Preferring Independent House in Old Age

In a recent twitter poll organized by Manish Chauhan of JagoInvestor.com, I was surprised to see that 50% of responders preferred independent-house in old-age (over a flat in a society). Since this was so counter-intuitive to me, I requested people to cite reasons to stay in independent-house. This post is to accumulate all those points. Some of the reasons FOR an independent house are not specific to old-age but evergreen points. I have classified them separately.

Specific to retirement/old-age:

1. Pursuing of hobbies: Retired old age IS the time to pursue hobbies. Some hobbies like gardening may not be suitable for shared flat kind of accommodation. Independent house helps.
2. High maintenance charge: Flats in societies can have very high maintenance charges, which may be unacceptable in retirement.
3. Status Quo: People want a familiar environment in old age. Folks who have stayed in independent houses all their life see no reason to change to flats in old age.
4. Proximity to parking: It is not possible to have car parked nearby in most societies. In old age, with limited mobility, this can be a good reason.

Evergreen:

1. Privacy: A private balcony is an impossibility in a shared society. In crowded cities, complete privacy may be hard to get, even in an independent house. But there is a finite probability of getting the requisite privacy.