Following my retirement we bought a larger house – 3 bedroom detached with a large garden and a garage. It was fabulous and I have written about it in the past. However we never thought it would be our forever home, as we don’t have any children we always wanted to be proactive and forward plan for changes in our needs, for example mobility, health and lifestyle.

So in 2023 after John took early retirement we made the decision to downsize. Before hand we did our research and made a list of the pro’s and con’s.

This is what we found:-

Downsizing in retirement in the UK is often considered a good idea because it can significantly reduce monthly expenses by lowering maintenance costs and utility bills associated with a smaller home and it can free up extra money to enjoy retirement activities by generating a lump sum from equity from your current property.

It can also allow you to move to a more suitable location with better accessibility features as you age and living amongst like minded people.

So in summary these were the Pro’s and Con’s we considered:

Pro’s

Financial benefits:

• Lower living costs: 
• Access to equity: 
• Maximise income: Reduced monthly expenses can provide more disposable income for leisure activities. 

• Lifestyle advantages:
  • Better location: Moving to a smaller property could allow you to live in a preferred area. 
  • Accessibility: A flat or retirement community with easier access features as you age. 
  • Reduced upkeep: Less space means less time spent on gardening and general maintenance. 

The cons are:

• The Property market : Research the current property market to ensure you can sell your home for a good price.  Zoopla is a good resource online plus researching similar houses for sale in your area.
• Costs of moving: Factor in the costs associated with selling our current home and buying a new one. 
• Emotional impact: Downsizing can be an emotional decision for some.

Therefore this was the starting block to consider what to do.

We decided that downsizing was the correct option for us. We had identified a block of flats we wished to live in, it wasn’t for over 50’s or any specific age group but it seemed to attract residents with a similar age group to us and we had heard great things about it. The maintenance charges were not extortionate and it would hopefully suit future mobility and help needs. The large garden in our current home required a lot of input and due to the poor weather in Manchester we had very little opportunity to enjoy it! In case you didn’t know it’s always grey, cloudy and rainy!

Our home had a good amount of equity in it – we were mortgage free thankully and we had no real emotional attachment – yes it held some great memories but in our opinion we could make more wherever we lived.

In a follow up post we will describe our journey to downsize.

Thanks for reading – if you’re wondering if you should to downsize in retirement I hope this helps? Or if you have already made the decision what is your thoughts about it.

Elaine and John