Are you planning to downsize when you are older?

[D20]

What age/life stage are you aiming for? We’ve always assumed at some point we will downsize (physically) when we retire. Our Mortgage will be paid off, kids will be well on their way into adulthood. Both of our neighbours are now in their 70s and in failing health but no plans to move so I wonder if we’ll end up the same.

Yes. House isn't huge but we're going to need some equity out of it to help the kids - we don't have enough other savings. I also want to move areas so that's a consideration.

When DM passes away, I have said that I will buy DSis out of her half and gift the house (a 2-up, 2 down terrace, convenient Midland town an hour from central London by train) if the location works for DS. Saving stamp duty and all the other expenses. Nice tidy, well-built terraced housing is always adaptable.

I'm well aware of that. My sister has lived abroad for 20+ years - the ever changing rules, regulations and red tape have been a constant topic of conversation. I've been learning Spanish for 4yrs with this in mind. We've both been executors and dealt with a lot of financial issues. We've been looking at the downsizing option for a few years and have, so far, concluded there just isn't enough suitable property available and we have a campervan and travel all over the UK. Plenty of nice places but nothing remotely affordable for what we'd consider.

I'm in the north-west where properties are cheaper and my house is four bedroomed and would sell for about £280,000.

I will sell at some point as I live alone and don't need all that space. However I don't see any point in moving to a three bedroomed house which would cost maybe £250,000 because by the time I moved there wouldn't be any spare money.

I have thought of moving to an apartment but don't fancy spending a couple of hundred pounds every month on service charges. I've also noticed that the apartments I've been watching tend to be on sale for a few months. I cannot afford to box myself into a corner and I have no idea what to do!

I'm late 50s, moving to area I grew up in, and thought I'd retire to, to be closer to aging parents. At this stage I'm not downsizing (have young adults who will need to use house as base, hope for grandchildren), but do plan to as I get frailer.

However the nightmare process of selling and buying, the massive effort in primping the house and decluttering, the trips to the tip and the charity shop and shifting boxes, and both ends of the process reliant on the buyer and seller, with their own agenda, has convinced me this is not a process for the frail. I'm now trying to frame it for myself that one part of the next move will be about when the house is no longer fit for purpose; but just as important will be when I still have the energy and competence to organise it and deal with the multiple uncertainties. Not for the fainthearted and I'm thinking by the time I'm early 70s I would want to have it behind me.

@redmapleleaves1 it is SO frustrating selling & buying. It's a bit like labour, after the baby is born you forget all the pain you went through.

My sale and purchase was going ok, pretty straightforward we thought, but now have found issues with my purchase so that's causing stress.

Moved at 60 from large detached 5 bed on edge of a market town to a small 3 bed country cottage , down a long drive, off a tiny lane, 7 miles from the nearest shop. Absolute bliss.

We’re going through this with PILs at the moment. A crisis is just round the corner but they won’t budge. They all say they don’t want to be a burden to their children etc but make no other arrangements so I assume we will be expected to do hospital runs when one of them inevitably falls down the stairs.

A nice 2-bed terrace would be in order!

I think that there are some interesting assumptions on this thread about downsizing/clutter clearing etc

I said up thread that my parents moved in their 70s from a huge rambling farmhouse in a village to a more modern house with less maintenance etc.

It was a deliberate choice to move before one of them broke a hip (Mum's words) and to move from village to town so that when they couldn't drive they can afford to use taxis/walk to GP etc.

But they still moved to somewhere which is a large family house with a large garden because they use all their space.

But they have moved every 5-10 years all through their lives. Each time they declutter, sell sort and throw away.
Even since this move (10 years ago now) they have continued to declutter, as my Mum does not want us to have to sort through her attic when she dies.

Their house is adaptable. There is a downstairs room that could be a bedroom, and a utility room that was designed to be convertable into a bathroom. Or they could easily put in a stair lift.

My mum has spent 10 years building her garden where she works every morning. They will never move to a retirement flat. It would be like moving to a waiting room to die

we swing between discussing smaller house bigger garden where we live and selling up to buy a 1 bed in London zone 1 for a few years.

Well that is a bit dramatic!! A retirement flat is not waiting to die 😱

Don't you worry about what will happen when/if you can't drive anymore? That is what I would worry about if I moved somewhere remote as I've seen it with my in laws that when FIL could no longer drive they became dependent on others. Mind you, they are in their late 80s and never learnt to do online shopping. But they are effectively trapped in their home which has nothing within walking distance and they only moved there in their 70s.

It’s not about space for us it’s about money. If you’re lucky enough not to need to access the money in your house then that’s great, but we’ll need the equity.

I wonder about this. I've had very elderly neighbours, women living well alone in their 90s, and ideally this will be me. Maybe with a stair lift. HOWEVER, I'm likely to be in my own from about age 75. By that time I will have lived here nearly 40 yrs. I love it, it's quiet, but I wonder if selling at an age when I can reap some of the benefits of that might not be a good idea. Downsizing to a small bungalow could help pay for help at home, so I've got that possibility in reserve.

I probably won't even be able to afford to buy a house till I'm a lot older I certainly won't be wanting to give that up when I'm in my 60s/70s.

But downsizing doesn’t mean not living in a house - it can mean living in a smaller house. 🤷‍♀️

My DH's health has recently declined massively to the point we are looking at single level living as he is already struggling with the stairs in our village house. He is younger than me ( in our 60's) so it's come as a surprise as I'm super fit and healthy but in my working life I saw too many frail elderly people who clung on to living in big old houses they could no longer cope with until crisis point hit.
Luckily I don't like the house or village so can't wait to move to somewhere with a bit more going on in terms of culture and with facilities within walking distance, but there is a definite shortage of suitable housing if you don't want communal living in flats etc.

@RemarkablyBrightCreature but that's exactly what I mean, it's getting harder and harder for people to buy properties especially ones that reflect what they actually want why on earth would they get near to their ideal property and think let's sell up and live in a smaller house. If life goes well hopefully I'd have more nice stuff and more money to enjoy by 60-70 certainly don't want to downsize and have less space.

Interesting thread. My plan would be to downsize when the kids are about 30 and have definitely left home (youngest currently 13 so a way off!) We could raise some cash for retirement and to give the kids house deposits. (Also freelancers but we do have some level of private pensions).

Then we’d have a smaller house/flat that could be sold for care needs if required. Currently there are loads of Victorian conversions locally that have good sized flats in them. I’d be happy with 2 beds because I remember my parents having houses that were big enough for grandchildren etc that were very rarely fully occupied. Esp when kids got older we used to stay elsewhere.

Having looked online, there are companies that will help with downsizing and I imagine there’ll be more in the future.

Yes definitely. I plan to work until retirement/state pension age of 68. DH says he'll retire then too (he could retire now, but loves his job). By then the mortgage should be paid off. All DCs have left home. We definitely need something smaller & with less land. The plan is also to be closer to shops and a hospital. Nearest hospitals to us are 25 miles north, south & west!

Yes definitely.

We upsized 10 years ago as an investment to downsize from.

The house is mortgage free. DH has retired and I plan to next year.

The ongoing costs would be unaffordable on a pension. Council tax alone is nearly £4K. Lovely house but the bills are ridiculous.

So the equity would top up our pensions and provide a good standard of living in a smaller house with lesser bills and upkeep.

This is me, except no ILs as they have passed away. DH likes his space though, so we might struggle to find a property that we both like.

Well that is a bit dramatic!! A retirement flat is not waiting to die 😱

It would feel like it if you are used to space and a garden, and no longer have space for your hobbys or a garden to potter in.

I am 57. My parents are mid 80s.
Can't see any of us wanting a retirement flat at any point.
Possibly wanting single storey living if health required it. But even then, that is what stair lifts are for.

We might move to somewhere smaller to release money and reduce maintenance costs. Maybe. Possibly. But not any time soon.

I have friends who have reached retirement age who love having a lock up and leave and who really don't want a garden. Some have spent years grudgingly mowing a lawn and have no interest.

They want to be able to bugger off on a cheap holiday at a moment's notice while they are still fit enough to and can get the insurance.

I can't imagine not having a garden but who knows .... when I get older I might not care.