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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To Ask Why People Buy Bungalows ....

308 replies

Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 15/10/2021 20:48

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!

OP posts:
Zilla1 · 15/10/2021 21:11

I think the large gardens are a result of when they tended to be built when housing density was planned to be less. They aren't built as much now by developers because a two or three storey house with a larger area can be built within the footprint and sold at a higher profit, even taking into account the additional build cost of two or three storeys and the possible premium a bungalow can achieve. The last new build bungalows I've seen built were by self-builders locally.

Hobbes8 · 15/10/2021 21:12

This thread is weird. I live in a bungalow and haven’t built upwards, but a disabled person still couldn’t live here because I do.

Surely the problem is that the housing market is totally fucked and unaffordable for average people?

cate16 · 15/10/2021 21:12

We bought ours with the intention of building up - but fell in love with the whole one level thing. We have gone outwards a bit though- It's a very sociable way of family living with no noise from neighbours.

AaalrightyThen · 15/10/2021 21:12

Depending on the housing available in your area, bungalows - already converted or waiting to be converted - are pretty much all that's available if you want a detached home and decent garden. That's certainly the case where I am. It's a shame in many ways as the upstairs bedrooms can often be quite compromised but often very little choice

icedcoffees · 15/10/2021 21:13

@Livedandlearned

Wow the attitude of some posters!

People really don't care do they

People don't think about future/other potential owners when they buy and extend their family homes.

Why would they?

Aqua55 · 15/10/2021 21:13

We're going through the process of a loft conversion on our bungalow. Unexpected child means we are a bedroom short.

MrsSkylerWhite · 15/10/2021 21:13

Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

Asdf12345 I think that's a typical selfish, grabbie attitude from someone who is clearly able bodied. It's hard enough living life as a disabled person without people like you buying up the only suitable properties to make a fortune, or your 'forever' home! Never mind making it more profitable for builders to build bungalows, just make a law to stop people that aren't disabled or elderly from buying them up to make a profit. So sorry that you should have to subsidise me!! The fact that I've paid taxes all my working life, doesn't count I suppose? Hope you never find yourself in my shoes.“

Sorry but that’s just daft. You honestly think that you can dictate to people what they do with the property they own in case it upsets someone else?

MrsTerryPratchett · 15/10/2021 21:14

You can't expect people not to convert their own houses though, on the basis that someone who is looking for a house in the future doesn't want to pay for two floors when they only need one! No one owes total strangers that level of consideration.

This. It's not entitlement to want to buy a home to live in as you wish.

Bungalows are land-hungry. What we need is more well soundproofed flats. Larger and with more amenities. They manage that in Europe.

EnjoyingTheArmoire · 15/10/2021 21:15

It's also nigh on impossible to find bungalows on the rental market, and they often get snapped up by the able bodied.

I wish there were just more bungalows full stop.

Original poster
Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 15/10/2021 21:17

I'm not talking about stopping people converting their houses, if you buy a 2 story building, please feel free to build upwards all you like. I just think that single storey buildings should be kept available for the elderly and disabled. Oh, and just because we can't climb the stairs, it doesn't mean that we don't like to have a garden. Why is it that the elderly and disabled are treated with such disdain, when everyone will be old eventually, if they're lucky enough to live that long. Or are we all supposed to be shoved in a little box and forgotten about? The selfish attitudes of so many people these days make me sick.

OP posts:
Rainbowshit · 15/10/2021 21:17

There's nothing but fucking bungalows round here!! Hate them.

olidora63 · 15/10/2021 21:18

@Aqua55

We're going through the process of a loft conversion on our bungalow. Unexpected child means we are a bedroom short.
This is why we had loft conversion…added two bedrooms and bathroom. It was great and no we didn’t even think about future buyers. The garden was massive and not ideal for a disabled person.
MrsSkylerWhite · 15/10/2021 21:18

Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

I'm not talking about stopping people converting their houses, if you buy a 2 story building, please feel free to build upwards all you like. I just think that single storey buildings should be kept available for the elderly and disabled. Oh, and just because we can't climb the stairs, it doesn't mean that we don't like to have a garden. Why is it that the elderly and disabled are treated with such disdain, when everyone will be old eventually, if they're lucky enough to live that long. Or are we all supposed to be shoved in a little box and forgotten about? The selfish attitudes of so many people these days make me sick“

Don’t be silly.

AaalrightyThen · 15/10/2021 21:18

Yes - larger, sound proofed flats with lifts in them and big balconies to give people outside space (maybe even more than one balcony per flat so they can chase the sun when it's out!) could be a great solution for older people and people with mobility problems

ToykotoLosAngeles · 15/10/2021 21:18

Bungalows are really expensive in my market town. I understand loft conversions when it's your own home to expand into, but I don't understand it when people buy a bungalow as a doer-upper and go into the loft, because the selling price here of a 2-bed bungalow (due to the premium) and a 3 bed ex-bungalow is basically the same!

Original poster
Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 15/10/2021 21:20

Flats are the solution then are they? Then just tell me what we do when there's a fire and the lifts stop working?

OP posts:
Aqua55 · 15/10/2021 21:21

This is why we had loft conversion…added two bedrooms and bathroom. It was great and no we didn’t even think about future buyers. The garden was massive and not ideal for a disabled person

Ours is only a 2 bed, so we're putting 2 bedrooms in the loft and turning the large double downstairs bedroom into a living room. The other ground floor bedroom will stay as it is.

Original poster
Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 15/10/2021 21:21

MrsSkylerWhite What is it about what I've said that makes me 'silly'?

OP posts:
ElizaDarcysDeeds · 15/10/2021 21:21

But you could live in a flat. There are lots of ground floor flats available and many that meet accessibility criteria. You don't want to live in a flat because posters on MN complain about noise Confused posters on MN complain about everything

Your reluctance to live in a flat is as selfish as other people buying bungalows and then extending ie neither of them are selfish. People are entitled to their housing preferences.

GoodnightGrandma · 15/10/2021 21:21

I live in a village where there are lots of bungalows and very good schools. The families buy the bungalows and do a loft conversion , to get the kids into the schools, then sell it and move on. Then there are no bungalows for the older people who want to stay in the village.

MrsTerryPratchett · 15/10/2021 21:22

@Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

Flats are the solution then are they? Then just tell me what we do when there's a fire and the lifts stop working?
In the incredibly unlikely event that happens, you shelter in place and wait for the fire fighters. IME house fires are more common than flat fires.
CathyorClaire · 15/10/2021 21:22

We bought one (over twenty years ago) that was already built up into the roof.

Is that OK? Hmm

Oblomov21 · 15/10/2021 21:23

Agree. Hardly any bungalows left, and extortionate prices, that only increase once a builder gets going.

AndThenInTheEnd · 15/10/2021 21:24

This is literally the most entitled post I’ve seen on MN! And I’ve been here a long time.

People can buy whatever house they want and do whatever they want to it with planning permission. Why on earth would they not do what’s best for them and their family with their biggest asset? On the theoretical chance that someone one day wants to live in their bungalow but wants it single storey?

Original poster
Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 15/10/2021 21:24

So you're another one then Aqua55? Taking yet another bungalow out of the market for those of us that need them.

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