Downsizing to a bungalow
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hazelgreen
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Empty nester here also, house too large for two tho tiny garden is about right. I would only move to something that was already up to standard. Along with obvious upgrades of kitchen/bathroom there are the other costs less visible such as rewiring, renewal of heating/plumbing and better insulation. We have done some of these down the years in a 45 yr old house but not a full rewiring. It should have been done when the heating was renewed and when all rooms had to be redecorated with floors up etc. You would have to think of living somewhere else when work done on older property.
presidenttttt
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Major shortage of bungalows in many areas including mine. As a result they exist in a micro market with significantly higher cost per Sq FT. Those that come available also require 150k on top to modernise them. Therefore limited cash is generated from the downsize.
I have family downsizing at the moment. They won't make much if any money doing so, but they will gain a warmer A rated home, and easier to maintain. This is valuable to them. Larger older homes can of course be upgraded to be efficient and warm too, but it's huge money and remains a large house to clean, heat, and maintain as you get older.
Yet again the root problem is a lack of zoned, it won't pay any developer to build a decent volume of bungalows let alone a large number with a garden bigger than a stamp.
I have family downsizing at the moment. They won't make much if any money doing so, but they will gain a warmer A rated home, and easier to maintain. This is valuable to them. Larger older homes can of course be upgraded to be efficient and warm too, but it's huge money and remains a large house to clean, heat, and maintain as you get older.
Yet again the root problem is a lack of zoned, it won't pay any developer to build a decent volume of bungalows let alone a large number with a garden bigger than a stamp.
Sunnygirl69
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So true.
Annieindublin
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My parents live in a bungalow and won’t ever move for that reason. But anyone buying it from them would spend a fortune on modernising it.
A downstairs bathroom is great for my elderly parents (they don’t do stairs anymore) but a new buyer would want to add a second bathroom upstairs. ( Imagine 8 of us and only one bathroom .)
It also has a massive garden and access via a garage leading to a lot of potential for expansion. A neighbour has a 2 roomed “workshop” in theirs,
Any of the similar houses on the road have been more or less rebuilt when they changed hands.
So I don’t think downsizing is a way to generate cash. Not if you ar looking at a 1950s/60s bungalow in Dublin.
But for my parents it means they can stay out and barring any serious medical conditions they won’t need to be moved to a nursing home, we have already adapted the bathroom and added a ramp.
A downstairs bathroom is great for my elderly parents (they don’t do stairs anymore) but a new buyer would want to add a second bathroom upstairs. ( Imagine 8 of us and only one bathroom .)
It also has a massive garden and access via a garage leading to a lot of potential for expansion. A neighbour has a 2 roomed “workshop” in theirs,
Any of the similar houses on the road have been more or less rebuilt when they changed hands.
So I don’t think downsizing is a way to generate cash. Not if you ar looking at a 1950s/60s bungalow in Dublin.
But for my parents it means they can stay out and barring any serious medical conditions they won’t need to be moved to a nursing home, we have already adapted the bathroom and added a ramp.
Blackrock1
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so i think the conclusion is, if you want a more suitable property, assume better ber and new modern finishes if you are planning to renovate then go for the bungalow, but you wont make any money out of the move (although as others have been saying your new property may be quite sought after and retain its value well)
We went from a 2500 sq foot house to a 1000 sq ft bungalow just before Covid. Early 40's couple no kids.
We had to do a full reno, but not a full gut job, floors/roofs were left, no walls knocked...we did rewire though. The house was stuck in the 80's & we brought it into the modern age. We decided not to add a 2nd bathroom, so only have the one.
When we have guests staying it gets a little busy but workable. It's a 3 bed, with 1 as a home office. So space is there for 2 free bedrooms if needed. There was an old car port attached which we converted to part of the kitchen, which made the whole kitchen/dining/utility room massive. There's a nice cosy living room off this. And that's it.
It costs 700 quid in oil to heat all year, electricity used to be 80 quid when we moved in but has naturally gone up to around 170 bimonthly. Cost of living in a smaller house is good. When we reno'd we didn't want to go the route of bringing up the BER rating as I personally think it's a waste of time. But we changed to triple glazing all over and all new doors - there's only 7 windows anyway! As it's by the sea, we went with big 1 pane windows so the house is always full of light (especially in winter), so even though it's a small house, it doesn't feel like it.
Having been in the house 4 years now, I'd never go back to a house with stairs! And because it's an 80's house, it has a decent garden.
That was just before Covid, so give or take 110k to do the full reno...that would probably cost double if not more now. I project managed it myself & start to finish was 5 months & lockdown started the week after we moved in! And we had to rent for those 5 months so again, thats tricky to do now with so little houses around for renting.
We had to do a full reno, but not a full gut job, floors/roofs were left, no walls knocked...we did rewire though. The house was stuck in the 80's & we brought it into the modern age. We decided not to add a 2nd bathroom, so only have the one.
When we have guests staying it gets a little busy but workable. It's a 3 bed, with 1 as a home office. So space is there for 2 free bedrooms if needed. There was an old car port attached which we converted to part of the kitchen, which made the whole kitchen/dining/utility room massive. There's a nice cosy living room off this. And that's it.
It costs 700 quid in oil to heat all year, electricity used to be 80 quid when we moved in but has naturally gone up to around 170 bimonthly. Cost of living in a smaller house is good. When we reno'd we didn't want to go the route of bringing up the BER rating as I personally think it's a waste of time. But we changed to triple glazing all over and all new doors - there's only 7 windows anyway! As it's by the sea, we went with big 1 pane windows so the house is always full of light (especially in winter), so even though it's a small house, it doesn't feel like it.
Having been in the house 4 years now, I'd never go back to a house with stairs! And because it's an 80's house, it has a decent garden.
That was just before Covid, so give or take 110k to do the full reno...that would probably cost double if not more now. I project managed it myself & start to finish was 5 months & lockdown started the week after we moved in! And we had to rent for those 5 months so again, thats tricky to do now with so little houses around for renting.
SoylentGreen
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About 30 years ago we moved from a bungalow to our present two story house. Our present house has 5 bedrooms. 5 reception rooms. Only the two of us living here now, with the occasional stay over of grand children.
A couple of times a year we take a stroll past our old bungalow. It has been modernised and extended. Looks lovely.
I am not sure that we would return to this house. I might. My wife wouldn't. About a mile from our existing house.
The bungalow road is very quiet. Our present house overlooks a busy enough street. It is nice to see people pass by.
I would imagine that the move would net us over €500k.
The only reason we would consider the move would be to help our 3 children now with the €500k rather than when we pass on.
We like the street our existing house is on. Closer to all amenities than the bungalow.
Our larger house does require more maintenance. We really only use a few rooms over the winter but use more of it over the summer months.
We find it hard to dispose of stuff that we have accumulated, so maybe that is our only real excuse for staying here.
A couple of times a year we take a stroll past our old bungalow. It has been modernised and extended. Looks lovely.
I am not sure that we would return to this house. I might. My wife wouldn't. About a mile from our existing house.
The bungalow road is very quiet. Our present house overlooks a busy enough street. It is nice to see people pass by.
I would imagine that the move would net us over €500k.
The only reason we would consider the move would be to help our 3 children now with the €500k rather than when we pass on.
We like the street our existing house is on. Closer to all amenities than the bungalow.
Our larger house does require more maintenance. We really only use a few rooms over the winter but use more of it over the summer months.
We find it hard to dispose of stuff that we have accumulated, so maybe that is our only real excuse for staying here.
The flip side of that is if you have leg or back issues, then stairs are not good for you. Exercise is absolutely but not always stairs.The exercise of walking up and down stairs is not noticed but is very good for you.
Bungalow Houses or Stairless Homes May Hasten Decline Associated with Aging
Climbing stairs is a crucial exercise that slows signs of aging and prevents people in their later years from having bungalow legs.www.sciencetimes.com
Brendan
Brendan Burgess
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Agree. And that is covered in the article. If you can't climb stairs, then you need a bungalow.
hazelgreen
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I feel more 'secure' in a two storey house with internal infrared alarms downstairs. I like the change of scene to use one of upstairs rooms. Only one room is available as a spare bedroom for visitors. More windows on southern aspect so decent light/heat. Upper windows can be left open. My mother died in her own home at 102 yrs and had use of a stair lift for last couple of years. The house was not huge but enough to be able to share with a live in carer. Knees are another issue with use of stairs.
Disposal of excess contents is a whole other thread!
Disposal of excess contents is a whole other thread!
Interested to know why you didn't go route of better BER rating and why you think a waste of time. Surely your full renovation resulted in a better BER
Brendan Burgess
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That is a really good point which I had never heard before. I like to keep windows open and upstairs is safe. I wouldn't do it downstairs.
There are threads in the sites, planning, self-build forum on this, and why the focus should be on a comfortable home rather than chasing a BER rating.
Surely a stair lift would be a lot less expensive than moving just because you can't negotiate stairs.
Brendan Burgess
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Well if you are thinking of downsizing anyway, you might as well move to a bungalow.
But you are right, you shouldn't move from a house you love just because of the stairs.
I might be biased as I just don't like stair lifts. My mother spent a lot of money on one and it was faulty. She hit the roof.
Brendan
I'm not sure I understand the logic of downsizing from a two storey house to a bungalow, only to spend a small (or large) fortune converting the attic in bungalow and thus changing it to a 2 storey house? If you want upstairs rooms, then buy a 2 storey house in the first place.
My parents wanted to downsize to a bungalow but quickly realised that there were very few options on the market, and those that did appear were snapped up by developers to be converted to apartments due to the large plots of land they tend to come on.
They ended up buying a 2 storey house with 2 receptions and converted one of those to a bedroom and added an ensuite shower. Upstairs is then used for guests and storage. It wasn't as much of a downsizing as it could have been, but was a hell of a lot cheaper than any of the bungalows available.
My parents wanted to downsize to a bungalow but quickly realised that there were very few options on the market, and those that did appear were snapped up by developers to be converted to apartments due to the large plots of land they tend to come on.
They ended up buying a 2 storey house with 2 receptions and converted one of those to a bedroom and added an ensuite shower. Upstairs is then used for guests and storage. It wasn't as much of a downsizing as it could have been, but was a hell of a lot cheaper than any of the bungalows available.