After Retirement

I have a work colleague who when he came to Ireland first and drove around and seeing all these big houses and gardens and his first thought was these people must be slaves to their homes. He was so used to living in maintenance free Apartment living. I have to agree with him. When you get older its gets harder and harder to maintain these large dwellings...
 
The choice is not always large family home vs appartment. There's lots of space in between.

My inlaws never downsized and are still living in the original family home. It is a poorly insulated 70s build suburban home that is really cold in the winter. They only heat the rooms they occupy and have become used to wearing 2-3 layers of clothing inside during cold snaps. To me this seems like a meagre and depressing retirement but they have a big garden that they like to potter about in and seem quite content.

For me downsizing will be a liftstyle choice, not just preparation for for my inevitable physical decline. Myself and my wife want to take long trips abroad as well as spending the worst of the winter somewhere warmer so I just don't want the hassle of maintaining a house that I am not living in that much. Of course, at this stage these are just plans and life is not predictable.
 
Re the downsizing debate (which is a great one), I wonder if there is a potential variable that might change the 'stay or downsize' equation for many Empty Nesters; that is of course a proper implementation of the Local Property Tax.
If that tax bill went up by 400/500% (which you could quite easily make an argument it should), would that mean that a lot of retirees could\should consider downsizing? It would also mean more efficient use of housing stock, which should of course be a goal we all aspire to.

Just a thought and probably a purely rhetorical question....
 
We live in a south Dublin, very much town living near our local "village". We love it here. I'd definitely accept or look forward to downsizing, at the appropriate time, to an apartment. The trigger might be the right time and releasing equity to help kids buy their first proper home. But I would only move to somewhere near here, near my friends and the sports I'll continue to play/support. I'd need to be near to shops and coffee shops, pubs, people. Ideally near kids & grand kids, but they will be busy with their own lives, and will make their own decisions.

We love the idea of travelling too, but I accept a point once made to me - while that sounds good now, there is probably a short-ish finite term (maybe 15 years?) between retirement and older age when we will still have the appetite and wherewithall to travel. Even if only back to the same place each year, supported by houseswap or AirBnB or whatever. When properly old, apartment living somewhere central sounds pretty good to me, as long as we have a nice balcony!
 
I'm just imagining the member of whatever political party came up with increasing Local Property Tax by up to 500% for elderly people who invested in their future by buying their house and maintaining it to a high standard knocking on our door for a vote. We could have joined the masses who spent everything they earned or were awarded on excess use of alcohol, gambling etc and got somebody else to house us. It's time somebody did something about them.
 
The reductions in stamp duty from 2017(?) made downsizing a realistic option for many empty nesters. It's not that long ago when the top rate of stamp duty was 9%, which was a significant disincentive to downsizing.

I actually know quite a number of empty nesters that have downsized in recent years, to the point that I would say it's a definite trend.

I have often heard downsizers comment that they found the process of paring back their "stuff" strangely cathartic. I've certainly never heard any downsizers express any regret about their move.
 
My own eventual downsizing plans will be tempered by Mrs. Buddyboy. I notice that myself and any of my friends own have moved houses a few times or have worked abroad, view houses as "bricks and mortar" and are quite happy to move. My wife however has only lived in her parents house (which she was born in and they still live in), and our two houses (i.e. first purchased and then sold for current house).. She is far less likely to move/downsize etc. It will be a discussion I am not looking forwards to as we have very different ideas of what we find nice/convenient/ comfortable.

Maybe if she starts cutting the grass in our 60s she will change her tune.
 
Now Leper stop that,
Don't Awaken the dogs in the manger from its slumber or it will start barking,
we know it has no bite and will not be given one anytime soon,
 
I always thought a "granny flat" attached to our house would be a lovely idea. Stay in the same area close to friends and family and have one of the kids take over the main house. That was until recently where there have been 2 cases I'm aware of where this exact scenario happened but the kiddo and their partner split and the partner wanted their share of the property. Total upheaval. Whole house including granny flats had to be sold. Nightmare for all involved. Won't be doing that. They can have whatever is left once I kick the bucket. Hanging on to my independence for as long as i can.
 
NotMyRealName said:
My Observation.......
Contrary to learned opinion..... Don't buy the biggest house you can afford.....buy the smallest house you can get away with.....later in life no worries about downsizing
Great discussion , this one....
Click to expand...
Excellent observation. 100 per cent agree.
 
phoenix53 said:
I always thought a "granny flat" attached to our house would be a lovely idea.......
Click to expand...
Have to agree with you here, up until recently I have thought that this was a great idea and any of the ones I knew about all seemed to be working out good for all parties concerned but two of them went south with devastating results for all parties
One was like yours where the young couple split up and the other was the the parents splitting up after it was discovered there was a third wheel in their relationship.
My advice to anyone thinking about this would be to have an open and frank discussion about what is going to be involved/expected in this type of an arrangement and some kind of legal framework agreed to should the situation go south

Sarenco said:
I have often heard downsizers comment that they found the process of paring back their "stuff" strangely cathartic.
Click to expand...
Downsizing is not really on the cards for us but a couple of years ago I went to the "Bank of Cervelo" otherwise known as Mrs Cervelo about releasing some funds to buy two new bikes. And she said grand but we're going to start something and that was decluttering the house.
Like most people and couples our house is stuffed full of stuff that we've both collected through out our lives and for one reason or another are now just gathering dust in some corner of the house or box in the attic,
so we decided to sell and declutter our house and lives of all the stuff that is no longer needed or relevant to us now.
Obviously there is money in watches and jewellery and other items but what has really surprised me is the money that can be made from the
stuff that you think is junk and you have no further use for like Delph, out of date electronics, even sold a broken tv that couldn't be repaired for a couple of hundred euro.
But it's not just about the money the whole process I have also found cathartic and strangely liberating, tis amazing the amount of crap that we surround ourselves with!!
 
NotMyRealName said:
My Observation.......
Contrary to learned opinion..... Don't buy the biggest house you can afford.....buy the smallest house you can get away with.....later in life no worries about downsizing
Great discussion , this one....
Click to expand...

Interesting. I don't agree at all. Or maybe it depends on "can get away with".

I think key to living harmoniously with family is having space where you can retreat to. But maybe that reflects badly one me. I like the idea of kids having a room to game in or have friends over to hang out in, while parents have a separate spot to watch telly/read etc. Or one parent to be able to close a door to listen to music, and the other parent to have friends over for a bite to eat or a drink and chat, while the kids are in their own space shouting at the computer games.

I think having three "living areas" is about right for us, family of 4, teenage kids. I don't think that sounds like your idea of "the smallest house you can get away with". And, when older, I'd be happy with all those spaces. Maybe use them less, but having a bigger/sunnier sitting room and separate smaller snug (ex games room), plus a generous kitchen dining to be is appealing, at the moment anyway.

(Context re yesterday's view that downsizing to apartment with nice balcony is appealing, to today looking forward to staying put and having lots of space: conversation with herself, where she set me straight....we're never moving, apparently).
 
Light Music, Slow with a hold on percussion instruments

Leper's Rightsizing Case Study No1:- (Empty Nester) We have Rightsizing on our road and Bigtime! Some years ago some of our neighbours sold out in Dublin and availed of the Emigrate to Cork Scheme to where their government department was relocated and each purchased what was the equivalent of their Dublin homes, but with much bigger gardens. If there was ever a case for "Rightsizing" this was it. Each participant came out the other end with an amount of a decent Lotto win and without buying a Lotto ticket. Well done to all involved and none of them will ever see a poor day again.

Dramatic Music, Speeding up with percussion given progressive free rein (or is it free reign?)

Leper's Rightsizing Case Study No2:- (Empty Nester) Another neighbour (He-Man, Climbs Carrauntwohill as a jogging exercise, Swims in sea all year round and alone, Cycles when he is not walking and Mrs He-Man uses the car even if she's visiting a shop 50 yards distant. They sell their house and move into a mobile home while building their permanent dream home in the Sticks overlooking the sea. You'd kill for the view and pay a fortune to rent the place for a fortnight during the summer. Are they happy? Noooooooo! The house is so isolated Mrs He-Man is terrified staying in the house alone especially when Mr He-Man of off scaling K2 or camping out for several days on the Wicklow Mountains. Result:- Mr He-Man no longer leaves the comfort of his isolated home except to go to work.

Music Stops - Experience the Silence.

The Moral of Both Stories:- Only sell when you are going to gain a fortune; anything else is a loss.

Note:- Both stories are true and names and identity issues were changed to protect the naivete of those involved.
 
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