Sir, – With reference to your article "Seven in 10 living in homes too large for their needs" (News, January 12th), the point is made that "more than 92 per cent of older people are living in homes too big for their needs".
I am one half of an “older” couple – both approaching 80 – and we would like to downsize to a slightly smaller house with a definitely smaller garden. In order to do this, we have to sell our house to see how much money will be available to purchase a new house, find rented accommodation, put our furniture and most of our belongings into storage, and then wait to see what comes on the market that will be suitable for our needs.
It is impossible to get a bridging loan to help us to put our house on the market while trying to purchase a new abode. I reckon this is why so many folk choose to remain in their “empty nest” rather than go through the ghastly process of selling, storing furniture, etc, and renting before being able to actually move to a smaller house more suitable to their needs. –Yours, etc,
PAT WATSON,
Dublin 13.