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UK home-owner? Take our survey. £100 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

(62 Posts)
PoppyM1985 Tue 06-Feb-18 11:05:13

We want to find out about Gransnet users’ experiences of home downsizing (selling a larger or more expensive home in order to move to smaller or cheaper home).

This survey is open to all Gransnet users who own their own home outright or have a mortgage on their own home.

As a thank you, everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list but includes John Lewis, Amazon, M&S etc)

Take the survey here
All responses are confidential and no individual details will be passed on to any third parties.

Thanks (and good luck).

GNHQ

Morgie52 Wed 16-May-18 14:46:42

Done

dahlia08 Tue 13-Mar-18 11:57:44

Can't downsize. The other half don't like change!

Granny23 Fri 09-Mar-18 11:31:03

I wonder if the company who sponsored the survey will take note of all the comments on this thread, which seem to show that their preconceived ideas (which will have been the basis for the survey questions) re why people downsize are well off beam.

Rowantree Thu 08-Mar-18 17:51:44

Agree, Witzend, downsizing doesn't apply to us at all. Our 'spare' bedrooms contain a lot of stuff I used for my textiles work (keep meaning to start again some day....) and are needed as bedrooms when MIL, DCs and DGC stay over. We need every inch of space and could do with more as MIL complains that we only have one bathroom.

Witzend Wed 07-Mar-18 11:42:21

Have done it, but a lot of the suppositions about downsizing don't apply in many cases, I suspect.
For a start, most people who are still couples, and live in a nothing-special family home, would often have to move to a much cheaper area to make all the hassle worthwhile financially.
Most couples do not suddenly find an ordinary family home much too big for them, especially if they have dcs/gdcs visiting regularly - (like us).

The only couple I know who downsized before being widowed/becoming decrepit, moved from a large 5 bed 3 reception etc. and a very large garden - which was also in the middle of nowhere, so car needed for absolutely everything.

I also read of a fairly local couple, still far from ancient and perfectly fit, who moved from a large period family house selling for over £2m, to a very large new build flat with 2 balconies overlooking a Royal Park, which cost over £1m.

Anyone can see that that move was worthwhile, but not many of us will ever be in that sort of position. (They also got rid of their inconvenient dog, which made me hate them.)

adaunas Tue 06-Mar-18 21:11:21

Done- but our ‘spare’ rooms are often used for child care and serve as a study too.

fialcross Tue 06-Mar-18 18:50:27

Done.

muddynails Tue 06-Mar-18 13:54:21

I agree Teetime, also I cant remember them asking if I was living with a partner and whether or not we slept together, i.e spare bedrooms
Sympathise Marmite, our removal company couldn't get lorry down road and we ended up with them having to get smaller lorry to unload and ferry our belongings three miles down road, it cost us a further £200.+ most of furniture ended up in a work room, we had to move most of it ourselves later as by now it was mid evening and raining, had to employ another local company to move heavier stuff for us. By the by was a well known company and the original cost was the highest quote we had (thousands), still not over it,
plus the problems we have had with major thing being broken and leaks and work surveyor never mentioned, I could go on but think I"ll go and have a lie down.

Rowantree Tue 06-Mar-18 01:03:28

Done. If we downsized it would be to a birdbox.

We need to upsize, in fact, but we could never afford that, so we're staying put. For now.

Flin Fri 02-Mar-18 19:03:04

We downsized to our converted garage and transferred our number. That way we had no need to redirect post or send change of addresses. We sold our big house to a lovely family so chose our neighbours carefully. With our children married off, we get by with a spare bedroom and two-bed settees. All winners!

henbane Fri 02-Mar-18 17:30:17

Done; I regarded the spare room question as relating to spare "bedrooms" ie rooms with beds not normally in use by the occupiers, where guests can sleep.

I've downsized twice; in each case it was to get a smaller, more manageable or convenient house rather than to raise money, once after children left, once after husband left!

Neilspurgeon0 Sat 24-Feb-18 13:03:14

Completed, although I am staying put for now

Florence64 Fri 23-Feb-18 21:17:59

I've done the survey, but a lot of the questions didn't seem to relate to our circumstances

Heather51 Fri 23-Feb-18 15:45:18

Done

jura2 Fri 23-Feb-18 15:06:06

Questionnaires always should have an empty space for 'other' in questions which are likely to have other options.

jura2 Fri 23-Feb-18 15:05:13

neither does it allow you to state that you do not live in the UK

Oopsadaisy12 Fri 23-Feb-18 13:51:55

Done, but some of the questions didn’t quite fit my circumstances, still, not to worry.

David1968 Fri 23-Feb-18 13:43:00

Done the survey. We're 3 months into downsizing to a residential park home, which is being built. (Currently living in a static.) Exciting time, but a bit scary too. Doing it while we still can, & to have an easy home & garden, for our future years.

NanaandGrampy Tue 20-Feb-18 08:54:57

Done

Alexa Sun 18-Feb-18 13:13:08

I did the survey but I fear I made a mistake in spelling out my email address and not permitted to rewrite the survey.

storynanny Sat 17-Feb-18 11:52:26

Done
I agree about the bedroom question
In theory my little house has 3 bedrooms but only one is big enough for anything other than a bed! I have a short single bed in bedroom 2 and the tiny cupboatd sized room is my sewing and ironing room. Not sure that a proper bed would fit, maybe it is a cotroom not a bedroom!

sylwright Thu 15-Feb-18 13:15:24

Done

McGilchrist41 Tue 13-Feb-18 15:30:49

Done

Mapleleaf Mon 12-Feb-18 15:20:32

Done

GrannyA11i Mon 12-Feb-18 13:30:51

Done - agree that question about spare room is misleading. We use two for our hobbies so they are not spare but neither are they actual bedrooms.