Rightmove - Over 60s Only

[NononoLimit]

I'm prepared to get flamed here but I'm searching for a new home and I keep seeing lovely 3 bedroom properties which are over 60s only; massive gardens (some with multiple levels but all have to be mown), 3 big bedrooms and cannot help feel the amount of these over 60s only properties (there are loads the further out of London you look) could be going to families in need of housing.

I totally understand over 60s properties are necessary, especially at an affordable price due to people no longer being able to get mortgages, etc. However, I expected that on a different type of property, perhaps 1 or 2 bedrooms with smaller gardens.

My thoughts on it are everyone I know over 60 wants a manageable property and apart from family staying, the over 60s I know are all downsizing for the future. I don't get it but I'm prepared to be enlightened...? AIBU?

YANBU!

I see these properties on Rightmove and initially it seems v good for a few seconds- but then obviously realise too good to be true, and price is much lower than local area

Then when I look more closely, the prices apply to over 55/60s

You can change the settings on Rightmove so you don't see retirement properties.

And then I think to myself, why would an over 60 need to have a discounted property?

If they are selling their current property, surely they will have benefited massively from house price inflation over the years?

Equity release seems like a bit of a scam to me. Sure you get a house a bit cheaper, but at what actual cost?

I am sure this a shortsighted opinion and there is much more to it, but from my point of view it seems counter-intuitive.

We are a family of 4 struggling to try and purchase our first property- and we will be buying something that is going to be much too small in a few years time (2 bedroom) but unfortunately, that is all we can afford.

Actually, with all the Brexit shenanigans, we are watching carefully still viewing properties but cautiously waiting to see how things pan out!

I think alot of posters on here are very confused.
Firstly, the homewise schemes for people over 60 are really NOT something to be envious of. Homewise is a money making scheme that mainly only benefits Homewise

Anyone using this scheme will not actually be buying their new home and will never actually own it. They will merely be given a lease to live in the property until they die. The house will actually be owned by Homewise. They only offer it to those over 60 because this age group will die sooner and Homewise will then get the house with vacant possession which they can then 'sell' (lease!) again to another over 60. Alternatively, they could actually sell it on the open market for the full value of the house.
The people who use the Homewise scheme obviously can't will their home to their children (or whoever) because they have never actually owned it.

The new build 'over 55's only' is a completely different sceme usually. They are typically quite small and easily maintained properties within the same building or complex and often with facilities such as an inhouse restaurant and maybe a hairdressers. They have very high maintenance charges as they often have a live in warden for residents who may need assistence due to their age.
I've always assumed they are cheaper to purchase because they are small, and because they are harder to sell (as there's a much smaller pool of people ver age 55 wanting to purchase one)

Yes Homewise seem to have quite a few of the properties in our area too. I hadn't realised the conditions were so onerous though.

I do agree with the premise that if you don't need a big house it would be nice if you'd sell it, take the cash, live it up a bit, live somewhere smaller and free up the house for someone who does need the space. But that applies at any age.

I've now read through the thread and it makes more sense in terms of what these schemes are for and some of it doesn't sound that great really.

For me, I'm just highly irritated at getting excited, thinking I've found something affordable for us on rightmove, only to realise that it's one of these schemes!

Lol at the idea of somone over 60 needing a smaller garden. Once you are over 60 you actually have time to garden.

I do agree with the premise that if you don't need a big house it would be nice if you'd sell it, take the cash, live it up a bit, live somewhere smaller and free up the house for someone who does need the space. But that applies at any age

Really? I don't! I'd hate to live in a tiny house.

Turquiosedress just think of it not as a 'cheap house' but as a finance company trying to sell a (really not very good) loan deal/rent agreement to a certain section of consumers (in order to make a profit out of them in the long run as the company will own the house outright in the end )

That's really all it is...

If it looks to good to be true , it is ...

My mum actually looked into using home wise, and we spoke with the sales team there extensively to try and understand what it was.

I can probably provide a bit of clarity as I think there are a lot of misunderstandings on here. Firstly, it's definitely not Equity Release. Mum did look into Equity Release but the problem with it was the mortgage that would have been left hanging over her head would have potentially eaten any inheritance up, something she didn't want to do.

Home wise basically buy a property at the full price and sell a lifetime lease to their customer for a cheap rate. They then live in the property with no rent or mortgage or payments, other than the usual council tax and bills etc. They offered mum the option of keeping up to 50% of the property too so she could leave an inheritance, although it would have reduced her discount if she'd gone down that route.

I do get that it's not a good option for everyone, but we were actually really reassured when speaking to them as they insisted mum took her own legal advice from her own solicitor before considering whether to proceed. For what its worth, they weren't pushy or anything when we spoke with them and we found them really helpful.

It would have worked out really well as she could have sold her current house and moved to be nearer to us (we live in a slightly more expensive area of the country) in a similar property, and because of the discount she would have had some money left over afterwards. Granted, at the 'end' of the plan (when she passes or goes into care permanently) the lease would have ended and we would have 'only' inherited 50% of the property value, but I guess her having some money to enjoy now while shes around to enjoy it kind of offsets the negative.

In the end Mum decided not to move at all, but we definitely would have considered using home wise if we had done.

For what its worth, in my experience it definitely isn't a scam, isn't equity release, but as with all big purchases should be considered carefully on its merits so that you know its the right thing for you to personally do; worth giving them a call in my opinion.

I'm pissed off that there aren't any genuinely affordable schemes for under 55's, even if it means you'll never own your place outright, it would still be more secure than renting. Shared ownership is still too expensive for most families in my area. housing associations have long waiting lists.

I thought they were paying a fraction of the full market value just due to age and owned the whole property now you see OP I was about to come on and say something very unkind, but then I see that you are not alone in your inability to grasp this, even after its been explained

There are shared ownership schemes for people of all ages with benefits and disadvantages. You do have to search on the inter web for them and then read up about it ...

I expect that the people wanting to live in homes that are bigger than their needs would be the first to start whinging about green belt land being built on to provide homes for young families.
There isn’t infinite space for a growing population, you can’t have it all ways.

as I understand it the over 60's is because they have lifetime ownership & it cannot be passed to anyone (other than their partner/wife at the moment of purchase & only if they are over 60 - the idea is that when they pass it goes back to the company - ie its a clever way to make more money in the long run - for the company selling it - it has nothing to do with helping the over 60's in that sense that you might assume - there may be issues even about selling back to them if the over 60's needs to go into a nursing home

TheHero but if your mum had done traditional equity release (and the rates are loads better than they were) then she would have had some certainty. As it happens your mum's "lifetime lease" could have lasted a few months or decades.

Did you get as far as getting legal advice? I don't know anyone who's agreeing to provide the independent advice on these schemes. I'm definitely not! But they are getting through so maybe they have some panel solicitors who will?

namechangeforthiscancershit we did look into equity release too which had its benefits if she'd wanted to stay where she was, but mum (and in all honesty me as well) was skeptical about the horror stories you hear about compound interest and the value of the property being wiped out by the equity release repayments, plus she really wanted to move rather than just raise money.

I think any product of this type carries certain positives and negatives which have to be weighed up. For mum, we knew roughly what she could sell for, knew roughly what she could buy for, and knew that using homewise would enable her to buy a new property, make a few quid and leave half the value of the new home, albeit it would have involved selling her current home and using a portion of that to buy the lifetime lease.

A little conversely to your view, we actually thought the certainty was something which attracted us to it; the only uncertain bit was how long mum would live there for obvious reasons but everything else seemed to be really upfront in terms of cost, how the lease would end etc., whereas our thoughts were that whilst the terms of equity release are upfront, the true cost is dependent on how long someone lives there so was hard to fully plan for in our opinion.

Re the legal advice, mum did speak with her solicitor who said they'd act for her if she proceeded, but as she didn't move she never actually took advice.

I'm 62 and hope to retire in the next couple of years (DH is going in June and taking a part time job while he waits for me). We have a good sized 4 bed house at the moment but I'll be looking for somewhere with more entertaining space, a paddock and stabling so that I can have a horse again. I don't know anyone who has downsized, unless it is because they have an;other (bigger) house abroad. There is a retirement village near where I work, the manager there tells me that although they are marketed as for over 55s most people who move in are around 90 and becoming less mobile.

BloggersNet Shared Ownership is a massive con in my opinion, you pay rent and a mortgage but are responsible for your own repairs (although if it's newly built there's a warranty period). The costs per month are quite high in comparison to outright sale in some areas which is why we're looking to move away. Affordable housing isn't that affordable, especially in London and on the outskirts.

This does my nut in when I’m sat browsing with OH 😂 “WOW look at this one! So cheap! 4 beds! Recently refurbished! Walk in wardrobe! Massive gard- oh. Homewise.”

Over 60 is hardly old aged - or if it is, the retirement age has to be significantly reduced. For some, the biggest house they have is when they are in their 50s or 60s because they have worked so long and traded up smaller houses so they can accommodate family, grandkids and visitors.

I do agree with the premise that if you don't need a big house it would be nice if you'd sell it, take the cash, live it up a bit, live somewhere smaller and free up the house for someone who does need the space. But that applies at any age

So looking at this idea, if the over 60s move to a smaller house, they will then be competing at the lower end of the market with first time buyers and people with young families.
As they will have more in equity this would push up the price of smaller homes (competition for smaller homes.)

And of course why does being older= needing less space?

Just because children leave home doesn't mean a) they never visit b) they don't have children of their own who need a bed and c) the empty bedrooms aren't put to good use by the older people d) the older people never have friends to stay or want to entertain.

There seems to this idea that life stops at 60.

As others have said, many people in their 60s have children who are still at uni and will be at home for a long time yet- OR have families who live away and want to come and visit.

This idea that when you are still fit and able, you should downsize, after working for 45+ years to own a nice home to enjoy, really annoys me.

A little conversely to your view, we actually thought the certainty was something which attracted us to it; the only uncertain bit was how long mum would live there for obvious reasons but everything else seemed to be really upfront in terms of cost, how the lease would end etc., whereas our thoughts were that whilst the terms of equity release are upfront, the true cost is dependent on how long someone lives there so was hard to fully plan for in our opinion

Generally speaking though the equity release interest payments are outweighed by the increase in the property value, so you'd have a much better idea of the cost/benefit than with a lifetime lease.

Don't get me wrong- I don't like ER and it is always a last resort.

Did HW recommend a solicitor or did you find one independently? The general feeling in the industry is that this is a scheme with a very short shelf life, similar to the bad old days of ER (which should have had a much shorter shelf life than it did!) Will be interesting to see if that's true, but good to hear an opinion from the other camp!

As I see so often on here, over 60's are considered to have one foot in the grave by some. Op, in the blink of an eye you will be that age yourself and wondering where all the time went.
There are a lot of homewise properties for 'sale' in this area. I always thought it looked a bit of a scam. Re all the retirement properties being built solely for the over 55s, again, a lot of these being built in nearby areas to me. I have elderly relatives living in two, and while I can see the attraction for some (security, no maintenance to worry about etc), they lose a lot of value from new (and some of them are very expensive) and they are difficult to sell - especially if they keep building more and more as the market will be flooded.
Just because we are over 60 op, it doesn't suddenly mean we need less space! It's lovely to be able to spread yourself around a bit. I've done my time of living in one bed flats when I bought my first place many years ago - why on earth would I want to go back to that?