All old people should sell up family homes for families.

[benigogo]

Not really an AIBU, more a hypothetical question really. This view comes up a lot on MN, and I'm interested in the detail of what people actually imagine when they say it. What type of property should they be giving up? What type of property should they be moving to? How old is old? What about younger people who under occupy a property? For example 2 friend couples, have recently downsized. Both from a 4 bed detached, one to a 4 bed semi, and the other to a 3 bed semi. Their homes were bought, one by a young professional couple, and the other by a couple in their seventies, themselves downsizing. If you hold this view what do you visualise?

I have already picked the area I want my ground floor apartment to be in when I retire. Good location with tonnes of lovely walks, a sports centre and lovely swimming pool, in the centre of a very vibrant town with great pubs and restaurants. My husband agrees completely too. My house would be very difficult to live in as an elderly person, far, far too much work. I have a few very elderly neighbours who are confined to quite small areas of the downstairs of their nice homes with very unmanageable overgrown gardens that their adult children try to firefight in managing.

On the other hand many of my close to retirement age work colleagues are selling up the family homes they brought up their families in and are moving on to something much more manageable and energy efficient.

It is a mind set shift that we need to happen but obviously it should be a free choice.

This post is not worthy of an intelligent response!

I've thought this many times. I live in an area of wealthy old people. I see families packed into two bed terraces. One old couple live in a place big enough for two large families (thankfully they see this and have handed over some to a Ukrainian family). I see the injustice daily. Then the old complain about heating bills. I also know, further afield, elderly couples with pennies and small flats who also suffer. It's less ageism than the selfish wealthy. However, I'm committed to freedom to do/spend as one wishes so would not live in a society that would rule against this. But I do really wonder what goes on in the head of these wealthy sorts. They can't love knocking around in these huge places paying people to clean them.

Most people won't be able to answer, OP. Not with realistic idea and visual, because there is none

We've downsized to two beds, one is very small if anyone suggested to me that we should move to a one bed they would be told to fuck right off and mind their own business.

People who say old people should move out of their family homes to free them up for young families never bother to suggest where, exactly, the older people should be moving to. There is a desperate shortage of smaller homes, and many old people who need support (e.g. assisted or warden-controlled living) have nothing on offer near where they live, so their only option would be to move away from their friends and all their familiar services. Because social care and assisted living is left to "the market", nearly all available options are fraudulent and absolutely all are beyond the means of most people. My mum (90) would love to move out of her 3-bedroomed house but she can't find anywhere to go that doesn't involve being robbed.

100% disagree, if you've bought your home it's yours to live in for as long as you see fit.

I do think that changes should be made to social housing though. For example MIL is in a 3 bedroom house that she has had since her DC were young, they all moved out more than 20 years ago so I find it ridiculous that she can stay there indefinitely rather than move to a retirement complex etc.

yes- but the OP is suggesting a world where the state steps in. Plus all (ALL) the threads about how private education is immoral and should be abolished ditto private health etc. Ad naueseum.

It's not their responsibility to house families. Why would anyone think the elderly should give up their houses because others chose to have children they can't house?

Once I know what my children willl be doing I plan to downsize. I wouldn't want the maintenance and heating costs of a large house just to keep for the sake of occasional visits.

This is a huge issue in my village. We have loads of old couples stuck in huge 4-6 bed detached houses which they no longer want to maintain, BUT the village has no 1-2 bed bungalows anymore (because property speculators bought them all up, knocked em down and build tall ‘townhouses’ on the land).

The old people are keen to downsize but won’t leave the community where they’ve lived for decades, to go off to some overpriced retirement village in the middle of nowhere where they know no one. Why should they? Will you?

The real issue is that salaries haven’t kept pace with the property market, which has shot up since the 1980s because foreign investors, mostly Russian/Arab, have been allowed to use UK properties as a safe space to park their money to dodge political uncertainties back home. If the government had clamped down on foreign ownership and second homes long ago, and raised public sector salaries instead of impoverishing the country through crap management and Brexit etc etc things would be very different.

Op isn't suggesting anything. Op is asking people who keep suggesting it about how they envision this would work

Unfortunately, you may not have a choice. As the elderly deteriorate physically and mentally. The safer option (often taken by their children) is to move the elderly relative from their home.

What about those family homes where different generations can gather together for Christmas and celebrations? One of my grannies had a massive house (I think there were 6 bedrooms) and having big gatherings with my cousins at Christmas was such a special part of our childhood. We couldn't afford many holidays so we used to go and stay with her because she had the space. When she had to move into a much smaller 3 bed house we saw a lot less of our cousins. Force all older people to leave their 4 bedroom family homes and where do those family memories get made?

All children should become millionaires and look after the aged in their families like many other cultures do.

I don't think anyone can be forced to do something like that & shouldn't be. However I do think because of the ageing population, crumbling health & social care & pension age moving out that people should pay more towards their care when old. I'm not sure how's it sustainable otherwise and I think it will happen by default anyway. So people who can't afford it will have waiting lists yrs long &/or there won't be any state provision if they need carers etc.

there are lots of bigger houses for sale here (herts) where they are probably in probate. plenty, problem is the price not availability.

when i say 'suggesting a world' I mean the OP is asking people to imagine a world where this might be the case. It's how I phrased it. But the point remains- if all older people are forced to move how is that done? It has to be done via the state stepping in, surely?

Maybe older people should be euthanised? After all, they’re not contributing to the economy and they’re costing the nhs money and wrecking the environment.

What age should that be?

And what about foreign investors buying uk property? No one seems to mention them buying up property and often leaving it empty.

Maybe we should be restricted to two children max each and we could knock down all the 3+ bed houses and build more houses on those plots?

Err, birth rate is below that

Still middle aged here, but my large house is a mix of family space and hobby space. I have plans for expanding the hobby space. I am a homebody and keep myself very busy with my hobbies. If I could afford a house twice the size, I might not struggle so much with getting equipment in and out as I try to work on big projects.

Downsizing is not in my plans.

And pp are right there isn't enough suitable housing stock. My mum wants to downsize but she still wants off street parking.

Perhaps you should use some of your own boundless intelligence to actually read the OP and see what point she's making.

I live in a 5 bed house with just my partner and the dog. Why would I downsize when the house was up for sale for anyone to buy? We have all the space we want now, two spare bedrooms, an office and a dressing room. Not my fault a family of 5 didn’t buy it 🤷🏻‍♀️

There should be fewer government incentives for first time buyers, and people who wish to downsize should be helped to do so if they need it.

That doesn't make sense