Dafydd Hardy, company director of Dafydd Hardy Chartered Surveyors and Estate Agents, says he has seen a rise in the number of older people choosing to move closer to their children so they can help bring-up grandchildren.  But the North Wales estate agent warns the move can be very emotional as it often means leaving an established family-home and well-loved area.

One of the explanations Dafydd suggests for the trend is that many grandparents now remain very active throughout their sixties and seventies.

“It’s certainly true more young people are having to move away from the area they grew-up in for work or study reasons, but nowadays grandparents are able to offer real practical help in raising their grandchildren and are reverting back to traditional family values.

For instance the rising cost of childcare mean grandparents can help their children save huge sums of money just by looking after their own grandchildren.

In fact it’s been estimated that grandparental childcare in the UK is worth £3.9billion.  It’s not all about money though, living closer to your grandchildren means you get the benefit and joy of seeing your grandchildren grow-up,” said Dafydd.

“I understand how hard it must be though to move away from the area you love to be closer to your family.

“As professional estate agents we never try to influence someone’s decision, but we try to advise them to think through all the various options and scenarios that could happen.
Such as, what happens if the parent has to move away with their work?  The grandparents could be left in an area where they have no family or friends.”

Dafydd said: “If grandparents do decide to move then one thing that could make the transition easier is to rent somewhere for six months to get to know the new area better before fully committing to buying a house.”

“Just make sure it’s what you really want and your kids actually want you there!” Dafydd added.

Keith and Anne Sillitoe: “Family comes first.”

Keith and Anne Sillitoe are planning to sell their three-bedroom bungalow in Beddgelert, Snowdonia, which they have lived in for over a decade, and move to within easy driving distance of their two grown-up children and partners.

Their daughter lives in Leeds while their son is in the Manchester area, so Keith and Anne plan on finding a house between the two cities.  Retired IT consultant, Keith, said: “We love it here in North Wales, as we’re both keen walkers and have lots of friends in the area.  We’ve obviously got lots of mixed feelings about the move, but in the end you’ve got to get your priorities right and family comes first.

Our granddaughter starts nursery in few weeks time and we want to be able to nip over and pick her up if our daughter can’t make it one day,”  he explained.

“Our son’s wife is expecting their first child soon so we want to help them out as well.

At the moment we’re just too far away to help with any of the practical things and we’re missing out on the fun bits too, like meeting up at the weekend,” Keith added.

Dafydd Hardy’s top tips for grandparents moving closer to their families

• Rent a house for the first six months – you’ll have a better idea of the areas you’d like to live in and if you want to make the move permanent.
• Consider downsizing – do you really need all those bedrooms now your children live just down the road?
• Don’t be forced into any decision by a pushy estate agent – a professional agent should be considerate and empathise with your situation.
• Remember you still need to make time for yourself so get involved in the local community as soon as possible and make some friends.
• Make sure your children genuinely want you living so close to them.
• Remember your children may not have a long-term commitment to the area you are moving to.

Dafydd Hardy Estate Agents are celebrating in style as they open their stunning new Fine & Country Menai Bridge office.

Ideally located within the former Barclays Bank building in the town centre, the prestigious new office officially opened its doors on 1st February 2010.

The branch will cater for both Fine & Country clients and Dafydd Hardy Estate Agents clients, having recognised the need for a presence in the town to complement the exemplary service provided by the other regional offices.

The new office has been finished to a very high specification with a contemporary office layout and with specialist local staff experienced in dealing with a wide variety of properties.

Chris Dibb an experienced estate agent, heads up the Fine & Country team, ably assisted by Sara Thomas with Nia Surgey and Luke Pollitt responsible for the Dafydd Hardy properties.

Dafydd Hardy, said “Fine & Country is one of the most exclusive property brands in the UK and we are proud to be the North Wales representatives. The marketing of our clients’ properties is second to none with national and regional magazines, bespoke lifestyle brochures, advertising in the top regional and national publications such as the Sunday Times and with offices throughout the UK including Chester and Park Lane, London.”

In addition, Dafydd Hardy is one of the region’s leading estate agents for residential sales and lettings and has previously been awarded the title of Best Estate Agent in Wales 2008.

The firm has a strong network of local offices in Holyhead, Llangefni, Caernarfon, Bangor and now Menai Bridge and its friendly and experienced staff reflect the firm’s long held ethos of providing quality service to all its clients and professional associates.

Richard Thomas, co-director and one of three chartered surveyors within the company said “This new office will allow us to further expand our operation which incorporates our Lettings Department who are recognised leaders in their field and our recently expanded Professional Services Department who provide a range of services including matters relating to planning applications, sustainability and coding issues, together with residential and commercial surveys & valuation, energy assessments and valuation for legal purposes.”

Please visit www.dafyddhardy.co.uk, call 01248 711999 / 711992 or visit 2 High Street, Menai Bridge.

With this blog, we’re hoping to bring you some valuable news and information about the property and real estate business in Wales and across the United Kingdom.

Naturally, we’ll also be blogging about what we’ve been doing, when our staff have been involved in charity events, when we hold our next auction and even when we sometimes make the news.

For more instant, blow-by-blow accounts of our news and opinions, you can also
follow us on the micro-blogging site Twitter: