At any stage of your life, moving home in the UK can seem like a huge undertaking. The emotional toll of leaving one home, and all of its memories, is one thing. The physical and mental toll of making your next purchase, and ensuring you choose the right place, is hard work. However, when you reach your ‘golden years’, you want to ensure you pick the perfect place to reside.
This means vetting the process very carefully. What, then, matters to ensure your late-life is successful?
Understand where you are going to go
First off, make sure you take the time to very closely vet where you are going to be moving to. You can be shocked at just how easy it is to make the wrong choice!
The geographical choice is important. If possible, try and rent a hotel room for a day or two in a location that you like the look of. Visit local amenities, check out traffic, the local area etc.
Basically, make sure you are happy to go ahead with the move and that you have not missed any hidden issues with your new location.
Understand why you wish to move
Moving home in later life is often done to try and get you closer to family and/or friends. Make sure you are happy with the reasons why you are moving, though. Find out from the people whom you are moving closer to about where the best places might be to move. This can be great for making sure you better understand the area, its pros and cons, and various other considerations.
Are you moving to help get rid of clutter and downsize? Then make sure your new property reflects that!
What about your long-term health?
Whilst you might be fighting fit today, you can never be sure what waits for you down the line in terms of your health. With that in mind, make sure you spend some time looking at your long-term health. Consider things like the number of stairs, or the access points to the house.
If you wind up needing help getting up the stairs, is your new choice of home going to become problematic?
You need to take a bit of time to think about not only how you feel today, but how you will feel in a decade and beyond.
Are your choices realistic?
While you might have worked hard all of your life, you have to factor in things like mortgage rates and limits. As we get older, our opportunities to take longer-term mortgages and the like become less likely. As such, make sure you look at buying property in an area that you can afford.
Especially as you reach retirement, make sure that your savings and your pension are not going to be eaten up by moving to an upmarket area beyond your typical means. Realism is essential when making what is likely to be your last property purchase. Focus on affordability and happiness over opulence!
Can you manage the move yourself?
Of course, as we age, we often tend to look to keep our own independence. However, moving house is something that is a multi-person effort. As such, you should definitely look to manage the move with the help of friends, family, and a professional moving company. Moving home in the UK can be a time consuming, physically demanding job – especially if you are moving towns or even regions.
So, make sure you get the right amount of help and support. Focus on the above, and your later life property move can become much easier. And, as ever, make sure you get the right support, so your last move is your easiest!
Get in touch with us today if you require house removal services in Bristol, the South West and beyond.
