GNHQ have commented on this thread. Read here.
We have been looking for a bungalow in Surrey lately and got very frustrated with what we have observed being a trend.
Almost all of bungalows were built in the 1930-s and are quite small, typically around 65m2. They are in a really poor state and have not been updated for a few decades. Many show signs of utter neglect. Most of them have suspended floors, rising damp issues or damp and mould from leaky roofs and gutters. Doors and windows need changing, not to mention pink and avocado bathrooms and pine kitchens together with polystyrene tile ceilings. They have EPC of D or even E.
Whilst most of those faults and undesirable features are due to age, some are due to sheer neglect from the relatives of the elderly owners. We have seen plenty of probate properties still on the market a year later with dirty dishes still left in the stinking dishwasher, food left in the fridge and gone mouldy, kitchen units left dirty still full of contents.
The saddest one was a perfect in every sense bungalow, so well laid out and built, where the water butt leaked, stayed unnoticed for ages, created damp in the wall and eventually black mould took over the whole wall behind the built-in wardrobe. The doors were left open, and the mould spores disseminated all over the house, infecting every inch of surfaces, carpets and fabrics. This is how you get what is called a “sick building syndrome”. You will never get rid of that mould completely, the spores will make sure it comes back.
So on one hand, there is a real shortage of bungalows for the aging population, and on the other hand there are plenty of them but in such poor condition that nobody would buy them. Relatives overprice these bungalows in a hope to get a bigger inheritance, so the buildings sit empty for over a year getting musty, mouldy and accumulate problems – and depreciate to the point of becoming unsellable. Yet they do very little to make them sellable in the first place, like dealing with leaks and damp or at the very least giving these properties a good clean and empty the appliances.
It makes me so sad to watch some great houses going to waste instead of becoming cosy and loved homes. The only thing that could stop this madness would probably be the condition under which properties could be marketed – to be cleared, cleaned and issue free.
Some properties even got extended but we have seen so many extensions that were given little thought and resulted in convoluted layout, blocked light and fresh air and unusable or lost space.
Germanshepherdsmum
I don’t know what your definition of ’elderly’ is Whiff, but I doubt anyone else would say that 96 isn’t ‘elderly’ (or even, frankly, very old).
I know what Whiff means though. Some people are elderly at 65, some aren’t elderly at 96, if it’s their approach to life you’re talking about as opposed to the age they are - it’s all about attitude.
Germanshepherdsmum
I don’t know what your definition of ’elderly’ is Whiff, but I doubt anyone else would say that 96 isn’t ‘elderly’ (or even, frankly, very old).
I suppose if you're 110 then 96 is a spring chicken 😁
Our best doerupper was a a property above a shop, 3 floors.
It had been empty for 7 years where squatters had lived.
In this time the roof had collapsed in places letting in the rain.
In the previous 10 years to the above it had been used as offices.
In the 5 years we were there property prices went mad 😄
He is physically capable and is engaged with modern life but would still be classed as ‘very elderly’. Some people are positively old at 60 because they live in the past and refuse to change with the times.
Age is only a number. You can be fit at 80 as well as you can get mobility issues even when you are young. We are in our early 60-s but already showing signs of being incapacitated. I had to give up working a decade ago due to my poor health, hence we are still paying the mortgage. DH had lung cancer and part of his lung removed a year ago, he gets tired and out of breath going up the stairs.
It can happen to anyone. We are making the right decision to move to a bungalow sooner rather than later, whilst we still can deal with the move. We may not be able to move again or later on.
argymargy
You’re not making a general observation, Rusbun. You’re making a specific observation based on viewing a small number of bungalows in a particular county, built in a particular period. My experience is very different. Bungalows also fetch a premium, which is great in terms of my investment.
I made it clear that my observation was specific to the area. As others from my area have confirmed, there are very few bungalows south of London and they are of that age and condition. We have seen so many that I would not consider 200 to be a small number. Out of that number only 3 were built in a later era - hardly a coincidence.
RusBun:
'too much upheaval to live on a building site for a year whilst the house is being done'
Isn't that a little pessimistic? The bungalow I've just looked at has a massive garage - and tiny kitchen. It needs decorating, new bathroom and paving outside, too. Still, I do like the location and garden, so I'm focussed on the things that can't be changed.
I'm elderly but in good health. It's the dog that has trouble with stairs. I could live in the front rooms while the back is sorted out, then vice-versa. I could put up with the noise - but not the dust, so the hall would have to be blocked while it was being done. It doesn't seem impossible to me and I wouldn't want to rent somewhere in the meantime, that's OTT.
Alternatively you could move to a cheaper area where you could find what you’re looking for and your husband wouldn’t have to carry on working for ten years. Cheaper areas do not have to be unpleasant areas, far from it. I live in north Norfolk where a lot of people retire to and therefore there are a lot of perfectly nice modern bungalows and peace and quiet to be found well below the top of your budget depending on your choice of location. Other areas are much cheaper still as has already been said here. Unless your husband is desperate to carry on working of course. Is he, despite his illness?
My husband is not of pensionable age for another 4 years yet
So perhaps postpone a move until then unless he has a private pension?
Makes sense. Of course, we are in the age group of in-betweeners. Not young, not quite old. We can't wait to move because we already struggle with the stairs, we are on a 2nd floor without a lift. Fancy lugging your shopping upstairs and getting out of breath! With pain in the knees...
Germanshepherdsmum
So perhaps postpone a move until then unless he has a private pension?
How can you afford to retire if you still have a big mortgage to pay? I think it is hard to imagine for people outside SE that this could be the case, but this is what high property prices and expensive mortgages do. It is a different world here, everybody is stretched to the limits, including those in well paid professions, unless you are from the upper class. I used to live in Cheshire, had my own 3-bed semi and could comfortably pay a mortgage and bills on a single salary. But my DH was born in this area and does not want to move.
My OH is from Surrey- but we moved from London to the Midlands when we were first married. There is NO WAY we could ever move back to Surrey, and especially not back to a bungalow.
Ground floor flat perhaps?
In a really nice market town in the East Midlands, a two bed, two bath groundfloor flat would be about £215.000
A ground floor flat has just sold in out block for nearly 500K, which is cheap compared to the nearby Epsom 10 minutes away, where it would cost 600K. Don't want another flat anyway, I explained why in another thread.
Yes, I get a flat is not your dream. And that you wish to remain in Surrey.
But I think you have already found out this is not going to be easy to find, or to afford. For 500k you can get fabulous 3 bed, 2 bath houses in nice parts of the Midlands.
A typical bungalow purchaser is also old or incapacitated, and also has no energy or resources to do it up
I am not sure this is true. Yes, many bungalows are bought by people around retirement age, but usually they are downsizing, are still fit and well and immediately get stuck in and renovate it. My parents bought a bungalow when they retired and made all kinds of changes to it to make it just what they wanted - and continued to do so for the whole time they liveed there. After they died we sold it to another retiring couple, who immediately launched into putting their mark on it, replacing windows, refitting the kitchen.
There are also a significant number of younger families who like bungalows and are not going to turn them into chalet bungalows.
A typical bungalow purchaser is also old or incapacitated, and also has no energy or resources to do it up
😁
We lived in Essex (ie the SE) before retiring to Norfolk. We didn’t have a mortgage. Can you not find anything suitable that allows your husband to retire, as it seems you did many years ago?
Callistemon21
^A typical bungalow purchaser is also old or incapacitated, and also has no energy or resources to do it up^
😁
That’s me then! 🤣🤣
I bought a bungalow in my late 30s (very handy with a small child). I also lived in my parents’ bungalow between the ages of 2 and 19. They are by no means only for the incapacitated or elderly.
If we gindza bungalow we will buy first. Move in and then sell. Many older people can't handle buying and moving at the same time. Never mind having to refurbish while in it.
Perhaps I need through the whole thread more carefully but it seems to me there are separate issues.
Bungalows are regularly more expensive than “normal” houses because you have the same number of rooms you need a larger footprint.
Bungalows are more popular with the elderly than younger couples so they change hands less frequently leading to a relative shortage
Bungalows also, because they are popular with the elderly are, and I hate to admit this, but it’s true, often more dated in their interior, and are modernised less frequently (new kitchen or bathrooms) and because us oldies are often on limited pensions, regular maintenance is not always carried out as often as it might be.
I know there are exceptions to all of my generalisations.
Second, if properties in your desired area are too expensive there is no point in railing against eg bungalows and their condition - you have to compromise somewhere
Price, location, type of house, condition (a “doer upper?) If you can get two out of the four you are lucky!
Add in local amenities, communications, outlook and it gets even more complicated.
So if OP can’t find a bungalow in good condition in her desired area that suggests it either has to be a different area, a different type of house or a project.
If we find a bungalow!
Foxygloves
Perhaps I need through the whole thread more carefully but it seems to me there are separate issues.
Bungalows are regularly more expensive than “normal” houses because you have the same number of rooms you need a larger footprint.
Bungalows are more popular with the elderly than younger couples so they change hands less frequently leading to a relative shortage
Bungalows also, because they are popular with the elderly are, and I hate to admit this, but it’s true, often more dated in their interior, and are modernised less frequently (new kitchen or bathrooms) and because us oldies are often on limited pensions, regular maintenance is not always carried out as often as it might be.
I know there are exceptions to all of my generalisations.
Second, if properties in your desired area are too expensive there is no point in railing against eg bungalows and their condition - you have to compromise somewhere
Price, location, type of house, condition (a “doer upper?) If you can get two out of the four you are lucky!
Add in local amenities, communications, outlook and it gets even more complicated.
So if OP can’t find a bungalow in good condition in her desired area that suggests it either has to be a different area, a different type of house or a project.
Well done you!
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