Why Retirement Is The Perfect Time To Renovate Your Home

Retirement is the time we can sit back and enjoy all our hard-work. Whether you plan on cruising around the globe or spending more time with your grandkids, it’s also the time you should start future-proofing your home.

With life expectancy increasing to 87.6 years for men and 90.2 years for women, there’s still plenty of time to get the home of your dreams.

Renovate v Relocate

Often when we approach retirement, we can start thinking about relocating. Whether it’s to be closer to loved ones or to find a more suitable home for us to spend our later years.

Often when people look to relocate after retirement they choose to downsize too, thinking it will be easier to manage and maintain. Of course, what’s not factored in, is that downsizing means having to part with often much-loved and sentimental pieces of furniture and clothing.

In addition, retirement friendly homes and apartments tend to be part of a retirement-style complex. Whilst these are great places to live and often have all the amenities close-by and there’s a real sense of community, the ground-rent and service charges are often thousands of pounds per year. With the average pension pot around £61,897, if you chose to relocate, your pension could take a massive hit every year paying for this new lifestyle.

Staying in your home and renovating it might be the perfect solution – especially if you love where you live, have all the amenities you need, and of course are close to friends and family. Equity release is a great way to fund any changes you make, whether it’s cosmetic alterations like repapering your master bedroom, or more structural changes to help you later in life, such as a walk-in bath / shower, or maybe even a garage conversion.

The renovations you should make

Obviously when you make any changes to your home, you want to make sure you’re also adding value to the property. If you’re considering making alterations to your home during your retirement, here are some of the most popular updates you can make.

Levelling the garden – As we get older, we can lose our balance and stability. If you have a garden with a steep incline, or a lot of steps to get to your front door, then taking the time now to level off the ground could pay dividends.

Widen hallways and doorways – If you buy a new build, you’ll have noticed that all the doors and hallways are wider. This is so they can accommodate a wheelchair. If you’re planning on staying put, spending a bit of time and a bit of money widening hallways and doorways could make the world of difference when you’re older.

Create a wet room – Wet rooms are not only popular, but they’re a practical solution too. Whilst we all might love a soak in the bath, a wet room can help accommodate any mobility issues we may face when we’re older.