer clear of equity release, mortgage interest unpaid and compounded over possibly 20 years or more could completely wipe out your capital, leaving nothing for your family to inherit.

My personal preference would be for a Retirement Interest Only Mortgage (RIO), which is what we have done, but you do need to think very carefully as to whether you can afford the interest rate. We have a 5 year fixed rate, but the cost of it could double when the 5 years expire, which we will be able to afford, but may sell before then.

I have mobility problems and was in a bungalow, but for various reasons I needed to move. I moved to a 3 bed semi new build and installed a stairlift.

I bought an older bungalow and did it up. I did downsize and had spare money to do so. The survey didn't flag up any issues and the kitchen and bathroom were in excellent condition and to my liking. I did it when I was 60 so not a young thing but not elderly. Just be careful what you buy.

I'd go for Option 2 and get most of the work done by other people. You could end up with something fabulous.

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.