After Retirement

@IsleOfMan - would it be an option to carve out a couple of rooms downstairs into an apartment? Would some of your adult children take over the main house & garden? (If you don't already have one , get an automower!).
 
After Retirement - Downsizing - No Bloody Way! - We've put enough into our house over the years - our neighbours are good - the gardens are what we wish them to be - Bus Stop nearby (we have free travel) - We know every inch of the area - We ain't movin' except to Spain for the Winter/Spring.

And the last thing we need is our kids to start building a house out the back.

And no friggin' Life Loan either - (My Ronaldo Moment as I clear the table of products I don't use) - And if Spry or any other financial institution want me to advertise their wares they can pay me up front.
 
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My uncle did that, sold the bigger house and built smaller one in side garden, great idea if it works for you, no change of location.

My aunt on the other hand had to upsize when her 6 children had all left home because as they started coming home with families to visit she didn't have enough room in old small house Not a problem of course if children live locally but most of hers were far from home.

I won't be downsizing, house isn't massive but I have it just as I want it now especially the garden, kitchen just being redone too and I also find I need the space for visiting grandkids!
 
I won't be downsizing either, for a good few years. And, IsleofMan, if you want to head to the mainland for a month or two, like we want to, then consider house swaps. There are some reputable web sites that take the risk out of it. And it means your house isn't left idle.
 
IsleOfMan said:
We have been playing with the idea of downsizing our house or rightsizing as I see it is now called. We get so far discussing this, then exhausted at the work involved we change the subject. Then we come back to the topic again.
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I'm surprised at how many negative responses you got. My folks downsized to a large 3-bed appartment almost 20 years ago and it was one of the best things they ever did. My observations on their experience...

My old man is a doctor and was used to seeing increasingly immobile patients of his confined to limited parts of their houses (usually the ground floor) and wanted to avoid this for himself and my mum. They purposefully chose a block with a lift so accessibility would not be an issue. My dad is now in his mid-80s and stairs are difficult for him so this was a great decision in hindsight - if they had not moved in their 60s they would have to move now anyway as the original family home would have been completely unsuitable.

Appartments with lifts come with larger management fees but then maintaining a suburban house and garden is not cheap either (and I see you are considering renovations). Note also that most modern appts are a lot chaper to run vs a traditional family home - energy costs were not a major consideration for my parents at the time but their appartment is a lot warmer than the old family home which is something to think about given the length of the Irish winter.

Enhanced security - my folks live in a gated development that feels very secure. Moreover, they feel confident about locking their door and going away for 3 months at a time.

Community - this is not what many people think about when you mention an appartment complex but do your homework here. My folks bought in a development that appealed more to older people than younger and because of it's location (a Dublin suburb) quite a few downsizers bought when they did too and it remains a sought after development for those selling family homes in the area. They are surrounded by friends and this was a huge advantage especially during Covid. People came out on their balconies for evening drinks and felt safe meeting outside in the grounds of the development. Compared to many of their friends they felt very lucky to have had some form of social contact during this horrible time. I would also add that suburbs change as older residents die off and younger families move back in so you may want to consider how much you will have in common with your neighbours as you grow older.

Help on hand - Many developments will have a handyman or similar on hand for small jobs and lots of residents in my parent's development use their guy for regular oddjobs around their home; especially those jobs that people in their 80s are reluctant to do such as changing lightbulbs in tall ceilings and moving heavy furniture.

To be honest, myself and my wife plan to do similar within the next 10 years (we are in our late 40s). I don't think that downsizing is for everyone but in terms of how I hope to live my life in from my late-50s onwards it makes sense to me. I know quite a few older couples who would be horrified at the thought of doing this but I look at them rattling around cold and draughty houses and wonder why not.
 
I am absolutely rightsizing when it comes to it. I had many happy years in apartments and I intended to return to the same as we age. Also I believe selling and clearing a house and moving would need to be done once everyone is relatively fit and healthy so I will be building it into the long term plan. Now whether this will be following our kids to Australia or just down the road, who knows!
 

I think your folks were spot on. I can see it with my own parents, they don't use half the space they have, and cleaning, maintaining the size of house they own, the garden etc, I can see it getting very hard for them in the coming years. An apartment, in the same locality, would make their lives a lot easier, while keeping the familiarity with the area, and avoid needing to move away from their friends. Alas, my Dad in particular is set in his ways, and sees apartment living as only something young people do, a step "down" from their house which he is rightly proud of. There's an expression about pride which keeps coming to mind...

I lived in Switzerland for several years where you start in an apartment, move out to the suburbs for the space to raise a family, and then come back to an apartment near all the services you need, later in life. I think it's a great model, and plan to do similar once our own kids have flown the nest. To each their own, as they say.
 
A financial advisor friend of mine once told me that unless you have downsized by your mid to late 60s you are unlikely to do so until perhaps circumstances force you to. I can see how as you get older (and this is a big generalisation) any major change is daunting. I know older relatives who have considered about downsizing but the thought of clearing out their homes and moving is such a daunting undertaking that it never moves beyond the discussion stage.

One more thing to bear in mind is that once the kids are gone you are most likely only really using a fraction of the floor space of your house for living in so downsizing is simply recognising this fact. But as Mojoask says, each to their own.
 
Really interesting discussion. We have 12 and 14 year olds, we're mid 40s. About to do a big job to the house. It's a great house as is, but need a bigger kitchen/utility, another bathroom, and ideally a snug/games room for kids. We love the area and have some great neighbours.

The big job gives us everything we need, but looks like being 300k+. It's our forever home , but based on the above "forever" is now understood to be to mid sixties. Kids will probably be here another 10 years, maybe 20 with college, saving for deposits etc.

At €300k+ I'm continually looking at whether we're mad to do it. I'm not too worried about making our money back, and I think we'll get huge enjoyment out of the additional space and usability. Plus we have to re-wire and insulate, change windows, so a job needs to be done. But it's also good to have this longer plan of moving in mid-sixties to smaller/more appropriate accommodation in mind. If I moved to an apartment I would definitely want it to have outside shared green space. @LondonIrish your parents' setup sounds perfect.
 
Finding the conversation about downsizing very interesting, I’m at the other end of the retirement spectrum and have just built a new house, Ideally this would be our home for life but this conversation is very relevant- will we be able/want to look after a house and garden as we get older.

I’m hopeful of avoiding some of the issues here, while the house is quite big a lot of it is an open plan living/kitchen/dining area so we shouldn’t end up with the problem of unused empty rooms. While all the bedrooms are upstairs there is a downstairs office/tv room which is designed to be used as a bedroom in later life,
 
One thing that myself and my wife are considering is the equity release (hopefully) that comes from selling the family home. Ideally, we will have cash spare to help each of our two kids buy their own place. We live in the London (as my name suggests) and we can give up to £325k to each child tax free as long as we live for 7 years after this so this is a factor in my thinking. From what little I know of Irish inheritance & gift rules there is a lifteime limit of €335k whereas in the UK limit resets every 7 years.
 
I see limited options to downsize but stay very close to 'your steet'. I agree that it would make sense to downsize early when you are still able to freely socialise and can become connected in your new community.

I think most would prefer to stay on their same street. Many worry about what will happen when their parents age, or when they age. Many worry if their kids will be able to buy in their area. Most would prefer their children to live nearby.

I see several folks designing their refurbishment to help solve some of this, e.g. create a seperate "apartment" inside the main house. The seperate "aparment" has a few potential use cases:
-aged parent
-a child/family member lives their (and even start a family there)
-a carer could live in it
-they move in themselves when main house is too big, and a child (or tenant ) take over the main house
-tenant

I thought it was an interesting idea, although I guess it compromises on privacy, and might compromose some of the house design, e.g. access to sun, garden etc.,
 
This downsizing question deserves a forum of its own. I'm in the late 60 bracket and live with Mrs Noproblem. Our 2 children are grown up, both living in Ireland thank God and 3 children each. They visit almost every weekend, sometimes for a good stay if work permits, we mind grandkids if problems arise, sick, etc. They both live away, one in Dublin city, other in Galway. Right now and for another few years, when they come to us our house needs to be as big as it is, but I'm beginning to see the time we won't need this house. Neither of our children are ever going to live where we do now and for lots of reasons we could move nearer to one of them. We've already discussed it, and my daughter wants us to move to Galway city, beside her family and in fairness it makes a lot of sense. Thing is, in 10 years time the eldest grandchild will be 18 years, but we'll both be almost eighty. Certainly not the time for moving and I can imagine we're one of many thousands.
I must say this is a very good topic.
 
IsleOfMan said:
We have been playing with the idea of downsizing our house or rightsizing as I see it is now called. We get so far discussing this, then exhausted at the work involved we change the subject. Then we come back to the topic again.
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What a great topic and one that I believe should be discussed at some level before retirement or shortly after.
For us when we have this conversation, which happens at least a few times a year its more about equity release than downsizing
We live in a 3 bed semi D in Blackrock with a value closing in on three quarters of a million of "What if wealth"
Downsizing for us to a two bed in the Blackrock area would in our opinion require to many concessions and probably wouldn't free up more than a quarter of the equity, another option is to sell up completely and move down the country or even move country to a warmer climate
and while that idea is appealing to me now I know once we sell up and move the reality is that we will never live or own property in Dublin again.
But it's nice to have a pipe dream
 
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Even though I have said I won't be leaving my house anytime soon I could also forsee a time when I might contemplate moving nearer my daughter who is 3 hours away, ok distance when I am happy driving but a time may come when I won't fancy that sort of run. Even though by then I'd have a free pass if they still exist the public transport routes would make it a much longer indirect trip.
 
When retiring you downsize; it's permanent. You move to a smaller property and there's no moving back to your original property. For us the risk is too much and the variables are unthinkable. I'm staying put and at this stage of life I can do without the stress.
 
I can see both arguments in the downsizing debate.

I listen to friends moaning about their parents’ intransigence around moving to a more suitable property.

But then I see ourselves and the work we’ve done on our home and on the garden. All that time, all that effort, all that expense. All of the memories that have been accumulated here and will hopefully be accumulated in the coming years. It’s more likely to make me never want to sell up. I don’t ever want to live in an apartment again. I don’t ever want to live in a small semi-d.

All of the above just emphasises the importance of health and wellbeing. I know plenty of people in their late 80s and even early 90s who are still driving and still playing golf or exercising. My own focus is pivoting in that direction, i.e. health, health screning, exercise, wellbeing, and ensuring that I never allow myself to feel old. Yes a proverbial earthquake can strike, but you can always mitigate risk.
 
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Fantastic thread this...super contributions & really enjoying it.

It's refreshing to hear of light at the end of the tunnel for someone in-the-middle-of-it in their mid 40s. Retirement is a bit off yet, but this thread has put it on the radar for sure.

Firefly
 
It's like a life line for me too. I'm in late forties now. I'm not overly focused on retirement but find it a bit of a comfort that work life won't always be the main thing, and that some prudence I displayed in my 30s/40s will hopefully provide for a reasonably comfortable lifestyle in the future. I think I've a pretty anxious disposition, or always feeling things will go pear shaped at some stage. Maybe quite an Irish approach to life?
 
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