Our Patch Spring 2018 Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush | Page 20

OUR PATCH SPRING 2018
ASK THE
EXPERTS
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE
L
ast week, my husband came
home and announced that he
was in love. “I’m not having
another rusty old heap of metal
standing in front of the house!”
I fumed. Over the years, my
beloved has had a love affair with old
British cars – most of them not in the
best of states! “It’s not a car, it’s a road!”
he beamed, pleased as punch to have
caught me out.
It turned out that on a mission to
deliver a parcel to an old chum he had
stumbled across a secluded cul-de-sac of
eye-wateringly picturesque Victorian
cottages. “I could imagine us living
there,” he said.
These last words were music to my
ears. A few months back, we had had a
conversation about whether we extend
the kitchen and do other renovations to
our Edwardian pile, or downsize to a
smaller home, and avoid sinking our last
brass sous into bricks and mortar.
My husband came down firmly in
favour of the former, saying the only
time he would be leaving was when he
was carried out in a box. This change of
heart was reassuring.
According to Saga, 70% of over 50s
are considering moving to a smaller
property to fund a new life in their
20 / 21
retirement – called rightsizing. “While
it’s a difficult decision it can also be an
incredibly rewarding one,” said Saga’s
Lisa Harris.
“Releasing yourself from the shackles
of a large home that needs maintaining
can give you more time, and rightsizing
can allow people to release money from
their home so that they can keep doing
the things they love.”
According to Saga, 70% of
over 50s are considering
moving to a smaller property
to fund a new life in retirement
Making it happen
Any property move is a big one, so it’s
important to get expert advice before
you bite the bullet.
Planner Yussuf Mwanza said his
company could do a ‘sense check’ to
determine if there had been any
planning issues in the past, and what
the chances were that approval would
be granted for any alterations such as
building an extension or granny annexe,
or making changes to the footprint or
access because of mobility issues.
A case review might even determine
whether a client went ahead and bought
the property, said Yussuf whose
Chiswick-based company MZA Planning
helps numerous clients negotiate the
choppy waters of councils’ planning
departments. “We could advise whether
or not the idea they have in mind is
even feasible and save our clients a lot
of time and money.”
Surveyor John O’Neill said a survey
could give his clients the reassurance
they need about the structural condition
of the building – especially as one of the
main reasons for downsizing was to free
themselves from the physical and
financial burden of maintaining a large
property. “I always ask what they might
be proposing in the way of alterations,
or if they have any particular concerns
– something they might get alarmed
about may actually be nothing – but I
Loft extension by
Ash Island Lofts