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!

@Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

Arblemarch, yes, it is possible to live downstairs, but would you want to pay more for half a house that you can't use? A lot of younger people complain that there isn't enough housing stock, but if there were more bungalows for the elderly and disabled to live in, it would free up larger homes for families. Plus, I don't want to sleep in my living room, I want a living room, a dining room, and two bedrooms on the ground floor, how many houses can provide that, unless they're mega expensive?

I do understand not wanting to pay for wasted space, but most converted bungalows have a couple of bedrooms and possibly an en-suite upstairs - so, for someone living on the ground floor, that could be accommodation for able-bodied visitors - e.g. grandchildren; and/or storage of the sort of things that might normally be kept in the attic, things you don't routinely use but want to keep such as heirlooms.

if there were more bungalows for the elderly and disabled to live in, it would free up larger homes for families

If they were specially built, adding to the housing stock, yes, that would be brilliant. If, though, you only have X number of bungalows, converting them won't increase or decrease the overall housing stock, it will just change who it's potentially suitable for - it wouldn't free up houses for families as they'd be occupied instead by people living on one floor.

The real problem is lack of housing stock, due in part to excessive investment properties/2nd homes sitting empty - not due to people converting bungalows.

We lived in an early eighties semi detached bungalow. Then after 20 years we did a loft conversion to give us an upstairs master bedroom with large ensuite. We also had an area behind the ensuite we used as a dressing room and I use that term very lightly. We converted a downstairs bedroom into a dining room but still had 2 bedrooms and bathroom downstairs plus kitchen and large living room. Worked well for us and if we had stayed would still have worked as we got older apart from the large garden.

I'm of the opinion that new build houses should have a downstairs shower room to make life easier for people who have mobility issues.

Until I reach that point, I would find it very convenient to wash down my muddy dog.

@Tarne

No elderly or disabled person would want our bungalow because it has 5 acres of land with it! It is perfect for a growing family as we can build a second floor so have enough room for a bedroom for each of the children, a guest room and granny annexe too.

My GP thinks it’s a bad idea for elderly to move into bungalows as it stops them getting the exercise they need to keep strong and healthy. There is such thing as bungalow knees which hastens their decline.

Your GP has a point.
My folks moved to a bungalow when they were only in their mid 60s - not because they particularly wanted a bungalow (they were still perfectly mobile) but because it was all they could find in their chosen area.

Roll on 3 years, though, and they decided they didn’t like the area after all, and moved again - to a house. And then found how the lack of stairs for 3 years had seriously affected their fitness.
It eventually improved, of course, and my DM was still well able to manage stairs when she moved to a care home at 89, because of dementia.

People do what they want in their own properties I guess. Bungalows just arent really being built anymore, but maybe getting one built would be an idea?

I suspect quite a few bungalows are converted by people who have mobility difficulties and need a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, but who also want extra bedrooms for their children or even just for visitors.

Lol. So what you’re saying is you should be able to buy what you want without it being expensive, but everyone else must compromise what they want so you can have it???

Behave.

And yes I’m also disabled. I live in a house and I haven’t seen my upstairs in 3 years. But I’m grateful I have a bedroom and bathroom down here and a roof over my head.

Oh wow!
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114879752#/?channel=RES_BUY

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.

Oh my god, so much ableism and ignorance about fire safety and contempt for the lives of others here.

1. "Shelter and wait" can and does fail in flat blocks. See Grenfell Tower for a recent example of a fire spreading very quickly. There are still towers with that faulty cladding on now and there is no certainty that a similar misuse of flammable building materials won't occur in the future.

2. I'm a trained fire marshal at work, so believe me when I say that "shelter and wait" for disabled people is simply not good enough. We are legally required to be able to get disabled people out of the building using evacuation chairs because they are first-class citizens with the same right to life as the rest of us. If "shelter and wait" is not good enough for a work place, why would you tolerate it in your home? You need to be able to get yourself out quickly, and that means ground floor accommodation for wheelchair users. Disabled people are not second-class citizens to be left behind in a fire with their fingers crossed in the hope that the firefighters a) realise they are there and b) reach them in time.

3. "Shelter and wait" means that a firefighter must enter a burning building to save you. These risks are entirely preventable by a wheelchair user occupying ground floor accommodation. How entitled must you be to advocate putting firefighters at preventable risk?

4. If the incident commander believes that the risk to the fire crew is too great or your chance of still being alive is very small, he or she will refuse to allow the firefighters in. A man drowned in a pond and the fire crew were barred from trying to save him because they lacked training and equipment and it was deemed too risky. This is to minimise fatalities: there's no point burying you and several firefighters when they reckon they will be burying you anyway.

I cannot emphasise enough that you have to take responsibility for swiftly evacuating yourself and your family in case of a fire or similar emergency. You cannot leave it to someone else. The longer you are in a burning building for, the further the fire can spread, the more toxic smoke there is to suffocate you, and the less likely you are to survive. You need to get out as quickly as possible and that does not mean waiting for someone else like Rapunzel in her tower!

447 bungalows for sale in Hampshire. About half seem to be not converted at all. But most have at least one bedroom downstairs...

However, I just wanted to check OP - I've never considered a bungalow before, but could I please be allowed to buy one of these, if I promise not to convert it?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/104319311#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106019270#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114741398#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/71360610#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89885623#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/104242565#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112207628#/?channel=RES_NEW

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110956313#/?channel=RES_BUY

My parents bought a bungalow in the 70s. They went up in the roof to give more space.
My mum is now disabled and wheelchair-bound. They were able to move back downstairs into what had been used as a sort of morning room. They have shut up the upstairs but left the rooms furnished so that we can stay.
If we ever need to move in to provide care the large upstairs will give us two bedrooms for us abd DD and our own living room and bathroom.

But no, extending a bungalow is very bad for disabled people 🤔

@KingofQueens these are dreadfully expensive (and I am a London home owner!). How many elderly downsizers would be able to afford them , presumably most downsizers want a place that is significantly cheaper so that they can supplement pensions/help out adult children. The downsizers I know bought a property that was 50% the value of their previous home.

Some people buy a bungalow for starters, then later adapt them when they increase their family size, especially if the bungalow is in a lovely area, with a nice big garden..

Sorry you have this problem OP. The market just now is terrible and even more so if you have specific needs. The issue is if you leave it up to people to not buy certain places then there’s no guarantee that they will go to disabled people. There needs to be some kind of legislation but I’m not sure how that would work practically.

My folks bought land and built a bungalow in the 60s, because that was what they could afford.
Family grew so upstairs was added.
Latterly dad lived downstairs die to his disabilities, this was always the long term plan.
Owned and lived in by my family very happily for 60 years.

Are you saying they should t have extended the house THEY BUILT ?

I suppose we live in a bungalow. It’s a one-storey house but we don’t use the word “bungalow” for a house here. We bought it with the future in mind. One day we won’t be able to manage stairs well and I don’t want to move in my 80s. I’ve never seen anyone buy a single-storey house here and then build up. If anything, people build to the side here but I suppose we have a lot more space.

I guess those buying bungalows to develop into houses are doing it to make money, isn’t that the main reason people buy property to develop?

Housing market is rubbish. People will buy what fits their needs. Bungalows shouldn’t be solely for disabled or elderly people. That’s silly. A semi is a very different thing to a bungalow. There’s a reason people buy them. They are spacious, big gardens, driveway, good attic space/ yes good potential to extend. There also wouldn’t be enough people to occupy them. If there was eligibility rules, I really doubt enough of those eligible would buy them or would the solution be forcing people out of their family homes at 65 to make them live in bungalows and free up other housing? This is bad enough in social housing, but in the private market, it’d never work.

I grew up in bungalows, my parents, especially my dad just liked them. DPs were not elderly.

It is interesting to see the differences in opinion expressed here compared to what I'm used to. Where I am, the vast majority of homes have one storey, but the amount of land varies

My DP sold his bungalow last year and at least 90% of the interested viewings asked to bring a contractor to quote for a conversion.
We absolutely did not want to sell for a conversion - it's not in keeping with the mainly elderly residents plus in my opinion even converted it wasn't big enough for a young family, that's why we were selling it.

The reason we had so many young families viewing was because it was reasonably close to a popular school and those people couldn't afford a house with a decent garden. The cost of the conversion would have been pretty similar though so seemed pointless to me.

We eventually sold to a cash buyer who we were told wouldn't be converting it, after we were messed around by several older couples. They sent a roofer round after exchange to look at a small leak who told us the buyer wasn't bothered seeing as that part of the roof was coming off anyway due to the conversion .

At least they were a lovely family and weren't intending to sell on for profit once converted like some of the viewers. A year later there's still been no work done on it.

There seems to be quite a few people on here who have managed to buy a bungalow and convert it. So you could always buy a bungalow and.....not convert?

Theres also loads around where I live.

OP I saw your point until you starting insulting people. Now I think you sound like an entitled twit.

@frumpety

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113230832#/?channel=RES_BUY

This is rather lovely

It is nice. If anyone can tell me where I can buy that grey textured bedspread I'd be obliged. 😊

You do know not every bungalow was built with elderly/disabled people in mind?

Ours would be impossible to live in if you were in a wheelchair, the doorways aren't wide enough and the rooms certainly aren't. The garden isn't on one level either.

It must depend on where you live but around here each new building site has to have at least 2 bungalows on it!

The thing is, the building cost is largely in the ground and the roof, (builders wife) so there is not much profit in a bungalow, so they will always seem expensive and they have a large foot print

Because most people are self centred arseholes. Will we ever see the day of equal rights?