Downsizing vs lodgers

[Geldhorn]

Following on from a thread re retirement properties, I'm wondering what to do. Have 4 bed house. DCs left home. We could downsize to smaller place but what would we do when DCs want to come home for weekend or if they have families?

Or we could stay in the old homestead but rent out rooms to other young peeps needing accomodation but would they be prepared to keep out of way when the family want to visit?

I'd hope that the second would work in some kind of way as I love my garden and would love to stay where I am but maybe "lodgers" expect a lot more these days.

Anyone cracked this?

Lodgers sounds far too much hassle. You're signing up to share your home with strangers.

Downsize. I can't think of anything worse than lodgers . You could go down to a 2 bed and get a decent sofa bed for family visits.

You can rent a room on a Monday to Friday basis which is quite common for students who go home every weekend.

Rent out the rooms on airbnb? Then total flexibility plus you will potentially make more money, depending where you live.

Air B&B def!!

Also if you are renting a room they have no rights. If things are not working out or for whatever reason you need your room back you can just have them gone with very short notice.

Have a look at what is realistically available to you in your area - by the time you factor in moving costs, will you come out with a fair bit of money ?
I presume you will still have at least one spare room, and then kids can sleep on the floor / bed settee / airbeds etc. If it came down to it, and everyone wanted to come at once, you'd have spare money to maybe put them up in a local B&B or Travel lodge.

You could have an allotment if you wanted - or just offer to do someone else's garden (do you want my address ?)

AirBnB is not really a goer for me. Firstly you have no idea who would walk through the door. Secondly you have to keep changing the sheets etc. Thirdly they are just holiday makers who are taking up a home space that would be better used to serve the local community (see the issues caused by AirBnB in Barcelona et al.)

I'd rather find a long term lodger who needs a home and who would be happy to live with oldsters.

I realise it could be hassle but on the other hand it could be a positive experience for all concerned. Surely there are younger people how need a place and we older people would enjoy their company.

I have looked at downsizing but most smaller places have no garden and this is actually what I would miss the most. I'm interested in the idea of looking after someone elses garden but then - would they like my planting plan? would they be happy for me to come and sit in it of an evening? (probably not)

Depending where you are, a Mon-Fri lodger is possible. My brother had this arrangement in a town where he worked. As it was a new job, he needed to be there daily, so lodged locally and returned home at weekends. Now he mostly works from home. He could cook in the kitchen and had a cupboard there for his food and things, but only had his room to chill out in. As he was working all day, he was only there in the evenings and drove home on Fridays straight from work.

Might only work if you're near a decent sized town/city though.

Do you live near a theatre? Could try doing theatre digs

We downsized last February, it's brilliant. Paid off the mortgage and have a house that still has enough room for when our girls come to visit but much smaller than what we had. It takes two hours max to do all the housework, easy to maintain and felt like home almost immediately.

We're both going to drop a day at work so we can help look after our granddaughter, we could never have done that if we hadn't downsized.

I had lodgers for 4 years while I was at uni, needing to pay my mortgage. Some good, some not so good. Do some research on the legal side. I.e. they are licensees, you need to inform your insurance co, take a deposit but it doesn't have to be protected etc.

Just wanted to clarify - do not need lodgers for the money. Its just about offering someone a home. We do live near a city so weekday lodgers is a possibility.

I'm interested to hear from real people who have done this. its sounds great in theory but don't want to have a nightmare lodger making our home a miserable place.

Have visions of "Shallow Grave" style lodger interviews ....

Lodgers expect to be able to lift comfortably in your home without being kicked out if your children want to visit for a weekend.

I don't know if this is a lot more than they may have expected years ago in some weird time when their rent didn't count for much.

Yes - I think everything has become more transactional these days and less co-operative. Maybe if we offered a cheaper rent on the basis that, with reasonable notice, our family would be coming to stay, we might find some like minded people who would co-operate.

Personally I would have been quite happy with this kind of arrangement in the past when I was short of cash.

You sound lovely, op. I like your reasons for doing it, not just about money. The reason I couldnt do it is because I'm quite an extreme introvert who finds living with my nearest and dearest stifling enough, let alone strangers

You could put some feelers out on your local FB page and see of there is any call for Mon-Fri or part time lodgers?

Or if you're near a college or uni they usually need homes for international students. Its a bit more involved than a lodger as you feed them and look after them a bit but it tends to be seasonal, during summer months, so you would get a break. The money is good and you get paid directly from the organisation so no awkward asking for money if they fall behind (another reason I couldn't do it!).