Want to move house but ....

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A huge undertaking for you NonGrannyMoll, but obviously one you need to deal with now, by firstly contacting reputable local estate agents to get your house valued. So much sound advice offered by other GNs, which you would be wise to follow. I do hope your DH comes around to your desire to make a move very soon. Sending you a hug and very best wishes. 💐🤞

This is a very interesting topic, in fact, it caught my eye as I was looking at this forum to see if my company would be helpful to some of the members.
Forgive the shameless plug, but I run a nationwide company called The Senior Move Partnership. It commenced in 2012 and specifically focusses on providing Relocation support to the Older Adult moving, this can be from Downsizing (or Rightsizing as the US market refer's to), liaising with charities, auction houses and House Clearance companies to help recycle the items within your home that you do not wish to take or unable to take, we do 3D floorplans, Change of Address admin, Part Exchange Finance, Utility Switch, Providing Removal services from our national panel, and then help with the unpacking in to cupboards, drawers, shelves , make beds and so on.

Our solution is tailored, some would say Concierge style moving solution that helps the client as much or as little as they want.

www.moveseniors.co.uk

Again, my apologies for the shameless plug, but given the context of this Topic, I felt I just needed to subscribe, add my thoughts and information to you.

Additionally, I hope to learn more various posts within this platform that may help my company to add to our solution gathering.

I hope that this post might be of some help.

I feel for you as it’s almost too late now for us. We are in a bungalow but they are being bought up and turned into large two storey houses. We have someone to cut hedges,mow lawn and a cleaner . The garden is too big for DH to manage and he has recently acquired more health problems . I’ve had to take over the driving and I hate it but biting the bullet. I’ve books galore and hate parting with them but when I do DH protests every one. He will carry on here ignoring the problems. I read. The elderly parents in mumsnet to bolster my courage but I feel for some of those poor young women . I am determined that won’t happen to my daughters.

I still think your first step is to contact an estate agent

Yes, good idea, get a valuation from more than one estate agent as well.

We're still here because Himself dug his heels in; admittedly it's in a lovely position and the neighbours are great, but if I was left on my own, or DH was for that matter, it would simply be too much to manage.

Firstly, can you face having a good declutter?
Then employ someone to decorate all through if possible, to freshen it all up; get carpets cleaned if necessary, etc. Give it kerb appeal by making sure the front is well presented. I'd do this over the next few months if possible, then put it on the market in the Spring. This time of year is not good for house selling.

Dear NonGrannyMoll…Try not to be too daunted by some of the in depth replies. I still think your first step is to contact an estate agent and take their advice on the way forward. Don’t forget, they’re in it to win it too so it will be in their best interest to offer you some good advice. You don’t have to act upon a decision immediately but just by sharing your concerns you’ll feel less like that rabbit caught in the headlights…I thought when I walked away from the house I shared with husband for 20 years I would feel great sadness, but I’ve brought my memories with me here in my new, much smaller, house and feel so relieved. I hope you find the same happiness…Please let us know..

I am looking at a similar problem and did think of selling up and then renting as I am in my 80s and would be happier with that. However on researching this option I have discovered that it is not as easy as I thought. Unless you have enough coming in on a regular basis to cover the rent you are pretty well stuffed. They wont take into account the fact that you might have all the money from your house sale sitting in your back. It has to be regular income.. Only bet is to find someone who will rent to you privately and thats not so easy either when you’re elderly.

I defo echo having a good solicitor act for you. My own experience was that I chose a well-recommended firm of solicitors and it was a solicitor I got the first time I bought a house and he did a good job on what was a rather complicated process for me personally (ie my starter house in the 1980s).

When I came to sell that house and buy my current one (ie in the 2010's) I used that same firm of solicitors. I knew that, over the years, they'd gone from big to massive (we're talking a huge great building - not 2 or 3 solicitors in a standard size house!). I didn't realise that that and the fact I was astonished to be being quoted not that dissimilar a price to what I'd paid 30 years beforehand would mean a compromise had been made by the firm. That compromise was that it was a legal executive (rather than a solicitor) that got allocated my case - and she wasn't very good (eg it would have helped a lot if she'd said more about the boundaries than "The boundaries don't seem very clear" - instead of which there's been fighting about boundaries for years after I moved in). In hindsight - I would have swopped to a more "standard" size etc firm of solicitors - rather than "super-duper/huge/international" - as my first firm had become. There's room for the "super-dupers" if you're trying to put the frighteners on your opponent in a case - but they aren't the people you need for a house purchase.

If your plan to move works, it’s worth having a good solicitor act for you. The whole process can seem daunting and it helps to find an experienced lawyer to navigate the process. Chains can break down at the last minute and some young people have sold, then rented before buying again. It seems more straightforward in Scotland. It’s difficult to buy and sell whatever your age group, if that’s any consolation. Good luck.

Yes, don’t worry about renovating your home. We recently sold my mum’s house which hadn’t been touched for decades and needed loads of work and it sold immediately.
There are companies who can do all the packing for you and who can get rid of stuff you no longer need.
As for your husband, I’d start looking at properties online and gently trying to encourage him.

1. You need to make some decision as to WHERE you wish to move to. Also, start to de-clutter
2. Check that area on RIGHTMOVE on your computer/laptop for the type of and prices of smaller properties. I would strongly recommend a flat, yes, there will be regular service charges, but living on a single level, has so many advantages.
3. Check on Rightmove for your present area as to prices for houses similar to yours.
4. Continue to de-clutter. #
5. Get three local estate agents to come to give an honest price they would hope to get for your house. Then take off 10% from their suggestions.
6. De=clutter
7. Might be worth your while to get someone in just to do some painting to brighten up your present home.
8. After more -de-cluttering, just ensure your home is clean, and neat and put on market. Allow a goodly time, and see what sort of offers you receive. You may need to reduce the price at least once after about three months.
9. Start looking at the sort of places you will be happy to move into. If possible you need to ensure that the sale of your present property will cover the purchase price for that, plus estate agent fees and solicitor fees and removal costs.

10. Removal companies for an extra payment will do all the packing for you, which is a very big job and well worthwhile paying for.

Beware of companies like 'buyanyhouse' - they will only offer about 80% of what it is being advertised for, and then will knock off more when they actually come for their survey. If this is enough for you to purchase somewhere else and cover all moving costs, then it could be considered.

Do not forget to continue the de-cluttering.
u may be entitled to some extra financial support.

Do you both receive the full Pension? If not you may be entitled to Pension Credit? The value of any property you own is NOT taken into consideration, just your income and savings.

If either or both of you have serious on-going health problems you may be entitled to Attendance Allowance.

Go for it.......worthwhile in the long run. I was 79 years old and by myself at my last move, 150 miles away. Best decision I have made.

NonGrannyMoll - please think carefully before you decide to move. There is a sad story here on GN. regarding house move. I won’t say anymore. I don’t know whether I am breaking GN rules. If so, i’m sure GNHQ will delete this

Hi, it sounds like persuading you husband is the more difficult yet important part and if you get that done, the rest will follow more easily. I'd suggest to do sooner than later as we are all getting on and moving home is a big job for one reason, I'm sure you know the others. Oh, and don't do the improvement work, just drop your price - as others have said, the new owners will 'do their own thing' and you may be wasting your money/energy going that route. If you're buying a smaller property it should work out fine. Good luck.

Just a very brief comment.
Please do take the advice of other posters and don’t make any changes to your property. 2 years ago my neighbours moved and the couple who bought the house (which had been extensively renovated by the previous owners) changed absolutely everything. I watched from my window as the bathroom suite went into a skip. It was less than a year old.
About your DH. Maybe he feels anxious and vulnerable about moving. Not necessarily helpful but understandable.

1. Agree re paying removal firm to do packing (though, in my case, I'd add the corollary that it was a 2-storey house I moved from and one was packing upstairs, the other was packing downstairs and hindsight revealed Mr Upstairs was deliberately keeping me chatting so that Mr Downstairs had the chance to steal anything they wanted (ie alcohol).
2. Definitely don't change anything basic on current house - like a kitchen or bathroom. With my last house it was the case that the flatpack kitchen I'd put in there had reached the end of its life (ie 25 years) and the estate agent advised me not to change it (even though it obviously needed changing). Cue for the person who bought my house sold it on again about 2 years later - and the photos revealed she had changed both kitchen and bathroom.
3. I was shocked to find that estate agents where I live now don't seem to expect to do viewings on houses here! I kept being shown round by the vendor themselves! So do check the position re any estate agent you use (ie where I'm from = of course the estate agent does their own viewings and I would even deliberately head off to a nice cafe literally up the road whilst one of them did so - and then they'd ring me and tell me how the viewing went). Can't complain about the EA - as they told me who the buyer would be as soon as she'd viewed my old house the first time and went on to give a rundown of what she'd said and what her body language was like (they'd realised she wanted it just from the way she was looking at something and told me not to worry when she hadn't put a bid in still by several days later and repeated what her body language had told them). She had been "read" !Followed by there was a bidding war between her and a couple that wanted to add to their renting portfolio - and she won and got the house.
4. Obviously study RightMove website carefully for both locations - present and future. My last house was pretty standard (2 bedroom Victorian terrace starter house) and I was able to figure out the price it should be myself pretty much to the £ and also knew exactly how long it would take to sell (ie I got it wrong by only one day - I said it would be "3 months" and it was "3 months minus one day" that both would-be buyers offered). I would say that a wantable house in both areas I know sells in about 3 months - as buyers rush for the better condition ones in an area with a fair bit of choice (my last area) or "sit on their hands and deliberately wait it out" for worse condition ones in my current area and try to buy them on the "local unofficial under-the-counter market" that exists in this area in conjunction with the official market. The way to find out if there is a "local unofficial sales route" as well as the standard one in an area would be to study the market for some months (so you know what houses are officially for sale in the normal way) and also check out the record of house sales for the last few months (on a side-heading on RightMove website). If you find out that you don't recognise some houses that have been sold - as they were never on the market publicly = there is an "unofficial under the counter local" house-selling market running in conjunction with those sold in the normal way.
5. A house with a noticeable "problem" will take longer to sell - unless you're very lucky. I would say "time is of the essence" at your age and to try not to hang around if you can help it when getting it on the market. By now I can also work out how long houses will take to sell in the area I now live in - this being an area where houses take longer to sell. That is because their average condition here is more old-fashioned and worse than the area I've come from - hence every nicely modernised house here sells pretty quickly except one (the reason for that being they've nicked part of someone elses' garden - and it's a retaining wall that obviously needs expensive rebuilding). I know because I'm the "someone" that had it nicked off me. That house is taking a long time to sell because of that.....so buyers will know if there is a "problem".
6. The older one gets = the less inclined you are, it seems, to do any renovation work that needs doing (eg I have been astonished to see on nearby houses that one person did absolutely nothing other than have one room redecorated and another doesnt even seem to have done that). I'm not sure I could handle renovating another house from top to bottom again - certainly not if it's in this area (ie with its unreliable workmen). There comes a point where you think "Ach...it will see me out as it is".

My apologies but I should have added that my heart goes out to you with regards to your dear husband. Maybe however, just by getting an estate agent through the front door to discuss options he might start to feel encouraged by the future plans. I agree with Drina01 comments about solicitors. Getting a friendly local one helped me. We all need as many people as possible to hold our hand at these life changing times..Again, I’m wishing you all the very best…x

I would sell before a food occurs or it falls into complete disrepair. Moving is very stressful, but better to do it now than wait until one of you is too ill to move.
I'm in a similar position but am living alone. I have been conned by builders so many times that I became afraid to have anyone in the house and now my house needs everything fixing. I do really feel for you and am sure things will work out for you in the end.

I moved a year ago from a 3bed house to a one bed flat and have never regreted it. It was like a weight off my shoulders, no garden to worry about....I have a balcony with table and 2 chairs, hanging baskets and a few pots...... no large heating bills to worry about, no gardener to pay for, no cleaner either. I can cope with housework as all on one level now.
I really hope OP can persuade her DH to make the move she so desperately wants.

Everythingstopsfortea

I feel for you but you can do this!…Since 2020 I’d been trying to persuade my husband that we should downsize, he sadly passed away last year. I had no option but to start the process of moving. This included the clearance of six large garages. During this process I had to keep the house maintained plus two acres of garden. It was tough and I of course at the same time was grieving. I’m not looking for sympathy but what I’m saying is that it is doable. As others have suggested, dip that big toe in the water and call in the estate agents. Mine were brilliant and held my hand throughout and gave me details of local tradesman and clearance people etc who could assist me. The fear of the unknown can be overwhelming but once you get the ball rolling you won’t look back. I’m wishing you all the very best…

What a huge undertaking for you, you must be very proud of yourself. Our daughter-in-law has worked in estate agency for most of her working life and I can confirm that most estate agents will have a wealth of knowledge about reliable tradespeople, if ever we want something doing we always ask her if she knows of anybody and she usually does.

JennyCee

NotGrannyMoll. I think there are newbuild companies who would take your house in P/EX for a new one. We almost did this and my nephew is doing it now. Cant be 100Pct but i believe retirement properties do this. Maybe worth a look
Good Luck!!

The part exchange option is usually for when you want to move to a more expensive property, there are rules eg the house being part exchanged should be between 65% and 75% of the cost of the new property.

We are in our 70s both with health issues and have just moved to a new build. DH was so set against the move and it’s taken a while however it’s one of our better decisions. In our recent experience … do it while you have the energy .. be ruthless about getting rid ‘of stuff’ … have a removals company to pack as it’s not much more… choose an agent well as we found our original one was coming out ‘top’ in our area but was selling houses too cheap. With a second choice agent (an online one actually for only a fraction of their eye watering fee) we gained 45000 more - beware ! ..Choose a proper Solicitor not one of the faceless huge companies. … Don’t bother too much with major repairs just fix anything obvious and have a Company do a deep clean. People will change things themselves anyway. Our new build is lovely - everything works ! You do need an offer on yours though before you’re ‘proceedable’ on anything.
Good luck ! Maybe if you move downwards you could free up money to do ‘something’ your husband has always wanted to do ??? Maybe carrot and stick ?

I feel for you but you can do this!…Since 2020 I’d been trying to persuade my husband that we should downsize, he sadly passed away last year. I had no option but to start the process of moving. This included the clearance of six large garages. During this process I had to keep the house maintained plus two acres of garden. It was tough and I of course at the same time was grieving. I’m not looking for sympathy but what I’m saying is that it is doable. As others have suggested, dip that big toe in the water and call in the estate agents. Mine were brilliant and held my hand throughout and gave me details of local tradesman and clearance people etc who could assist me. The fear of the unknown can be overwhelming but once you get the ball rolling you won’t look back. I’m wishing you all the very best…

To correct, I meant the house is worth three quarters of what it was as a quarter has been knocked off not ‘worth a quarter of what it was’.

I sympathise OP - the whole thing is rather daunting. We live up north and had always planned on moving south to be near our only son and his wife when we retire. We had our house valued 5 years ago and felt confident we could buy another if we added our savings (given houses in our son’s area are so much more expensive). Over those 5 years 3 very large housing estates have been built around our rural village which have massively devalued our home. We have now retired, had the house valued again and are shocked to find it is worth a quarter of what it was 5 years ago as people apparently prefer new builds and there is now so much choice in the village and many houses on the market. In the meantime prices in the area we hoped to move to have doubled! We will struggle to afford anything there and are feeling trapped and hopeless! I spend hours on Rightmove every day hoping to find somewhere suitable - my husband feels it’s becoming an unhealthy obsession. Life is on hold as I don’t want to get involved in voluntary work etc here when we should be making a new life elsewhere. Any advice please anyone?