To Ask Why People Buy Bungalows ....

[Speakuptomakeyourselfheard]

only to build up into the roof, making it nigh on impossible to buy a single storey building for those of us that are disabled and struggle with stairs. You see it so often, a nice little bungalow goes on the market and within a few months the builders are in lifting the roof off, or building into it. If you want a house, then buy a bloody house, and leave the bungalows for those that need them, and no, stair lifts are NOT the answer!

There is a real shortage of bungalows in the city I live in. Most are bought by developers and turned into flats or built into large family houses.
I have a friend who is trying to get a bungalow and although she has a decent amount of money, is really struggling. There is a shortage of housing suitable for elderly people who don't need carers but are struggling with stairs and trying to future proof. But nice bungalows are often built into what is a decent size plot, so building up or out makes more money.

I think many British people are completely unable to fathom that someone wouldn't want to rinse as much profit as possible out of any property transaction.

I think that a lot of people have forgotten that the purpose of buying a your house is to get a dwelling, not an investment opportunity.

Agreed OP. I'm a young mum with mobility issues looking for a bungalow. Most have been unsuitable because the downstaairs bedrooms have been converted to open plan living space and bathrooms/bedrooms moved upstairs, maybe leaving one bedroom downstairs.

DC are under 5, I need to be able to access their rooms so this doesn't work. I am living in a flat temporarily but need a garden so DC can get outside as going to the ppark is not really feasible. Only option is to build due to high cost of undoing these renovations. Wish people wpuld just buy houses or there was priority given to disabled/elderly buyers first before the general market.

Moderately rural here. Two new developments very close by in The last Four years, both of which were bungalows. I think the developers used their brains and thought it would lessen the objections if current properties wouldn’t be overlooked.

Bizarre thread. Bungalows are not there for just certain sectors of society - that’s a bonkers viewpoint.

Prices for them are high because, generally, they sit on generous plots - it’s the amount of land that increases the price.

Bungalows make up a large part of the housing market where I live. And very few have been extended upwards.

I'm a young mum with mobility issues looking for a bungalow.

It's clear from this comment and others that there is suppressed demand for accessible, family-sized bungalows with small, level gardens.

DC are under 5, I need to be able to access their rooms so this doesn't work.

I wish I'd picked up on this on my first reading of that comment.

When children are involved, it is not safe to have part of the property inaccessible to either parent. If a child goes upstairs whilst the able parent (assuming that one of the parents is able) is out, the wheelchair-using parent cannot supervise that child. If that child gets injured, or has a fight with a sibling, or starts drawing on the walls, or anything like that, the wheelchair-using parent cannot intervene. This holds regardless of the age of the child because the parents are legally responsible for their children's safety until at least 16.

@bd67thSaysReinstateLangCleg

DC are under 5, I need to be able to access their rooms so this doesn't work.

I wish I'd picked up on this on my first reading of that comment.

When children are involved, it is not safe to have part of the property inaccessible to either parent. If a child goes upstairs whilst the able parent (assuming that one of the parents is able) is out, the wheelchair-using parent cannot supervise that child. If that child gets injured, or has a fight with a sibling, or starts drawing on the walls, or anything like that, the wheelchair-using parent cannot intervene. This holds regardless of the age of the child because the parents are legally responsible for their children's safety until at least 16.

In case I am not 100% clear: families with a wheelchair-using parent need single-storey housing. Not bungalow-with-a-loft-conversion, not townhouse-with-a-bathroom-and-bedroom-downstairs, single-storey housing.

Another aspect that I totally missed when replying to DC are under 5, I need to be able to access their rooms so this doesn't work:

FIRE. How is a wheelchair-using parent supposed to ensure the safe evacuation of a child who is upstairs? Children faced with fire tend to hide, with fatal consequences.

Yanbu same thing going on here .

@50ShadesOfCatholic don't be so bloody stupid, of course it's not, Jesus...🙄

I don’t think developing a home is particularly selfish. A home is a big purchase and people buy with their own needs in mind. There are plenty of bungalows out there but they come with a premium price because they are in demand.

My own dm spent a small fortune about 20 years ago on a beautiful dormer bungalow with one bedroom on the ground floor and two upstairs in preparation for retirement. She lives solely on the ground floor but is still beginning to struggle with the size of the ground floor and the 1/2 acre garden so is considering downsizing further. When she does, I have no doubt that it will be snapped up for another small fortune by a developer wanting to build in the garden. All my mum will be thinking of is getting the best price for her investment and she is well within her rights to do that.

@CatJumperTwat

What annoys me is that I search for bungalows and get a load of properties with stairs. RightMove and the likes should have a filter for one-level only/fully wheelchair-accessible properties.

@CatJumperTwat Have you tried filtering to bungalows and then using the keyword search and entering 'true bungalow' - that should prioritise stair free properties in the search results.

[quote SentDeliveredRead]@50ShadesOfCatholic don't be so bloody stupid, of course it's not, Jesus...🙄[/quote]
Well it is but I get you are not willing or capable of comprehending that being inclusive is a possibility. You're not alone.

[quote SentDeliveredRead]@50ShadesOfCatholic don't be so bloody stupid, of course it's not, Jesus...🙄[/quote]
Well it is but I get that you are unwilling or incapable of comprehending that being inclusive is a possibility. You're not alone.

The bungalows around here have a big footprint downstairs and gardens that are several times bigger than most normal houses. I can see the appeal for families who want more room downstairs.

I hadn't thought about it until now but why aren't developers being forced to include accessible housing? I can't think of any new build bungalows from big developers. I've seen a few from a local small scale developer but they're barn conversions with tiny gardens that cost £150k more than the same size standard property.

ArblemarchTFruitbat I didn't know about that trick, thank you!

We bought a small 2 bed bungalow, it's all we could afford at the time and came with a fantastic half an acre garden.
Over the years we have gradually remodelled and extended as our family grew. Its now a 4 bed, 3 bathroom house. We have been here 26 years and have brought a lot to our community.
We never gave a thought at the time that we were ruining housing stock for disabled people but to be honest the house was in rack and ruin when we moved in. The garden is hard work though and I'm not sure a disabled person would cope with it.

@RAFHercules

We bought a small 2 bed bungalow, it's all we could afford at the time and came with a fantastic half an acre garden. Over the years we have gradually remodelled and extended as our family grew. Its now a 4 bed, 3 bathroom house. We have been here 26 years and have brought a lot to our community. We never gave a thought at the time that we were ruining housing stock for disabled people but to be honest the house was in rack and ruin when we moved in. The garden is hard work though and I'm not sure a disabled person would cope with it.

Disabled people can also be married to an able bodied person who can tend to the garden or hire help to maintain the garden - which I did anyway before I was disabled as I am not into gardening (before having to move into a flat while looking for a bungalow) but enjoy having outside space DC and I can enjoy and where I can safely watch DC.

I just think disabled and elderly people should be a priority when it comes to bungalows or planning permission should be very strict to discourage building up or demolishing to build flats.

An ex colleague of mine bought one. She’d been in a flat for decades, with increasingly noisy, inconsiderate neighbours, and was determined to have somewhere detached.

It was in a right old state though. Some builder was the previous owner, who’d bought it only a couple of years previously, but had done nothing to it. In the meantime, prices had shot up and the bugger made a handsome profit after doing sod all.

Bungalows are an attractive prospect as I age BUT I love having my bedroom windows open at night. I know you can get alarms on windows etc but the thought of the potential intruder even just looking through chills me. I'll just have to get a stair lift!

Our family home when I was growing up was a bungalow. My parents bought it as a new build. Even back then there were only a handful build on the estate we lived in.
None of them have been extended to the loft. Thinking about others in the area actually it's not done much here at all

Their garden is significantly bigger than their neighbours. Now that my Mum is in her 70s it's great because unlike some of her friends it's perfect for her and she doesn't need to worry about stairs or moving house.

It's a shame there aren't more of them around

The lack of accessible housing is really important, and will become a bigger issue because of the ageing population.

As pets are very important for companionship for older people, flats are not necessarily the answer.

I wonder if the government actually has plans to increase accessible housing.

I fucking love my bungalow, detached, big garden, 3 downstairs bedrooms. We bought it in our fifties so our DC could be near school. We must have been over entitled cunts at the time. Now, in our seventies I hope our cuntishness has diminished somewhat.

I've bought a chalet bungalow as I'm a carer for my mum. We're moving in a few months. The idea is my parents have the downstairs bedrooms & I have the one upstairs.