Retirement-Your Experience

As for house prices, I can only offer my experience of house sales locally. There has never been any decline in prices. There was a flattening off of prices, which mostly meant that houses didn't move. This is confirmed by our youngest son who has been an estate agent in the South Manchester area for over twenty years. (though he never tell anyone as it's a conversation killer and some people are easilly offended).
There's always been a difference between what price is offered and what is accepted.

Prices for similar houses can vary by a significant amount if they're even just a hundred yards apart. It's pointless quoting national statistics, you can't apply them to individual houses or areas. There were areas in the eighties particularly in the North East and other areas where property prices dropped significantly, due to industry closures and job losses. These figures would have gone into the pot.
If someone wants a particular house they'll pay the asking price. It happens in our road when occasionally, a house comes up for sale. Boards are up and down again in a couple of weeks. Sometimes boards don't even go up, the houses sell that quickly.

 

Hi,

Well said Doghouse; yes if someone wants to buy the house it will sell; the immediate bungalow to us was on the market for four years because the owners spent more time having six week Australian holidays and living so much for golf their bungalow was badly run down; it was cheap because of this at £285,000; our new neighbour actually got it for £225,000; the holidays and playing golf proved very expensive indeed.

A house across the street sold rapidly a couple of years ago for just under the asking price; another house also across the street was rapidly sold just a year ago; now another house has just gone on the market it needing a comprehensive interior makeover with new kitchen and bathroom etc; it's been on the market for less than a week and it's now sporting a sold sign. The first two houses were for sale due to downsizing but this third house is on the market because the old lady went into care about a year ago; we keep receiving flyers from estate agents offering free valuations because they want to sell our bungalow.

The house directly across the street from us is badly run down; the husband passed away about a year ago whilst his wife now has dementia; her two sons and daughter are already squabbling over the estate and the old lady hasn't even died yet; the more I learn about people the less I like them.

Years ago Bron received a phone call from an estate agent asking what was a convenient time to value our bungalow; when I arrived home Bron explained someone had asked the estate agent to phone wanting the estate agent to do the valuation; at the time our immediate neighbours were pestering us to sell them a section of our rear garden so they could build on it; these particular neighbours were a pest and they built a big four bedroomed detached house at the top of their rear garden; once completed they sold their bungalow and the new house then went to Cypress where they built another house; we were glad to be rid of them; we still have our big garden because we prefer privacy to money sitting in an account; the land will be going up in value and is always there.

WOW Mike, I've just been nosy on eBay looking for a Ransome Certes mower; at around £1,800 each my £20 load of Colt scrap is a huge bargain? I wish I had usable space to store lots of machinery then I could restore lots of them but we live on a steep valley side; walking up our big rear garden is a good workout and I know about it when I drag the mower or rotavator up to the top. The Certes looks like a top class mower and definitely of industrial quality; I'd enjoy having a JCB and fork truck; i've got a counter-balance fork truck licence. I can dream on; I wonder what I'll find this Saturday at Rufforth Auto Jumble; you'd love it there Mike.


Kind regards, Colin.

 

We regularly get flyers through the letterbox from different estate agents telling us they have a buyer for our house.

 

Hi,

Even from your youngest son Doghouse?

I don't mind the estate agent flyers but I do mind the many new fast food outlets which crop up so often that are of absolutely no use to us.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

None from our son, he has never had our house in his area. Branches of the same estate agency are very territorial.

You mean there are firms that will deliver pizzas and the like to your door?

 

Hi,

The only food through our door Doghouse is what we collect from the stores; junk food never.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

We've just finished the take-away Chinese we always have delivered on Thursdays, from one of our favourite restaurants (not a fast-food joint). Pricey, but you get what you pay for.

 

Chill out.

It's an off-topic thread, no one has to read it. I can just scroll down if there's something posted that doesn't interest me, or has gone off at a tangent, it hardly matters does it?

Start telling people what to do and people stop posting. It's what kills off some message boards, I've seen it happen.

 

So, back to topic. Your kids (probably in secret) hope you won't spend all your savings in your retirement and when you drop dead, they then can sell your place and afford a pretty decent down payment on a home!

Two birds... one stone.....


And perhaps attend a @Scrungee seminar for tips....

 

Just two weeks to go @Trunky

 

I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement. Won't be long @Trunky.

Rude. I wonder who was involved in killing off those message boards.

 

Hi,

Oh dear; looks like I'll be needing another forum to play on because I'm forever rambling on many times way off topic.

I've often thought the "off topic" discussions more interesting than the "on topic" discussions.

Kind regards, Colin.