Downsizing. Has anyone done this and any regrets?

Little developments would be lovely but you'd need them in many towns obviously as people want to stay in their local area, 20 odd years ago a family member was involved in the development of a small community village in as they called it in Enniscorthy for mainly over 65s but still not that many of them around. Don't know if it's still on the go or what happened it in intervening years.
 
There is option to build on a 'granny flat' or subdivide into two units but planning permission is needed and generally given as a temporary arrangement on the understanding that the building becomes one family unit when the need no longer applies. This condition would become an issue in the resale of the property. But I do remember a newspaper piece in recent years, about a lady living downstairs and converting the upper floor into unit for renting so it was done formerly rather than a casual arrangement.
 
1. Decluttering:- I suggest doing this as passively as possible. We tried to sell much of what we were using (dining/sitting room furniture etc) and found replying to our ads and showing to be a bit emotional and sometimes even got stressed. With flat owners arriving with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude we changed tack. Charity shops don’t want much home stuff. I approached a person involved in an episcopal church and offered everything we were clearing free of charge. The whole lot was collected within a few days and distributed to needy families. We felt good and our bad feelings evaporated and we found use of new stuff uplifting. After which we never gave rise to future clutter.

2. Converting part of your house for letting is not cheap. When all that’s done there are the potential problems with tenants, letting agency, revenue, local council etc. Nobody will convince me that by these your life span will not be cut short. One thing you don’t need in retirement is worry/stress/heavy financial outlay. You don’t have to apologise for enjoying yourself; you’ve earned it.

3. Lifestyle:- You’re retiring, exiting the rat race, life’s good keep doing what you enjoy and keep enjoying - get one thing straight, you’re not the conscience of the state. If you need to be taken by the hand to enjoy yourself you’ve got problems. If moving house is stressful, don’t do it. If you love your location, keep loving it. If spending a month or two in Sunny Spain is a drag for you don’t go. Always remember retirement is Me-Time as in Nobody else’s time. Think of yourself for once.

4. Downsizing:- Nobody’s putting a gun to your head; don’t put a gun to your own head, if you don’t want to move, don’t. If it suits you to move then go ahead. Health is wealth and don’t lose it and just think nobody gives a whit about you, but the overriding fact is that you’ve got to do what’s best for you. It’s nourishment you need, not punishment.

5. Do you remember the television ad (from the “Caring” bank) of the lady vacating her house to live with her son, daughter in law, children and the identical crummy wallpaper in her new room? In my opinion that’s up there with After Life Loans which many will try convincing you that you need in retirement. If you’re downsizing, likely it will cost you dearly and probably will not be self financing.
 
Grateful for this thread which has kickstarted a conversation in this house. Turns out Mr mct1 are in more accord about downsizing than each of us thought - neither of us dead set on leaving our lovely, rural location but both concerned about the implications of maintaining a very large property on an acre and a half into our dotage, and isolation if driving became a problem.

We are finally discussing what kind of property and location near town we might consider (detached, 3 bed, 2 bath with a garden and garage/shed or upgradable), and checked out Daft.ie together last night. The result being we're thinking of viewing a place in the next few days and having the auctioneer value ours. I'm not sure either of us is ready to move just yet but at least we can test the water. We also agreed gradual decluttering would be needed - not something that comes naturally to dear Mr mct1 but it's progress. So thank you to the OP and all the contributors to this thread for the much needed nudge.
 
DannyBoyD said:
It's not just the social factor; if you can't drive and live in a rural area everyday activities become very difficult.
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I feel very relieved that my parents live close to an acute hospital like St Vincent's. Old age came upon them so quickly with little notice, one day they were young and active 70ish year olds and then the health problems set in, in their mid to late 70's, and it just accelerated from then on. Cant imagine what would must be like to have to travel distances. Between them they can be be in there several times a year; heart, respiratory and the most frequent reason is falls.
 
This post has struck a chord with me. We have thought of downsizing lately. Several neighbours have moved into A rated homes built in the nearby village (2km away). When discussing the topic with them the downside was a lot of children playing on the green outside. Constant balls being kicked into their garden. Bikes/scooters being left behind cars. The houses are 3 bed but in reality only 2 decent sized bedrooms. The front garden is their drive for the car. The neighbours are lovely as are the children. It is just as they have got older they wanted peace and quiet. They chose a house over an apartment because they have a dog and enjoy feeding the birds in the garden.
 
Leper said:
Charity shops don’t want much home stuff.
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For what it's worth, I found that NCBI and Oxfam Home (Francis Street, Dublin) were happy to take a lot of stuff. (Oxfam, Francis Street was the only place that I could find that accepted electrical items). SVP might also be an option but I seem to recall having trouble getting in contact with them by phone.
 
In terms of decluttering it is just the stuff in the unused rooms, not the large pieces of furniture. Every spare bedroom probably has wardrobes full to the gills with clothes, shoes, bed linen, games, books, Knick knack, etc. clearing all of that gradually is so good. I did a clear out of part of a wardrobe in my bedroom recently and ended up with 4 bags of clothes for recycling, 3 bags of rubbish, and a box full of old hangers. The wardrobe still looks full!!
 
From experience with my own parents and those of friends, the will to declutter seems to wane as one gets older. My own parents used to be quite neat and tidy but their appartment is now filled with clothes, books and broken electronics most of which don't seem to notice anymore.

On a separate point which was touched on above, I don't think I would like to live in a dedicated retirement development unless I was there because of ill health or similar. One thing with the elderly in societies such as ours is that outside immediate family they don't often mix with generations apart from their own. At some point my folks stopped listening to anyone but themselves. Whilst I do love them, they have not changed their opinions on much in that last 30 years. I am not sure why this is but I suspect that lack of interaction with younger people who might hold contrarian views on things is a factor.
 
In Ireland we think of an apartment as a 40 sq meter shoebox with 1 or 2 small bedrooms, negligible storage, 1 bathroom, 1 room that is somehow supposed to function as a kitchen, dining room and living room. If you are lucky you might have a balcony overlooking a main road that you can just about fit 2 chairs on. Fine for people in their 20’s but once you start a family it is a total non-runner and it certainly isn’t going to be suitable, let alone desirable for downsizers.

We need a completely new class of apartment in this country along the lines of a the “classic six” apartments that they have in New York. These units have were designed to have six rooms - living room, formal dining room, kitchen, 2 large bedrooms, and a maids room (maids room now commonly converted to 3rd bedroom/office etc. - this is effectively a semi-d laid out as an apartment with all the benefits of accessibility, security, no maintenance etc. as mentioned on this thread.

My folks were lucky enough to get a place like this in the area we lived all our lives but I would bet there are only a handful of apartments like it on the market at any time, especially in a small purpose built development. A penthouse in a large block comes with the hassle of having often hundreds of other residents.

I hope the government would look down the line at how we can give people the option to downsize in style (can I coin that phrase?!) if, and only if, they wish to do so.
 
Takado said:
We need a completely new class of apartment in this country
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As long as they don't have management fees the size of a small mortgage...I know a lot of fees in the last year have jumped from €2000 to €2600 with little or no explanation. Its the one thing that would put me of living in an apartment...Alright for an investor who can write half of it off as an expense
 
HollyBud said:
As long as they don't have management fees the size of a small mortgage...I know a lot of fees in the last year have jumped from €2000 to €2600 with little or no explanation. Its the one thing that would put me of living in an apartment...Alright for an investor who can write half of it off as an expense
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Thats very strange given the members of an OMC have to vote to approve the management fees for the upcoming year. They budget and fees will have been laid out for review by all.

If i was concerned about management fees id make sure to attend the AGM.

See my earlier post as to what management fees actually relate to.
 
In my case I rent it out so as I say I can write half off as an expense. I attended the AGM a few years back and it was a waste of time. I am aware where the money goes to, sinking fund, lighting, insurance, upkeep of communal areas, waste etc. however mis information or not, €2600 for a 2-bed is west Dublin is price gouging imo. 30% increase...
 
HollyBud said:
In my case I rent it out so as I say I can write half off as an expense. I attended the AGM a few years back and it was a waste of time. I am aware where the money goes to, sinking fund, lighting, insurance, upkeep of communal areas, waste etc. however mis information or not, €2600 for a 2-bed is west Dublin is price gouging imo. 30% increase...
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id suggest if you arent attending the agm then you cant say.
 
HollyBud said:
As long as they don't have management fees the size of a small mortgage...I know a lot of fees in the last year have jumped from €2000 to €2600 with little or no explanation. Its the one thing that would put me of living in an apartment...Alright for an investor who can write half of it off as an expense
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If you are downsizing from a house to an apartment you would be leaving behind certain expenses that offset the management fee e.g. less energy usage, standalone bin charges, security/monitored alarms, house and garden maintenance and so on. It’s probably not that far from breakeven between the two but I am not basing that on personal experience so happy to be corrected.

Edited to add: I don’t disagree that mgmt fees (like seemingly everything these days) are eye watering!
 
HollyBud said:
In my case I rent it out so as I say I can write half off as an expense. I attended the AGM a few years back and it was a waste of time. I am aware where the money goes to, sinking fund, lighting, insurance, upkeep of communal areas, waste etc. however mis information or not, €2600 for a 2-bed is west Dublin is price gouging imo. 30% increase...
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It's clear the price of electricity, heating etc has gone up more than 30% and last years fees probably didn't cover that growth so there is likely some catching up / repaying overspend. Plus all services across the board have increased - gardening, maintenance men etc. Have you tried getting a repair person at anything close to 2019 prices recently? I would hazard a guess the 30% is to cover last year's overspend and to cover the reality of the current cost of living.
 
ClubMan said:
Why not?
Even if they don't attend the AGM they should still be getting the annual report/minutes/budget etc.

Edit: only saw the previous post now.
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If they are reading them they should understand the reason for the price increases, calling management fees extortionate and gouging is lazy and usually ill informed.
 
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