Is downsizing right for you?
Before the estate agents, the brochures and the family opinions, a quiet look at your own reasons. Start with the two-minute self-check, then the reasons, then the honest ups and downs.
First, a look in the mirror.
There is no right answer and no right age. Some people downsize at 58 and wish they had done it sooner; some stay in the family home until the end and are glad they did. What matters is that it is your decision, made with clear eyes and your own numbers.
The check on the right is not scientific. It is the ten things people most often tell us made them move, on one page. If most of them ring true, the money and the "where" are worth exploring properly. If few do, that is useful too.
Twelve reasons people downsize.
Most people have three or four. The mix matters: money reasons and lifestyle reasons pull in slightly different directions when it comes to choosing where.
The stairs, the cleaning, the upkeep
What was easy at 55 is a chore at 70 and a worry at 80. A home that looks after itself is a real reason, not a small one.
Rooms you never go into
Three bedrooms heated for two people who sleep in one. A dining room used at Christmas. Space costs money and effort to keep.
Bills out of proportion to your life
Heating, council tax, insurance and repairs on a big house keep rising whether or not your income does.
The garden has become work
When mowing is a dread rather than a pleasure, a smaller garden, a courtyard or a balcony can give the pleasure back.
Money in the bank, not in the bricks
Releasing £100,000 or more from a home you own outright can transform a retirement, or simply take the worry away.
Helping children or grandchildren
A gifted deposit is the single biggest thing many families can do for the next generation, and downsizing is how many fund it.
Nearer to family, or to friends
Being twenty minutes from the grandchildren instead of three hours changes daily life for everyone.
A change after a loss
After a bereavement or a separation, the family home can feel too big and too full of memories. Some people need to stay; some need to go.
Planning for health
One level, a walk-in shower, wide doorways, near a GP and a bus. Choosing it while you are well beats being forced into it later.
A simpler life
Fewer things, less to manage, more time and money for travel, hobbies and people. Some people just want less house.
A better place to live
The village you always liked, the coast, a town with a proper high street. Downsizing can be about where as much as what.
Company and community
Rattling around alone is hard. A smaller place in a friendlier setting, or a development with neighbours your age, can be the answer to loneliness.
The ups and the downs.
Everyone selling you something will list the ups. Here are both, from people who have done it.
+The ups
- Money released, sometimes a great deal of it
- Lower bills, lower council tax, cheaper insurance
- Less cleaning, less maintenance, less worry
- A home that still works if your health changes
- The chance to live nearer family, or somewhere you love
- A clear-out that your children will not have to do later
- A fresh start, new neighbours, a new routine
–The downs
- Moving costs: agent, solicitors, stamp duty, removals
- Less space for visitors, hobbies and the things you love
- Leaving neighbours, a GP, a church, a club, a garden
- Smaller homes are not always cheaper per square foot
- Retirement developments carry service charges and exit fees
- The upheaval itself: packing up 30 or 40 years is hard
- Money in the bank can affect benefits and care means-tests
The full guide to the ups and downs Get the printable worksheet
What to do next
Run the numbers
What a move would actually release, once every cost is out. Two minutes, your own figures.
Money released calculator →Weigh the alternatives
Equity release, a retirement mortgage, a lodger, adapting the house. Sometimes staying is the better answer.
Alternatives →Talk to the family
Early, before decisions are made, and with the money on the table. How to have the conversation well.
The family conversation →Get the free downsizing checklists.
Six printable PDFs: the self-check, the ups and downs worksheet, the step-by-step plan, the money planner, the gifting-a-deposit guide and the room-by-room declutter list. Free, in your inbox in a minute.