“They can cart me out of here in a box!”
We’ve probably all heard a similar sentiment. A humorous and slightly morbid statement about our final living arrangements. It might be a house, an apartment, a shack, a boat, some people just keep booking cruises and live almost permanently at sea! We design our living arrangements to suit us for as long as possible and the things around us become familiar and comfortable.
That assumption of permanence can be upended very quickly because things change. While they might not change for us specifically, they certainly can and do change around us.
Many of us still live in detached homes on a street. Whether you know our neighbours or not, we would certainly have a sense of them via ongoing encounters, or general comings and goings in the street. Age profiles, number of people living around us, the cars being driven, the sounds heard and the general state of the front yards. If we live in an apartment situation, there’s probably more close up tells. Through all of it, we all form a picture of where we live.
If we’re happy with the general ambience of our surroundings, it’s a reason to stay. Without any other lures, it can be a reason to stay for a long time, but things can change.
A person in their 50’s or 60’s might live in a very peaceful and uneventful street, with a similar vibe extending across their neighbourhood. This is definitely a reason to stay, but anyone who enjoys tranquility has to ask themselves “why is this street so peaceful?”
The age profile of the neighbours might be one reason. If there’s a lot of people older than you, then the likelihood of your street and neighbourhood changing (and changing rapidly) sometime in the future is quite high. While there’s certainly some people in their 90’s still living in their own homes, life expectancy or fragility eventually catches up with everyone.
That means someone or something new will be eventually arriving.
That presents various potential requests, risks, and flashpoints, as neighbours change.
Things to be aware of?
What does your fence line look like?
That might be the first thing a new neighbour eyes off. If the fence is looking a bit ratty, they may want to replace it. Any trees or bushes near the fence line might also come under question. There might be a few costs on the way when you’re expected to go halves in a new fence. When it comes to the plants, occasionally when something is planted on a fence line not enough consideration is given to the future.
With this in mind, a client recently told us they planted a row of pittosporum along their fence line for privacy. However instead of planting next to the fence, they planted 1.2 metres off the fence with an entry point. As the plants grew up to form the hedge, the gap allows them to walk the fence line with their hedge trimmer to ensure nothing ever impinges on the fence or hangs over. It’s easily maintained privacy.
What does your neighbour have in their backyard?
Big backyard sheds have become more commonplace in recent years, and while they can be a quiet place to tinker, you never know what they may turn into with a change of owner. One client has older lady living over their back fence. There’s a large shed on the fence line. Before her husband passed, it was where he parked his truck. The shed been dormant in the years since, but after a bad experience with “backyard engineers” and the accompanying 12 hours of noise at a previous house, our clients remain wary of what that shed might become if or when the property ever changes hands.
Do you have a park nearby?
It’s always nice to have some recreation space nearby. Somewhere to walk to. Somewhere to take the dog or grandkids, but open space can be a lure for councils. Whether they want to rationalise their parks to save money, they have developers or social housing builders in their ears, or they’re being pressured by state governments, who’ve come up with targets to build more housing and increase density.
There’s always a chance your local park might be on someone’s hit list. If it is replaced, it may alter your neighbourhood in various ways. Your view may end up becoming at apartments, the traffic nearby increases, and you’ve lost a local recreation space. You and your neighbours might be able to fight it, and you might win, but there’s also the potential for this to occur on a street wide basis.
In some areas of the country developers door knock houses. Offering over the odds prices to buy homes, demolish them, and put up apartments. Champagne problems, but if you’re one of residents happy where you’re living, you’re almost left without a choice if everyone else takes the cash. The neighbourhood will change. You won’t be happy. And you’ll be surrounded by density with little recourse.
Did you move out of town?
Even out in the sticks where we might assume a lot more peace and quiet than the average suburb, the ambience can change very quickly. We’ve seen clients set themselves up with a bush block in a lifestyle area where most people are on 3-5 acres. Absolute serenity. Plenty of buffer between them and whoever was next door. Then, after our clients had moved in, and spent about 12 months enjoying that serenity, it’s punctured. The property next door sold; the new neighbours built a dirt bike track for their kids. The weekends went from listening to the birds chip, to a sunup to sundown scream of 60 and 80cc engines.
When it comes to moving in retirement, at some point not moving is the ideal outcome. We hope we’re fortunate enough to live in good health, along with peace and quiet, for as long as possible in a comfortable home. Unfortunately, we can never control what changes around us.
This is a limited list, but there are various other scenarios which may prompt us to change something, upgrade, or just move on. Every scenario will be accompanied by some cost, whether it be a mental or financial burden.
We can’t say “plan ahead” because change just happens, sometimes without warning. But the turmoil can be lessened if we’re aware of the potential for something to occur. We can at least then consider our response if things do change.
This represents general information only. Before making any financial or investment decisions, we recommend you consult a financial planner to take into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs.
