One in five owners in the UK aged over 55 want to down size
One in five home owners in the UK aged over 55 want to sell and move to a smaller property, new research shows. Average home owners reckon they could raise £78,000 by doing so but four out of five are worried about the expense and hassle of moving house, the research also found.
The independent retirement specialist Key Retirement Solutions is launching the first nationwide service to handle the house buying and selling process for over 55s called Keymove Property Services. Its research also found that around a quarter of those planning to downsize aim to give money to children to pay for house deposits and other spending. Around 23% are downsizing because of financial worries with 19% saying that the running costs of their home are too high. The research also shows that 1% cannot afford their mortgages and 3% have interest only mortgages with no ability to repay the loan on maturity.
However just 22% of over 55 home owners are unconcerned about the house buying and selling process- this leaves 78% who are concerned or worried. The hassle of moving home is the biggest worry for 60% while 49% are concerned about the expense. Some 34% are worried about delays in the house sale process while 27% are worried about negotiating their sale price. Keymove’s research shows there is strong demand for the launch of the news service and 59% of those questioned say they would be interested in finding out about a service which can handle the buying and selling process.
Quote from PropertyCommunity.com : “I’d be interested to know peoples opinions, on a local scale, of which neighbourhood attributes and services are the most/least significant in determining house
price? Does anybody have any interest in this? Many thanks.”
On a typical £200,000 property Keymove would charge £5,000 plus VAT in total for its service. The cost covers all legal and conveyancing fees, estate agency fees and the mandatory Energy Performance Certificate. The package also offers an independent valuation survey and two further valuations from local estate agents recommended by Keymove, based on those which have sold the most appropriate properties in that area. It also includes what the firm describes as a ‘unique’ 17 page valuation survey highlighting property sales in the area to give comprehensive detail on the sale price range that should be adopted.
Once a property is found a property passport is provided which the firm claims provides invaluable information about local amenities such as doctors and dentists, local transport, shopping and everything to help with finding the right property in the right location. The service includes help with negotiating the house sale and purchase price. It says that for example, an extra 1% negotiated on the sale price of £200,000 house would add £2,000 to the money released for the customer at no extra charge.
Key Retirement has appointed Vic Pegna as Head of the new initiative. Vic has more than 20 years’ experience in estate agency financial services with Countrywide and Your Move. ‘The launch of Keymove Property Services is the logical next step for the Key Retirement Solutions and builds on our expertise and experience in equity release and annuities and estate planning,’ said Dean Mirfin, group director at Key Retirement Solutions.
‘We regularly advise customers not to proceed with equity release as their real preference is to look at downsizing as an alternative and Keymove Property Services offers comprehensive advice and help. There is huge demand for downsizing with nearly one in five or around a million people planning to do so in the next five years,’ he explained. ‘But there are real fears about moving house and the problems involved which is not surprising considering many older people will not have moved for years. The risks of getting it wrong or losing money are real too as it is a decision they will literally have to live with,’ he added.