To downsize, or not to downsize?

It's taken most of our working life to pay for our home with so many sacrifices made along the way, missing out on many things, not the least going without holidays or any other little luxury so that we could pay off the home and feel secure in the knowledge that we own the property and would never be forced out. How vulnerable are we now? It seems older people are being "attacked" from every angle 

I,m in my middle 70,s and I can always remember an adage , to look after your own before you look after another , JUST maybe we have to be a bit selfish and start housing our own AUSTRALIANS before we worry about another countrys problems 

Old? At 50? When I was 50 my youngest child was 12 years old. The next one up was 14. Hardly time to downsize. At 60 I'd love to downsize, just a bit, but who would want to live in those boxes that are called apartments? They are built along noisy highways and they have one small living area and no garden. This could cause either the murder rate to increase or depression or both. The apartments with space and location are out of our price range - somewhere above $2 million. When we married we bought what we could afford - we all moved to the far out suburbs, such as Old Toongabbie, Emu Plains, Engadine - when there were no fancy shopping centres and a long walk to the train station and houses "with potential". We didn't expect to live in brand new houses close to the city. It's expectations that have changed, and the sense of entitlement. Not much has changed about the housing market. CD 

Why should we be Guilty of doing something wrong by having worked for, paid for our homes over 30,40,50 years. There should be much more advice & assistance to change our homes to house more than one senior couple or single person. I am turning my home into 2 one bedroom units because I live in a wonderful place & I don't want to move. But I also don't want to do the work involved in keeping a home & garden that will get to big for me in the not too distant future !!!!! Other countries have schemes whereby older folks are encouraged to downsize their space by upsizing the number of people it will accommodate . This does make it easier to service home & health care needs & frees up living space, HOWEVER .......no one can tell me what the taxation, council rates, home insurance , Centrelink implications are if I do this..... Really not good enough... We need to be thinking outside the square !!!!! I do not want to move into a 'God's waiting room' type situation !!!! 

If the government would just wake up and stop foreign investment (other countries are more sensible and disallow) which does not benefit our country in the long term. This is such a major factor, as well as negative gearing for property investors, which affects the market blocking young investors. Foreign ownership of so much of our agricultural land and mining rights will eventually totally ruin this Australia and others shall rule by the power we are gifting them. 

I do think it would be better to look at people in Public Housing who occupy accommodation with several bedrooms or even huge houses alone for just a portion of a single centrelink payment - I know too many. I live in the inner west and, with declining mobility, would not like to relocate because of the transport available and being part of my local community. I find my old house a struggle to maintain but moving more than a couple of blocks away from my present location near trains and busses would result in me gradually getting out less, losing connection with theatre groups etc - isolating more and sinking into depression and eventually never going out and becomin g incredibly lonely. 

Another great idea of the left latte drinking "intelligence". We planned, we saved, we worked hard , and long hours, we paid high interests on our mortgage and we did not live in close proximity to the CBD and its amenities then. Hi there, things have changed ! The cities grown bigger we are relative close to the CBD now, get it ! maybe blame us and punish us for bringing up a generation of entitlement. By the way you want to live here ! you don't have to! Start planning, work hard build or buy somewhere else expand Australia instead of winging. 

It took me 30Years to pay for my house.During that time I raised 2 children and did not have one day out of work,The government wants older people to stay in our own homes for longer and now they want us to down size.what happens when my family come to stay-Do they go to a motel.I pay my Rates Insurance Electricity and another required payments. No one helped me pay for my home and perhaps the developers should have larger blocks of land to sell instead of the small ones with no yard.I might add that this was done on one wage.We did not go on holidays or go out for dinner or to the movies but stayed home until our debt was paid 

My wife and I are 78 I actual built the home raised 4 kids Three of them are married and live in the same post code there are 8 grand children. I point out that NO ONE helped us in the 60s and 70s we did it all on our own actual I believe our generation did it with out help,from the government or any other organisation. My wife is in St Vincent De Paul, ( I used to be but the attitude of the "cases" don't ask they DEMAND as if it is their right) I am not receptive to the "give me give me give me" generation Just perhaps we need tough times to make them appreciate how good this country is. Those who have come to this country in more recent times should be taught to fit in and WORK like those who came in the 50s and 60s and 70, they are fantastic Australian citizens Charlie 

It is a free country, and if we own our homes we can stay as long as we like. Its nobodys business. And if you down size as I did then you will loose the pension, so why should we sell and then be penalised, you would be a fool. I might add that I paid over $60,000 in GST to move, so get off the seniors backs , we are still paying plenty of taxes, well most of us are. Some do absolutely nothing for this country, and never will.