Let’s talk house moves with Pegasus Life - £300 voucher to be won

I just wish, in my ideal world, that older people would join together in cooperatives, to jointly buy, and share expenses in suitable groups of flats/complexes, but with their own accommodation.

This would cut out the eye watering costs that companies who build and run such places charge.

I know there have been some women only such cooperative living schemes, but I haven't heard of many.

I dread the thought of moving because I'll have to declutter and get rid of so many things. I know I need to, but it's not very easy. I try and do a wardrobe once in a while, but I'm not very good at it.
Another reason for wanting to stay in my home is, that we have excellent neighbours and would hate to leave the area which is close to amenities and transport.

I am most put off moving by the thought of clearing all the accumulated clutter from my garage and loft, it would inevitably be a move to somewhere smaller and lots would have to go!

Have you ever put off moving because it seemed too difficult? ....As someone who has moved house more than a dozen times in my adult life, you would think I'd say No! However, at the age of 75, and after 9 years in my present home, I'm currently thinking of accepting my daughter's suggestion to move to her village, to be near her and my grandsons. Last time I moved house, I injured my back, carrying heavy boxes (books!!!) and it's the thought of all the stress.... of buying, selling, decluttering, moving, relocating to a new area etc that's giving me pause for thought. That said, I'm also looking forward to the end result: having moved!

What do you least look forward to about moving house?....
The hassle of getting the house 'viewer ready', dealing with viewings, being in a chain, having prospective buyers drop their offers at the last minute...

Does the thought of decluttering when moving house fill you with dread, or does it feel like an exciting new start? ....That doesn't bother me. I'm not a possessions sort of person and it feels quite liberating to shed 'stuff'.

What would make you consider moving house in the future? ...As above, to be close to family.

Perhaps you have tips for moving house that you’d like to share?...Frequent large G&Ts!...or relaxation /meditation...whatever works for you. That and asking for help/not trying to do everything yourself. And, this time round, I'd pay the extra for a removal firm that also packs as well as moves...and choose on the basis of personal recommendations....

Once that's all done, I'd take some time to relax before 'getting sorted' in my new home....

Davida1968 frim reading various posts I know you are right. I guess if DH were agreeable I would try hard to ignore our AC.

I am in the process of emptying my second home, decluttering is not a problem as we have done it over a fairly long period.
I was dreading trying to house or get rid of a lot of furniture but in the last week the buyer has decided they would like to keep it. That is a big relief.
I am in quite a big house and hoping that I never have to downsize but who knows ? Circumstances do change.
Hints for moving house ? use a removals company and don't try and DIY.

I've lived in 15 houses over my lifetime, not bad considering we've lived at the same one now for 38 years! We looked at several bigger houses while our children were growing up and we were bursting at the seams. DH's dread of living on or too near to a main road was what did for most of them. We very nearly took the plunge once, but the sellers were just too honest, and told us that the drainage in the lovely back garden was so bad that we wouldn't be able to use it most of the year. We stayed put....but at least we're now in the happy position of not having to downsize.

It would probably do us good to have to declutter though. We have far too much stuff. I always thought we'd deal with it as soon as we retired, but we've no more time now than we had when we were working. The New Year Resolution for 2020 perhaps?!

I am currently trying to decide whether to sell the house and downsize, as it's really too big for the two of us, with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. But it's in an ideal position for us, as regards shops, bus stop, doctor's, etc and we've been here over 30 years. Have decided to market it to see what happens, but may yet decide not to sell unless we get a very good offer. Moving would cost money and be a lot of stress, and decluttering! Not sure which way to go.

We were under pressure to move to the area our three sons live with their families. Two of my daughters in law encouraged their parents to sell up and move closer; in one instance their parents moved from Newcastle to Hertfordshire. We tried. We really tried. We live in a 3 storey town house. It's a lot of stairs. It badly needed renovating but we felt that was reflected in the asking price. But people have no imagination. It took us two years to find a buyer. She was a messer about, hard to contact by phone, email or text or by the estate agent or solicitor. We didn't start looking until we had a buyer. Not surprised to find what we could afford in the children's area wasnt very nice. Boxes. Main roads. Poky ... couldn't imagine living in any of them. Granddaughter said: you are the missing part of the jigsaw puzzle. Redoubled efforts. Fell out with solicitor who refused to deal with my husband only me. Finally finally found a house with potential but in the area we live in. Smaller, needed a lot of work doing to it, but in a lovely road. Day we were meant to exchange, our buyer ... the invisible woman dropped out "for personal reasons" ... I'd been trying to get our solicitor.. new one in the same firm ..the one we had been allocated having left without anyone informing us.... to get answers from her ... she was too busy to get back to me until 3 days later after pressure from the estate agent we were buying through intensified on me with daily phone calls as to what was happening... disheartened.. we were also in the process of trying to adopt a dog ...we decided to stay and do up the house ourselves to drag it into this century and to stay. It's too big, too many bathrooms to clean but it looks stunning now very modern and I guess if we must, we can always put in a lift or stair lift if it comes to it. We love the area. He has a lounge, I have a lounge, we have a study each and I feel we dont see the children and grandchildren any more or any less than if we had moved to the busy area full of traffic where they live. It is what it is, for now. Maybe if one of us passes we'll try again but it was a depressing expensive waste of energy time resources money and peace of mind. Financially it might have made sense, but it wasnt meant to be for us at that time.

The last time we moved, 7 years ago, I told my husband that he would be burying me in the garden here, I would never move again!

The whole buying/selling/legal process is fraught and left me very anxious and having to de-clutter and pack was a nightmare. Can't see any reason why I would ever want to go through it again!

I am trying to declutter now for moving in approx 1-2 years time, we hope!!
The thought of it all makes me feel quite ill so I have a frame of mind now - only buy something if I really need it before we move, will I need that in the new place or can it go now?
We are planning tomove as we wish to downsize after children and move out of London suburbs.

The only time I've enjoyed moving was when I had very few belongings. Packing and deciding what to keep or get rid of is awful and physically hard.

Having been in the same house for 32 years I finally moved this year - twice. First to move in to my partner's house and then to the one we have purchased together. We don't intend moving for a while, but we are aware that at some stage we will probably want to. When we do it is quite likely that a Pegasus apartment or something similar is what we will look for.
Those moves are fresh in my mind and the first was particularly easy as there was no purchase involved, although there was a huge amount of de-cluttering!
The second was fraught with anxiety as our purchasers weren't quite truthful about their situation and tried to get a reduction in price at the last moment. The whole process makes it too easy for people to pull out and makes the whole thing extremely stressful.
We used online conveyancers and they were brilliant - they seem set up to get things done quickly and kept us really well informed. We also used online estate agents, two different ones - with one being much better than the other. I think it very much depends on the individual agent who is assigned to you - my advice there would be to meet with a few different ones and see how you feel about them.

I would not want to move at all.
I have decluttered years ago after my mum died.
So when I die my son will not have that to do.
My home is set up in such away that it will be easy to carry on living here with help if necessary.
The thought of apartments sounds nice but not for me.
My neighbours are brilliant and my friends are also near by and we are here for each other in good times and bad.

I would dearly love to move house but the expense and the prolonged uncertainty over selling and whether a purchase will go through is offputting. My son has just purchased a house in Scotland and the system is so much better there. Having access to the Home Report for each property prior to purchase makes a huge difference and also speeds up the process.

I started looking for a new house earlier this year but could not see any I liked and I did think what if I move and don't like the area or my neighbours are very nosy or worst so I decided to have knock a wall down to make my kitchen bigger so my new kitchen is getting installed beginning of next month, I think the better the devil you know.

I am very sentimental about items and would find it very hard to declutter and up sticks and move. I will put it off for as long as possible.

We have lived in a beautiful remote area for thirty years and hoped to stay for quite a few more . However after my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer which has spread to his bones , we realised that nurses and indeed ourselves , would find it difficult in bad weather. Reluctantly we have decided to move , but remembering the problems of long ago moves , know this time will be much more difficult and dread it. We are so sad .

I am lonely but scared to move in case I don’t get on with the new neighbours.

Wow this bring back old memories when we bought & moved in our actual house 18 years ago, that was when all the excitement, rushing & decluttering happened once for all. Now after all these years we are so used to this area with our family, this is where we belong where our heart is, home sweet home.

I'm thinking of moving but. the whole process of selling my house, finding a new one where I want to live, then the packing up and moving, not to mention the legal paperwork, is just so daunting. If someone was to offer to do the whole thing for me at a reasonable cost (a bit like a wedding planner) then I would hand over to them quite happily. As it is I know it's going to take me much longer than necessary because I just keep stopping and starting.

IT can be daunting trisher but if you really want to move why don't you ask someone to give you a hand with the practicalities? It can be fun looking at agents sites, after drawing up your list of essential requirements, but be prepared to compromise a bit. Life's too short to look back and wish you'd acted....

I have known a few people who have moved to elderly developments, and one a plush retirement village. All have had something in common........very expensive monthly charges, not forgetting ground rent. It pays to go into it with eyes wide open!

Thanks Greeneyedgirl I think I would really rather not move so maybe that's why I'm doing it so badly . But I am getting older and the house is too big so it has to be done. I know about the costs. There are some flats near me and the residents pay a fortune for a tiny weeny space. I don't want something like that.

My mum left it to late. She got progressively worse with arthritis, had hip replaced, was on morphia for pain, fell out of stair lift at top of stairs and has not walked since. She now has a bed in lounge and has carers four times a day and totally dependant.

This could have been avoided if she'd moved into suitable accommodation after my dad died but she refused. She is 95

Problem is, none of us think we will become decrepit!

A year ago, just months after my husband died, I was offered a house to rent and had to sign for it the same day. I moved myself as I had no one to help and just took everything. It was many trips in a hired van but it's the best thing I've done in years. If you are thinking of moving, de-clutter now or you'll be transporting things you don't need or want and having to find where to dispose of them in your new surroundings. Moving is nothing to worry about and actually very liberating to start afresh when you are over 60 and think life may be coming to a close.