Should I love or list my home of 26 years?

sell up and downsize, get a lovely insulated and easy-run new build while there are two of you. You soon get used to smaller. I moved by myself at age 72, it can be done. My house is still 4 bedrooms and all rooms are used. It is a matter of scale, new builds are definitely more compact. I have a house that looks like a pretty cottage and I love stairs.

I do take care to maintain, not many jobs right now but any I spot are done there and then

I would downsize.The renovations needed to your house will be very costly. I wouldn’t be able to live in a place that needed a lot of work , but then I’m fussy.
We downsized four years ago, the smaller rooms took some getting used to, but I love it now. It’s a lot easier to keep clean and if it needs redecorating DH can do it for now.
Don’t rush and stay local if you can. Good luck.

Might it be worth asking an estate agent to value the property and advise as to what improvements would be needed to make it more sellable? At the same time asking them to let you know of any suitable properties in your area that come on the market?

A financial factor - when you make several major re curbs of basics like electrics complete redecorate new driveway it takes some years to "get the value back".

Ie the. house, done up, will not repay the money nor effort put into it for some time.

So if you have to move unexpectedly without say 8 years passing its an expensive business.

If you see somewhere then go for it before it's too late. However, bungalows are few and far between in some areas and not in the best locations.

If not, then spend some money renovating and future-proofing your house.

Write a list of pros and cons - the location, distance to facilities, cost of moving (it's not cheap), moving away from friends.

Your house will sell more quickly if some of those jobs are done or else you can sell it as a doer-upper.

Thanks to all of you for responding. It has been so interesting reading your different comments and you have certainly given me food for thought. Thanks again.

CanadianGran

I would make a practical list with costs and weigh the pros and cons. It may be more expensive to do the repairs than you expected, but left undone may effect the desirability of the house if you put it on the market.

Personally I think downsize now and leave the fixing to someone younger.

I agree. As you get older there is a heck of a lot of re-doing on that house believe me its tedious.

And ever more expensive as repair prices rocket.

You dont need to move far -just somewhere more "already done up" and future proof.

Grammaretto. That’s exactly where I am, to although my garden isn’t very big. I’ve just found out that my windows need replacing. The worst thing that needs doing long term is rewiring and that would be an awful job. It’s a seventies house with very few power points. I have good neighbours, though, it’s on a very good bus route and it’s near to my daughters. I’ll be interested to find out what the OP decides. I don’t really want to spend my last years constantly doing house maintenance.

I sympathise.
I'm on my own now, mid 70s and the house and garden are huge.
I have given myself 5 years. 3 to go and I will seriously downsize if I'm still alive.
I love my house and its location.
But the family hardly ever stay here so I don't need all the extra rooms
I am gradually getting shot of excess stuff I have a skip outside right now which will help somewhat but there's the problem that I've not seen anything I want to move to.

We should really downsize but neither of us want to as we love the house. We use all of it when the family come and we have room for a live-in carer. If necessary we shall put a stairlift in.

Houses have to be looked after. It’s very clear that yours has been neglected, it’s not going to get any better and by then you’re going to be old, too old to deal with the work that needs to be done.
If you’re the sort of people who can’t fix/ replace a gate, you only have one option: move.

So many things to consider. Finance, locality, family, friends, convenience, hospital, green space, clubs. We live in a modest three bedroom semi in a rural area, close to family, so have no desire to move from here. A big decision to make. 💐

Many variables.

We're ones who have never moved, just added space as needed. For us there's been no point in moving, expensive - for us wasteful.

You may want to make a financial decision, as well as how much effort to expend on moving seems worth the bother?

Only you know - good luck with whatever you decide

It is a complex question. I think that you first have to analyse how you use the space you have. Do you use it all, or are 3 of the bedrooms never used, except when the family call. Are they all used, even then. The same with the downstairs, as someone said, is it future proof.

What about the garden, how big is it? Can you cope with t, can you afford a gardener itf it becomes too much for you.

The house needs all the work you state because presumably you just haven't done anything in the past, even though you can see that all this work was been building up. The question arises about how motivaated you would be to do all the things you think need doing. You are clearly not natural house nurturers, how would you cope with all the months of mess and chaos thata all this work would entail.

Where do your children live? Is it easy for them to visit you and vice versa? Is there suitable property that you could downsize to in your area or will you need to move elsewhere.

As I said you are faced with complex problem that runs to more than just getting the house in good order.

If you both really love the location, why not look around locally at the availability of smaller houses or bungalows that you would consider suitable. The expenditure on your present home will be quite considerable and probably more than moving expenses. Personally we downsized from 5 beds and it was a good opportunity to clear all the accumulated clutter of the previous 40 years. Like Nannytopsy, we have also had the experience of several elderlies who left it too late to contemplate moving to a much more convenient (and safe) home.

I would strongly consider moving now, but proceed with no rush. My mum moved from her house to a ground floor flat in her 70s. It freed up some cash for holidays with her friends etc whilst she was active, and by the time she needed these things she had no stairs, a wet room and an easy to keep garden. This meant she could stay in her own home, which was always her plan.

Decorating and renovating a whole house is messy exhausting and expensive, then again so is moving/house hunting! Some of it will come down to finances and how much you feel you can take on, but its just as important to focus on the future that you see for yourselves. We are also thinking of 'downsizing' so fully understand where you are coming from, good luck and try not to get too stressed with it all!

Can you 'future-proof' as part of the redecoration - downstairs loo, access to the upstairs etc - ?

I would decide what repairs need doing and research the costs that are going to be involved. Have a look at the prices that similar sized properties are fetching in your area. This should help you decide if it is worth getting the work done now. Also look at the prices for the sort of house you want to move into. Once you've got an idea of costs you can move on to thinking about feelings.

I want to move - but not downsize, as I sometimes need the four spare bedrooms when the family stay. Still, I do wish I'd done it a few years ago, when I had more energy - and fewer repairs to do.

I would make a practical list with costs and weigh the pros and cons. It may be more expensive to do the repairs than you expected, but left undone may effect the desirability of the house if you put it on the market.

Personally I think downsize now and leave the fixing to someone younger.

I too have a 4 bedroom house, and was thinking of downsizing to a Bungalow. I worked out the financial costs of a move and the stress involved. It was too big a price to pay, for the possibility of lower energy bills etc. So, decided to stay put.

My mum and dad didn’t move when their home needed work. By the time they would have accepted a move, it was too late. They were too old and too ill. That is something to consider.