Considering buying a bungalow

[AmITooYoungForABungalow]

Hi all, am considering downsizing & buying a bungalow (would buy outright) Few things concerning me only 90 years left on lease, services charges are £2,000 a year, plus I'm only 50! If I moved would be my last move. Also place I'm considering is 5 mins away from my work, as downsizing my bills would be cheaper. But just worried about service charge & the 90 years lease. I think I can extend lease but have to have owned the property 2 years? Can anyone give me advice? Thank you

Is it on a “retirement” development? I would have thought it unusual to have a bungalow with a lease and service charges.

Personally, I’d avoid this one and look for a freehold bungalow.

Whats the service charge for?. Also with only 90 years left, when you come to sell it, it wont be mortgagable due to the lease length thats left.

Personally I'd be finding a freehold property

Thanks for replies, yes on retirement complex, 20 bungalows all together with communal gardens. Service charges for upkeep of gardens, window cleaning. Unfortunately I cannot afford a freehold bungalow, this one is £100,000 cheaper. I would look into extending the lease after I've been there 2 years. It would be left to my daughter so I want to make sure it's easier to sell. I presume they hard to sell as a niche market? Not even sure if I could buy as says over 55's & I'm 50.

Avoid. There’s a reason it’s £100k cheaper.
Read up on retirement properties, they are money pits.

If it’s for over 55s they 100% won’t sell to you unless you are 55 or over!

At 50 there is no way I would buy a retirement bungalow. It will make you old before your time.

Definitely not. Service charges can only go up. Avoid and rethink.

No point thinking about it, the 55 age range is very strict where we live. The 90 years left on lease wouldn’t put me off.

In answer to your username yes you are too young for a retirement bungalow! And ( assuming no known health issues) buying a retirement bungalow and talking about it being your last move at just 50 yrs old is fairly depressing. Keep looking I say!

Even at 55 you’d be round fixing everyone’s wifi before you know it.
Just buy a normal bungalow.

We're just buying a bungalow. I wouldn't have considered a leasehold or a retirement development personally.

You won't be able to buy it as you don't meet the age criteria. Maybe just as well, this property doesn't sound like a good purchase.

These leasehold bungalows with service charges can be problematic when it comes to selling, so you would be creating a headache for your daughter down the line. If you're downsizing, you should be able to find a better option than that. I would just keep looking as there's presumably no urgency.

Retirement complex properties are notoriously difficult to sell.

Have you looked at apartments with a lift?

No, you are not too young to buy a bungalow. BUT, you are far too young to be buying a bungalow on a retirement village.
If you live to 80, that is 30 years of fees, and so 60k - ignoring any increases.
Spend those fees on the more expensive, freehold, properties you have also seen.

I’d like a bungalow too, but no way would I buy anything on a retirement complex.

They're a nightmare to sell, leaving aside the increasing fees and it’s hassle if you want to move.

You don't want to be surrounded by people dying when you are only 50. When you get into your late 60s and 70s I think it's far easier to cope with. At 50, that would just get me down (I am not all that far off it).

If you can't afford a traditional bungalow, I wonder if you can get a shared ownership bungalow. Idk what it's like these days but you used to be able to get SO on a property you choose, rather than a SO complex (which would mostly be houses).

Is a ground floor flat also not an option?