What property features would you never have again?

[AnxiousRose]

What features from your current or previous property would you avoid if you were househunting again?

For me, it is three storeys. I had this in my last house and did not expect to dislike it as much as I did. My bedroom was on the top floor and I hated all the stairs especially with young kids. Three storeys usually means the downstairs space is small for the number of bedrooms.

I agree. I wouldn't buy a house unless it had an ensuite especially as we are in our 60s now.

It is so much easier to go to the ensuite in the middle of the night than having to leave the bedroom.

We also lock the bedroom door from the inside for security as I have horrible dreams about someone walking in to the bedroom otherwise.

The main on is too small... at the end of the day everything come down to size. I don't mind 3/4 stories (as long as every thing is a usable size not these 3 story hamster hutches new build developers knock out).

I also grew up open plan (long before it was fashion) and the entire down stairs of our house was open plan. We would only buy a house with separate rooms. I need lots and lots of separate specified purpose rooms (and cupboards, I need places to keep coats and stuff more than I need a pinterest 'reading nook').

I like the IDEA of a cellar but every house I have lived in with them have horrible issues so I acknowledge they can be a nightmare.

I like the IDEA of a garden but honestly I have no green finger, I'm lazy with that stuff and I'm terrified of lawn mowers (giant spinning blades, no thanks).

No coal fire, I grew up rural my whole life with them and my mam had one until she passed away. They are hard work and messy and I HATED it (was my job). I like the LOOK of wood burners/fires but I wouldn't use one, it would be decorative only.

I hate big kitchens, our current one is massive and the BANE of our life. They are just MASSIVE clutter traps (and insanely expensive to replace btw) but tiny 'cupboard' kitchens are useless too (viewed a house thats kitchen was 1.5m x 1.8m, it only had a sink, small cooker and washer, no room to move couldn't even have a door because it wouldn't open, fridge was kept in living room which is nuts). A simple galley kitchen or something (enough space for appliances and usable bench space) but no unnecessary floor space or cupboards is perfect.

Ditto with big bathrooms, should just be big enough to fit practically what you need. None of this 'we converted a large double bedroom into a bathroom. I shouldn't have to walk a mile from the bath to the other side of the room and theres better use for that space.

No tiles, I hate tiles especially in kitchens on floors. They are cold, uncomfortable, things shatter if dropped, grout is awful to clean and they become slippy death traps when wet (and give thats often where the back door is foot fall from the wet outdoors is usually common). I love laminate/wood flooring but if thats not an option I would rather have carpet than tile.

I honestly don't care about upstairs bathrooms, I have had both and honestly down stairs is easier (its where you spend most your awake living time so more practical... once in a blue moon I need to pee at night but I pee like 20 time a day when I'm working downstairs). I'm not running a hotel so the common argument of guests being embarrassed walking naked through the downstairs is bizarre (and who walks naked to the bathroom anyway... you go in and THEN get naked IN the bathroom).

Stairs in the middle of the house, it 'looks' nice but it often greatly effects the layout. It works in beautiful big houses and mansions with plenty of room but round here its common in tiny 2 bed semis and it means you can't change the lay out to do anything (like loft conversion stairs etc...).

I prefer old (pre-1930) houses to new ones (post-1930s) because new ones are tiny and terribly designed.

Agree. As long as the ensuite has a window and the people keep the loo lid down, there is no issue with smells.

I wouldn't buy a house unless it had an ensuite.

‘ it's a waste of money, get a proper extension instead.
people don't actually use conservatories for anything useful and they're always the wrong temp regardless, plus they don't add value to your house, the seals need replacing, and the windows endlessly need cleaning.’

Not always. We added a pitched roof triple glazed conservatory to our previous house ( it came from Norway on a ship, very thrilling), with one solid side wall and the house wall with a sliding patio door for access, two decent radiators. We used it as the dining room, it was totally draught proof and very warm. We used to sit in the snow watching the flakes fall around it, completely comfortable.

I would have another like a shot, but we haven’t thé space here.

That isn't legally a bedroom.
How can it be counted as one?

Not necessarily the house but a large garden that is on a hill. We’ve really grown to hate our back garden, it’s far too big for us and pretty much all on a hill so can’t even put slide/swings/trampoline out for the kids. We bought the house pre children and didn’t even think about it.

Hall without a cupboard or good size area for coat etc storage.
Very unequal size bedrooms, our rooms are all strange sizes which means our current spare room can only fit a single bed so no use for visitors and we’ve chosen to make it a dressing room for now. My daughters room can fit a king bed so I’d prefer if we could move the wall to even the size of those rooms somewhat but we don’t plan to stay here much longer so no point spending the money to do that.

I agree too.
In fact I won't even go on holiday now, self catering, without an en suite.

We did once, not long ago in an old cottage and the stairs were perilously close to the bathroom which IF you wanted to go in the night was very dangerous.

Would never again put electric heated towel rails in a bathroom or en suite instead of radiators - I hadn't realised just how blooming expensive they are to use!
Agree with almost every other point made so far!

So its not even 3m2?

5.5ft x 4.5ft is 2.2m2.

Our airing cupboard is that size.

A bedroom for a small child (for council purposes) is classed as 4.65m2. Any room of less than 4.64 m2 may not be used as sleeping accommodation under laws for landlords/letting/council/new builds etc...

You can purely practically not really use a space under 3.75m2 for sleeping (1.95m x 1.85m or 6.39ft x 6.06ft) because you need that to fit a bed and have the bare minimum walkway/door clearence.

It literally cannot be classed as a bedroom, I think someone has made a mistake and you should really appeal if you are being charged extra tax on an unusable space.

@Cheeseandcrackers40 I’m not sure I have understood you, but I think that you could have a raised terrace. We had on in a house in France where the basement with kitchen) was on the ground level into the garden , the rest of the house was in the upper level (same as the road.) Previous owners had put a 2metre wide terrace at the level of the ‘top’ floor, supported by pillars on the ground. It was wonderful to sit out on in the evening ( had a river view) . The pillars didn’t obscure ground access into the kitchen.

With commonhold the charges can't go up stupidly though. However, there can be plenty of disputes between the owners.

Only on MN do people hate ensuites.

I do think they can be shoehorned into already small rooms which isn't great, but the poster who isn't putting them in a new build is completely daft, if they're designed properly with a window and plenty of room between the door and bed, then they're great. Plus it will majorly affect future saleability of the house, whether you like it or not.

A house that's too open plan - no way of escaping noise when your teens have a gaggle of friends over.

Gravel drives - they take so much maintenance and life is too short. It's like the modern day task of Sisyphus: weed / spray (and feel crushing environmental guilt if you choose the latter), top up, start again.

Limestone floor tiles - suck in every bit of dirt they can find and perpetually look grubby. I'm gradually ridding our new house of them but they're a bugger to remove and disintegrate into powder that gets everywhere.

An en-suite is a luxury if you live alone, i.e. without a husband😂 mine has a good extractor fan and I open the window as a back up for excess moisture, although unnecessary. When I was married we had a bathroom each😊

We have an insinkerator. It doesn't smell at all, surely a food waste bin sitting on your worktop smells far more?! It's the opposite of messy - food gets scraped down it and its gone - no mess at all.

I’m with you on this😊

Oh - I also hate large gardens. They cost a fortune to maintain.

If I were you I'd get the 'ensuite' fitted with piping and sewerage pipe.

But use it as a wardrobe.

Otherwise your resale will be affected/more difficult. Much easier to put in an ensuite if piping is in place

Septic tank/ any other utilities where you are end of line/ off the main grid
(we're also the end of the fibre cable and electricity cable so get issues )

This reminds me that I saw this en-suite house... I laughed out loud.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150376598#/?channel=RES_BUY

I can HAPPILY live without a 'poop cupboard' thank you.

Open plan living room. Never again. Small cosy rooms are the answer.

The house we had before this one had stairs going up from the living room. It was a compact detached house in an expensive area (Surrey) I loved it, it was very cosy. I do agree about wanting my own parking on my own property.

Bifold doors (5 metres), don’t know what we were thinking. Likewise a large roof lantern, room gets far too hot in summer.

My garden isn't acres but its a good size. I love it. I'd walk away from the house without a second thought but it would be a struggle to leave my garden.

Leave most of the lawn unmown (long). If you mow a strip round the edge, it then looks deliberate (rather than neglected) and also encourages the species that benefit from mowing (speedwell, daisies, and invertebrates that like short grass). You can mow a path through it too, which is a lovely way to actually enjoy all the insects that WILL come if mowing is reduced.

In the autumn, if you mow/strim/scythe it AND remove the clippings, you reduce fertility which encourages non-grass species (aka wildflowers) the next year.

Obviously if your lawn if for sports/kids/sunbathing on, you may need it short. But if it is huge and onerous, consider the above management for some of it and just mow a football pitch or whatever.

The life and buzz in a garden with unmown lawn is transformational.