Man, 70, sells 30-year home for social housing, calls it 'regret not doing it sooner'

A 70-year-old Japanese man, identified as Shuichi (pseudonym), has sold the detached house he lived in for 30 years to move into social housing, a decision he now believes he should have made sooner. Despite owning his home outright and receiving a monthly pension of approximately 170,000 yen (about $1,150 USD), Shuichi found the costs and physical demands of maintaining a large house increasingly burdensome.

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He directly stated that he should have done it earlier.

Shuichi lived alone in the three-story house, with most of the space unused. He faced mounting expenses for garden maintenance, air conditioning replacement, and potential exterior and roof repairs, alongside the aging of his water heater. The physical challenge of climbing stairs also became a concern as he grew older, leading him to question the value of a large home for a single elderly resident.

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For him, the truly worrying thing was not the monthly living expenses, but the unpredictable large repair expenses in the future.

Considering renting, he found that apartments in convenient locations came with monthly rent and management fees that could still strain his pension. He eventually applied for social housing, initially missing out due to high demand. On his second attempt, he prioritized proximity to essential services like supermarkets and hospitals, as well as the presence of an elevator, successfully securing a unit.

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He directly stated that he should have done it earlier.

After selling his house for about 22 million yen (approximately $148,000 USD), he used the remaining funds after expenses for future living, medical, and care needs. Although the move required discarding many belongings, Shuichi now enjoys a simpler life without the worries of home maintenance, stair climbing, or yard work. His son, initially skeptical, acknowledged that the smaller dwelling was sufficient for his father's needs, highlighting that Shuichi's definition of security had shifted from property ownership to a sense of peace and manageable living.

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For him, the truly worrying thing was not the monthly living expenses, but the unpredictable large repair expenses in the future.