Whether you’re leaving your parents’ home to get on the property ladder, buying your first family home or downsizing, moving house is a big decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Many people get attached to their property – especially if they have spent many years there and invested a lot of time and money to make the home their own. A retired couple from Heywood, Rochdale, are now reaping the rewards after the difficult decision to downsize led them to their dream home in Chadderton.
Sue, 72, and Kenneth, 73, have put their three-bedroom home on the market after living in it for 34 years after concluding they could no longer maintain it in their old age and have now moved to a two-bedroom home. newly built house.
READ MORE: “A knock on the door made us buy our dream home…but now we’re selling it for £600,000”
Sue was talking to Manchester Evening News as part of our Where I Live series, where we talk to different homeowners each week to learn about their home buying journey. Bury council pensioner Sue and her husband Kenneth bought their first home together shortly after marrying in 1989.
As they got older, they realized that their family home might not be suitable because of its size and location. “We lived at the top of an estate called The Summit and the driveway and garden were really cool. But as we got older we started to realize that eventually it would be difficult to walk up the driveway and out into the garden,” she said Sue. told Manchester Evening News.
“Over the past few years we’ve also seen a few friends get sick and struggle to maintain their big homes, so we knew we didn’t want to put ourselves in that position.”
But the decision to put their beloved home on the market wasn’t taken lightly. “It was a big decision to sell our house because we’ve lived there for over 34 years. We’ve had a lot of memories over the years, we’ve known all the neighbors and seen their children grow up and grandchildren appear. It was important. decision,” said Sue.
“I’m 72 and Kenny is 73, so we thought if we were ever going to move, now was the time to do it. We loved our house, it was very nice, but we just wanted to live somewhere that was easier to manage.’
The couple then began looking for a smaller home, initially looking for a bungalow. Sue said: “Ideally we wanted a bungalow, but we looked at 12 bungalows and every single one of them needed major renovations. We didn’t mind a little renovation, but we weren’t going for a big project. We thought we could ‘Not find a bungalow , we’ll just stay where we were.”
After struggling to find what they were looking for, Sue and Kenneth decided to widen their search and also considered looking at new homes. “We wanted to stay in Rochdale because some of our family lives there, but we just couldn’t find anything in the area,” said Sue.
“We thought we’d look at Chadderton because we had a few friends living there, but it was still out of our comfort zone. We also thought let’s look at new houses as we don’t need an old house with a terrace.. We also wanted somewhere with a nice little garden.
Sue and Kenneth soon came across Countryside Homes’ Radclyffe Green development and were immediately drawn to the two-bedroom semi-detached house. “As soon as I went on Rightmove, this property came up. I contacted them straight away and they had a couple of double beds available,” said Sue.
“We went to see the show at home and as soon as we got out we both said ‘that’s it.’ So, within two days, we more or less looked at and bought a house. It had to be real.”
The couple quickly sold their home, which they say went to a wonderful family. “We sold our house straight away. The first family that came to see it wanted it. They were lovely, they really wanted to live in this property and we thought they were the perfect fit. Everything fell into place, it was like a jigsaw puzzle , all the pieces seemed to fit.”
Sue added: “We never thought we would be able to afford a new property. Considering we hadn’t bought a home in 34 years, we really didn’t know what to expect. We bought money so life is a lot easier because we didn’t have to think about getting a mortgage.
After moving into their new property last June, the couple say they feel right at home. “We moved in right away and we didn’t even have curtains. We just sat down with all our boxes around us and thought that’s it, it’s just perfect,” said Sue.
“Everybody who has seen it has said, ‘I thought you were cutting back,’ and we did, but it just seems bigger. I think it’s because it’s an open plan. We do not feel that we have lost space. We’ve lost a bedroom but we’ve got a bigger one downstairs, we also have a lovely flat garden which is lovely and just what we wanted.’
Sue explained: “As it was a new build it was ready to move into. We didn’t have to do anything about it at all. The only thing we did was buy new furniture because our old furniture was too big and looked too cluttered. It was nice to go out and buy some new furniture. Our new home is much more modern.
“We love gardening, so since we’ve moved in we’ve been doing a good job of tidying up the garden and just finishing up the house to make it more homely.”
Since they’ve been living in the new development, Sue said they’ve made a lot of friends. “Because we had lived in the same house for so long and knew all our neighbors, we were worried about that side of things. But it’s such a nice, friendly estate. There are 160 houses here and every time we play, the people are always very friendly. We joined a WhatsApp group and the community created a great atmosphere.”
Reflecting on their decision to downsize, Sue said: “We are 110% happy with our decision to move. I would say to anyone who has ever had doubts about downsizing as you get older, go for it and don’t be afraid to do it. We love that, and we’re both pretty active and healthy people, so hopefully we’ll enjoy life here.”
Kenneth added: “We didn’t expect to settle in so quickly, but our new home immediately felt like home. This will definitely be our forever home, we can’t see ourselves going anywhere else and we encourage anyone thinking of downsizing to go for it.”
Where I live: Get involved!
Are you a homeowner who recently completed a major renovation or a tenant who has made their rental property your own?
If so, we’d love to talk to you as part of our Where I Live real estate series. Each week we speak to different residents across the region to find out about their buying or renting journey and take a look inside their home.
If you own or rent a property in Greater Manchester and would like to get involved, please email your name and details to: phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com with the theme Where I live.