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.

A roof light that didn’t open, looked a lovely feature but bees kept going up there and couldn’t get back down. Also large bifold patio doors, waste of money as we only ever really opened the single end door.

In my next life, I’m going to be a nun, a rich one, and live in a detached bungalow.

@housethatbuiltme it's a devil isn't it - I tried stripping and reversing and it looked worse!!

Hate my Egyptian stone kitchen floor. Cold in winter, and needs brushing 10 times a day. Love my en-suite. Has a window and a fan so no steam and I don’ t have to trot to the bathroom for my several trips in the night. Hate my large garden. Husbands choice but now I’m on my own it’s a constant headache or an expense.

@gmor6787 I think that's what mine is - it's a rented house ( a lovely one too) hence why I couldn't say what it is- it looks like the pic below- we've got it both kitchen and hallway, ( underfloor heating too ) it constantly looks grubby, always needs sweeping - would never pick it !!

Thanks for sharing this. It's looks stunning and I was considering this but you've swayed me otherwise now.

I agree and modern stoves have filters and you cab burn low emissions wood.

@Harshtruth1111 yep, quite a few things in this house were definitely done for looks and not practicality - the house is a 4 bed late Victorian semi ( like a really big cottage look) so I kind of see why they picked it but it never looks clean, shows every bit of leaf, speck of grime etc and as the other poster said I am constantly brushing it - See also their lovely remote control electronic blinds ( that take £16 worth of batteries a time and fail constantly) very complicated remote control extractor fan etc - the owner is an architect and clearly liked gadgets !!

This was me- I had to buy a net on a pole to rescue the bees and like you, think we had the bifold open twice in a year.

The main thing I hate about our house is only having one toilet. An en suite or downstairs loo (or both!) would be great! Also, never have a shower screen with a return, it will always leak.

I totally agree with everything you've written. Also, the daughter of a friend of mine is currently trying to get on the housing ladder and is looking at 2-bed modern properties and they all have a downstairs cloakroom and the main bedroom en-suite (one of them even had both bedrooms en-suite!) - and this is in houses that are less than 1,000sq ft in total.

@Gwenhwyfar @Alondra @Another2Cats My house was built in 1979 and has an en-suite with a big window (and the room itself isn't that big! 😂). You do realise that just because you personally haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, right?

NO:
Leasehold
Steps in the garden, nightmare with youmg kids
No downstairs loo
Poky kitchen with tiny worktops
Flat roofs anywhere - higher insurance, more heat loss and leaks
Ensuite bathrooms - pointless use of storage space, extra cleaning, noisy husband
Pay parking/CPZ
Busy street /traffic lights outside.
Near a school - selfish parents blocking the road is universal
High ceilings
Wooden windows
Decking

YES:
Garden
Own drive
Trees for shade and clean air
Downstairs loo

Love the sound of this but worry that they are unmortgageable when we (or more likely our heirs 😂) come to sell. Does anyone have any more info?

My post was in response to someone saying that they had hardly seen any windowless ensuites and thought that it was common for houses to have ensuites with windows.

My comment was just in the same vein as yours.

Honestly think you should look up the space requirements in their own planning docs and get back to them with their own words. Write to your counsellor if no joy.

Someone else explained it is to do with the house valuation in 1991 not the amount of bedrooms re council tax which makes more sense.

Stairs leading to a property....if above 5 stairs then seriously avoid. You will suffer when you have kids and again when you are old. Plus so much harder to sell
Yes. Plus if, heaven forfend, you are in hospital with something that has impaired your mobility, those stairs will delay your discharge.

What did you not like about electric underfloor heating?
I much prefer it to the wet version, for no leaks to attend to, no servicing required, takes up no space in my airing cupboard, no manifolds or hot tanks, just simple programmer/thermostats in each room/zone.
it was a huge improvement over our previous wet system in a previous house.

Just older properties in general and mines not that old (1930s.) I've spent do much money bringing it up to standard and it's still a mess but getting there.

You just don't know what horrors you're going to find when you start improving.

Ensuites are fine if the house is big or the family is. But these days they are shoehorned into the tiniest properties. My friend has a small 2.bed flat with pretty small bedrooms and a decent sized bathroom... And an en suite! No storage at all but a second bathroom... What a waste of space.

Tiled floors anywhere - spill.some water and it's broken neck territory. The non slip versions don't seem.much better but are harder to clean and feel yuck barefoot. We went for fancy vinyl and I'm delighted with it. No slipping, no worries about water damage, durable and more forgiving when you drop something.
We now have three level,but the loft is really well insulated and has no dormer attached so it's a cosy extra space that keeps the house warmer.

Decking - if covered by a garden roof thing then it's fine, doesn't get slippery or mossy. It's the ones fully exposed to the elements.that.do

What did you not like about electric underfloor heating?

probably because they cost £££ to use.
we have a small area in the kitchen. if we were to leave it on most of the day it would cost us a tenner a day in electricity.

I was always anti separate dining rooms, but our current house has two linked rooms going from back to front of house - divided by floor to ceiling folding wooden doors. In our previous house we had a similar arrangement made into one room. But here the rooms are pretty big so using the front one as the living room by itself is fine. The kitchen is also big enough for a dining table. So for years we had a back room we didn't use much. We tried having it as a games room for teens but that never took off (they preferred their own bedrooms).

Then we bought a much bigger table so that had to go there. We very rarely actually use it for dining! But it has proved useful over the years for storing things such as furniture from rooms that were being decorated or for kids parties - it has doors onto the garden. I now use it for craft / jigsaws.

I know, the luxury of a room you don't really need is not granted to all. But really if it is not designated officially as a dining room, it has no purpose.

It's also a quirky Edwardian house over 3 storeys. But I love the quirkiness! I have never in my whole life lived in a modern house or flat and I know I just couldn't. The 3 storeys are annoying when hoovering stairs, trying to paint the walls of the landings/ stairs (gave up and got a decorator in after a few attempts) or you are feeling lazy but otherwise work really well for us.

You wrote in response to a PP who didn’t line the high maintenance of wood cladding.

I lived in a 1950s wooden house in a harsh American climate (less rain than the UK but a great deal of snow and summer sun) and we had hot water heat in the floors and walls. All of it was brilliant. The cladding needed to be stained - to maintain its natural look -about once every 10 years.

Also, New England has a harsh climate and is famous for its many lovely painted wooden homes of the 19th c. They are holding up well.

My electric UFH cost a fortune to run, stopped working multiple times, the last time it wasn't possible to find the problem without lifting all the floor tiles, so we gave up. Would not have again!