S/O...What do you love/hate about your current home?

[Neesy228]

I was reading through the "buying a new home thread" and many people pointed out that you're not going to get everything you want in a home. This has been on my mind lately as we are debating putting an addition on or moving into a larger home.

So, what do you love and/or hate about your current home? Is this home going to be your forever home or is it just a stepping stone to the next house?

For me, this house was not supposed to be a forever home, but it's certainly looking like it's going to be. We've been here 13 years and this is the only home our kids have known. Their best friends are on our street (mine too actually!) and the school is a mile down the road. There is a lot to love about this house - big yard, new kitchen we put in less than 2 years ago, 4 bedrooms, finished basement, small mortgage. But there's a lot I hate about this house too! The bathrooms are all the size of small broom closets, our family room is very small, we have no storage and a "two car garage" that would only hold two cars if they were both the size of a Prius and there was nothing else in there with them.

It seems silly to buy a larger house some days, then some days I feel like we just need room to breathe!

 

[wishesuponastar]

welive in a townhome, our first home we purchased 11 yrs ago.

Pros- we don't have to shovel snow or cut grass
We have 1600 sf plus a basement. 3 bedrooms 2-1/2 baths
We have two pools
Great neighborhood

Cons- we only have one assigned parking space
Dues are $200 month
We want a ranch instead of our two story. Thinking ahead to when we are elderly and don't want stairs.

 

[cijay]

I'm living in the house I lived in as a teen and just basically 'keeping it occupied' until we sell it in the spring. Am looking so forward to getting a place of my own. (I mean, I'm 50% owner of this place but don't like the place.)

Cons - I don't drive and groceries are 2 buses away
Huge yard to mow, rake, lots to walks to shovel
Heating bills are high
laundry in the basement

If I were staying here, massive changes would be made to the house but the area I'm looking in is very close to groceries, work and they're complexes so someone will do yard work. Single level (apartment style) and smaller so cheaper to heat.

 

[superme80]

Love:
I love the town we live in.
The front porch. It is nice to sit out on in the summer.
I finally have my own bathroom! I don't have to share with little children!


Cons:
Hardly any storage
The boys all share a room. There is an extra room that is being used as a playroom right now.
I hate the style. It is too modern for me. I long for a Victorian.
The yard is so tiny. We really need a bigger one.

 

[ronandannette]

We downsized and went condo with the intention that this will be our last home before the "senior's lodge". What do I love? Practically everything! We did a full cosmetic reno before we moved in so the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, paint, furniture and decor are exactly the way we want them. I adore the under-ground parkade and not having to shovel or mow anything. It's in my DH's "dream neighbourhood" and located extremely conveniently to both our workplaces'. Best of all, we got a very favourable deal on the purchase and it's an excellent investment.

The thing I most dislike is the appliances; electric stove and no way to install a gas line for anything better and base-model fridge with no way to add water or ice. The master bedroom is cantilevered and extremely cold in one corner - needs the wall opened up and to be re-insulated. We didn't replace the windows or furnace or toilets, all of which are functional but not near as efficient as new ones. The complex is 30 years old and the condo-fees and taxes are relatively high.

 

[sonnyjane]

I love the house itself. Literally just about everything inside is fantastic.

I HATE the 10-foot tall, 75 foot long hedge fence that we are in charge of maintaining to avoid HOA fees! For a while we paid a service to do it but it was $2,400 a year (had to have a 1-year contract), so this year we are tackling it ourselves but it's a pain in the butt. I'd like to rip it out but that would be extremely expensive too!

 

[RedAngie]

We downsized and went condo with the intention that this will be our last home before the "senior's lodge". What do I love? Practically everything! We did a full cosmetic reno before we moved in so the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, paint, furniture and decor are exactly the way we want them. I adore the under-ground parkade and not having to shovel or mow anything. It's in my DH's "dream neighbourhood" and located extremely conveniently to both our workplaces'. Best of all, we got a very favourable deal on the purchase and it's an excellent investment.

The thing I most dislike is the appliances; electric stove and no way to install a gas line for anything better and base-model fridge with no way to add water or ice. The master bedroom is cantilevered and extremely cold in one corner - needs the wall opened up and to be re-insulated. We didn't replace the windows or furnace or toilets, all of which are functional but not near as efficient as new ones. The complex is 30 years old and the condo-fees and taxes are relatively high.

I'm copying your style and highlighting the relevant points in red.

Not sure I understand what you mean by a cantilevered bedroom.......is it upstairs and juts out from the rest of the house?

When my parents bought their house 40+ years ago, my mother wanted a gas stove but the builder of the subdivision said no, electric stoves only. Yet they put in a gas line for the dryer and fireplace. I recently renovated the kitchen and intend to put the house on the market this spring. Getting a gas line for a stove was no problem. I don't know why gas stoves were banned back then, unless the builder had a sweetheart deal with General Electric.




In my house I like that the laundry room is upstairs, right by the bedrooms. In fact, that was the deciding feature that made me choose this house. All the laundry rooms I had in the past were either in the basement, or in an awkward part of the main floor. I also like the covered front porch. In nice weather I like to sit there and watch the world go by. I'm walking distance to a supermarket and a KMart too, although I usually drive if I'm picking up more than a few items.

Not really that bad, but I wish the basement had a separate entrance from the outside, rather than having to go thru the house to access it.

 

[karmomof3]

I love my laundry room upstairs by the bedroom, finished basement with a bedroom for guests and my open floor plan.

I do not like the hardwood in my kitchen, the size of my yard (too big), and my small two stall garage. I need to build a shed.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I like my floor plan, neighborhood, appliances, porch, pool, and solar panels.

But if I were designing my own, I'd also have a real library, easier storage, and separate heating/AC controls for each floor.

We bought it intending to be here until we needed something smaller, but I'm not as attached to it as I thought I'd be. If I win the Powerball, we're on our way.

 

[indimom]

My current home:
What I LOVE:
Large mudroom (8X15) entry off the driveway.
Large laundry room (12X15) with access to the backyard and mudroom.
Garage (2.5 car with attic storage) and 3-car parking in the driveway.
Large corner lot, close to schools, shopping, parks, etc. This has been great with kids.
Bedrooms on separate level to living space . Great with kids in and out. And I don't "have to" deep clean the sleeping spaces when hosting a party. No one goes up there.
Hardwood floors. Perfect for kids and animals.
I also love the style of my home. It's a turn of the century farm house. Transoms above every door, high ceilings, hardwood floors, plentiful tall windows for great airflow.
I've also really appreciated the "cut up" nature of this house. Having multiple spaces (while smaller than some like today) has been nice with kids. Their toys didn't have to be in the same room as the tv. Someone could play a rowdy board game in room A, while someone else played video games in room B, while dad watched the news in room C. We had a great-room style house when the kids were small and I hated the noise level and how it gave young kids too much room to get rowdy. If they don't have 20 feet to get a run in, they can't really race around as much.

What I HATE:
Cellar vs. basement. The only thing it's good for is furnace/water heater and emergency escape if we ever have a tornado.


While I love more than I hate in this house, I don't think it's going to be our final home.
Our kids are older teens and as we head into the empty-nest phase of our lives, I can see that we may want a different style of home in the future.


What I anticipate we will want is something about the same size; BUT, with a larger living space and fewer/smaller private spaces.
Probably a one-level with a basement and two-car garage.
Upstairs: one or two small bedrooms, one full bath with access to master and a hall, one large open living space, mudroom/laundry. Possibly a 3-season room.
Downstairs: a large finished living space with convertible furniture for guests, and a full bath.
Basically, I think I will need a larger more-open living space to host family events with our kids/grandkids. But I want less individual spaces and fewer bathrooms to keep clean.
And I'd like a private space for overnight guests (not a bedroom right next to mine). We've spent time at my sister's house in Florida and it was always a challenge sharing space when we live on very different schedules. Both of our kids are talking about living in different parts of the country. So, I'd like to have a guest friendly space for them to stay when visiting. A space where they could sleep in if we get up early, or vice versa.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

My wife and I helped in the design of our current home with the layout, features and materials from the ground up, so I can't think of any cons to be honest. Our list of pros would be long but would also more than likely be due to very specific personal features we knew we wanted from the start. We considered the pros and cons of the homes we've lived in throughout our lives and it allowed us to have a home built that we truly love. Some pros would be a lack of walls separating the main living space on our first floor. The kitchen, dining room, living room, family room, den and sun room are all part of a large room separated more by color/theme, furniture and a few half-walls, giving it an open feel. Our master suite and baths on one end, with the pantry and laundry room on the other are the only living spaces on the first floor separate from the main living area. We love the "wide open" feel of the design and are very happy with the results.

We did buy a townhouse last year that we intended to live in during the winter months but the cons involved in doing that made us completely change our mind. I think we'll use it more for us and our immediate family as a vacation home instead of a part time residence. We found we would miss the space and solitude we enjoy with our current home and would more than likely become frustrated with the lack of space, features and breathing room from living several months in a townhouse. We enjoy hosting our friends and family and that would be very difficult to do considering we'd be hundreds of miles away several months of the year. The pros of our current home significantly outweigh the cons of the townhouse, so I guess we were successful in building our dream home. I doubt we'll ever leave it at this point in our lives.

 

[Meriweather]

This is our final home.
Love: the layout
having my own room for computer and craft stuff
DH having his own room for his messes
huge master bath and walk in closet
living close to the kids
not having to do yard work (we hire that out)
large laundry room with lots of cupboards and on second floor
walk in pantry
my dream kitchen.....very large, lots of cupboards
2 garages, one is DH's shop
end house on dead end street
reading area that we added lots of bookshelves to in an alcove to master bedroom

Don't like:
high electric bill
so many windows
not enough storage....we rent a storage unit......too hot to keep things in the garage or attic
miss my basement the last house had
HOA fees

 

[antmaril]

I was widowed in 2008. In 2014, I sold our family home (lived there for 36 years) to my son. I bought my mother-in-law's condo because she is now in a nursing home. This condo is perfect for me. It is about 1250 square feet wth a two-car garage, full basement and first floor laundry. For the first time in my life, I have a walk-in closet and a small master bathroom. The condo has high ceilings and I did a compete reno before I moved in. New kitchen, floors, bathrooms, paint and almost all new furniture. I am very happy here. I live three miles from my son, so if I need his help with anything, it takes him less than ten minutes to get here.

 

[aprilchem]

We've lived in our house for 14 years now; I didn't plan to live here that long, but realized after we'd bought it that my DH (who I'd been married to for a year at the time we bought it, we've been married for 15 years now) is kind of traumatized by all the moving around his parents forced him to do as a kid. I don't think he's capable of moving somewhere else now that we have kids because he doesn't want to subject him to what he went through.

Anyway, here's my list:

CONS:
-my kitchen is TINY (9x9). It is beautifully renovated but I cook from scratch 3 meals a day and it is WAY too small for my needs.
-we have a "closed" floorplan (which is the opposite of an open floorpan, I guess?) Our house was built in 1939; all the rooms are very compartmentalized and closed off. I would prefer open.
-we have a very small lot (1/4 acre) I would prefer much more land, like 2 or 3 acres.

PROS:
-We have done a lot of renovation, so much of it has been built to suit my needs (meaning I designed what I consider "my" areas, like the laundry, kitchen, etc. exactly how I wanted). Because our house is fairly small we've been able to use high-end components without breaking the bank.
-we have a big first-floor master, which I like.

If I had my druthers we would be moving to a larger home on more land, though. But I respect my DH's opinions and try to be happy with what we have. Really we're very fortunate, so I have no reason to complain.

 

[sk!mom]

I was reading through the "buying a new home thread" and many people pointed out that you're not going to get everything you want in a home. This has been on my mind lately as we are debating putting an addition on or moving into a larger home.

So, what do you love and/or hate about your current home? Is this home going to be your forever home or is it just a stepping stone to the next house?

For me, this house was not supposed to be a forever home, but it's certainly looking like it's going to be. We've been here 13 years and this is the only home our kids have known. Their best friends are on our street (mine too actually!) and the school is a mile down the road. There is a lot to love about this house - big yard, new kitchen we put in less than 2 years ago, 4 bedrooms, finished basement, small mortgage. But there's a lot I hate about this house too! The bathrooms are all the size of small broom closets, our family room is very small, we have no storage and a "two car garage" that would only hold two cars if they were both the size of a Prius and there was nothing else in there with them.

It seems silly to buy a larger house some days, then some days I feel like we just need room to breathe!

We were right there with you several years ago. We'd been in the house for 13 years, it was paid off, and we were deciding whether to move to something that was more our "dream" or remodeling.

We spent about a year house hunting. The search led us to realize that we weren't going to get everything that we wanted if we moved. Plus, like you, we loved the location of our current house for several reasons so we remodeled.

We gutted the bathrooms and kitchen, and removed all carpet and replaced it with hardwood and porcelain.

Today, the only thing I dislike is the size of my kitchen- it's still tiny but with only DH and I, it works well for about 355 days a year and only feels small for maybe 10. As soon as DD19 graduates and we're done with tuition, we plan to put in a larger patio with an outdoor kitchen that will hopefully make that better. In our part of the country, Outdoor space is useable about 8 months of the year.

 

[tzolkin]

We moved a little over a year and a half ago. Our previous home was the one DH and I bought when we were in college. We had completely renovated every inch of the house (including adding rooms, moving walls, etc), so everything was planned to be exactly what best suited our family. I was quite nervous that we would miss that house, but our new house felt like "home" immediately.

Biggest pros:
Wonderful neighborhood (location was the only issue with our previous home)
Very open, perfect layout for entertaining (the deciding factor in our purchase)
Nice front porch, private back patio/outdoor space (moved to a better climate, so we like to be outside)

Cons:
I hate the kitchen counters. I don't like the color (grey) with the rest of the kitchen . They are solid surface and the scratching is horrible. Anything moved on the counter leaves a scratch. I have even scratched them several times with plastic containers. I keep going back and forth about changing them, but there is over 75 sqft of counters (plus I would change the backsplash style at the same time) so that's a pretty big expense for something that's not really "necessary"

Another "not a big enough deal to change right now" complaint is the master shower. There is a small shower and a big garden tub. I would prefer a nicer shower, but assume a tub is a plus for resale. (?) There's not really a way to make a bigger shower and still have a tub in the master. This is also, again, an unnecessary expense right now.

Kitchen stove is electric. I have always used gas, and I will probably swap that out when we need a new stove. I thought it was going to be a big problem and would need to be changed immediately, but it has been easier to make the switch than I had expected. It is also nice because this stove has an extra oven (where the broiler/storage drawer is on most ovens). So this is not really a con at this point, but it was when we were looking at houses.

When my parents bought their house 40+ years ago, my mother wanted a gas stove but the builder of the subdivision said no, electric stoves only. Yet they put in a gas line for the dryer and fireplace. I recently renovated the kitchen and intend to put the house on the market this spring. Getting a gas line for a stove was no problem. I don't know why gas stoves were banned back then, unless the builder had a sweetheart deal with General Electric.
.

My two assumptions about why that poster could not have a gas stove would be either that they don't have natural gas in their area or maybe since it's a condo it would be difficult to run the lines?

In our previous home we didn't have natural gas, so we used propane for our stove, dryer, and water heater. But we had to have a place outside for the tank and the ability to run the lines through the basement.

 

[puffkin]

We built our "development" house but were very young and couldn't afford many upgrades. Our plan was to move to a bigger house in 5 years. That was 11 years ago and while we could afford to move and have thought about it, I think we are going to be here a long time, probably until we downsize and retire.

Pros:
-House is neither too big or too small, especially now that we finished the basement. While it would be nice for more space, we don't really need it.
-Basement. We finished it two years ago and while we didn't go overboard, it is very nice and extremely functional space for us.
-Kitchen has been upgraded over the years (counters, appliances, new gas line).
-Gas heat and appliances. Very desirable in our area and super cheap to heat.
-Thanks to a huge hail storm that hit our area we have a brand new roof courtesy of our insurance.
-Finishes are to my taste and every year we keep updating.
-Beautiful patio outside and nice landscaping.
-Garage is big enough for some storage and two cars. Very unusual for our neighborhood.
-We are well established in the school, sports and community.

Cons-
-Upstairs bathrooms are very small with no linen closets in the house.
-Wish we had a 4th bedroom for office space and guests.
-I love that my laundry is on the 2nd floor, but it is just a laundry closet. I would love a 2nd floor laundry room.
-Kitchen storage. Would love a few more cabinets or a bigger pantry (just have a pantry closet) especially for small appliance storage
-My kids rooms are TINY while my master is almost too big. Just enough space for a dresser and bed in their rooms. I wish they had more space, but it has gotten better now that the basement is finished, and they use that space to hang out.
-We have basically no privacy in our backyard and no real options to add any.

Our goal is to have our house paid off well before 50 and to continue making all the small but personal touches that we enjoy to it. Once the kids are out of the house we would like to buy a condo in Florida and snowbird. Our jobs (especially as technology continues to improve) should allow us to work remotely by then so we think it is a realistic plan.

 

[Darcy03231]

We sold our large home about a year and a half ago and moved to our "retirement home." Since this will (hopefully) be our last home we made sure most of our boxes were checked off.

Pros:

4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms. 3 bedrooms and one bath are on the first floor, so it can be one level living as we age and we have plenty of room for guests
Full, dry basement with high ceilings
View (its on a lake)
2 car garage with 2nd floor so lots of room for storage
Private - we're at the end of a private road and all the lots are at least 1/2 an acre so we're not all on top of each other
We've done some renovations to update the house (still a few more to do)
Quiet lake

Cons:

Kitchen and bathrooms are small
Laundry is in the basement. If it gets so we can't do the stairs we can relocate to the first floor, but that will require some major renovations.
Driveway is stone. It gets icy in the winter. We do plan to put an asphalt driveway in the next couple of years
Garage is across the street from the house (which is also a pro because no one will ever be able to build a house across the street from us)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I love the house itself. Literally just about everything inside is fantastic.

I HATE the 10-foot tall, 75 foot long hedge fence that we are in charge of maintaining to avoid HOA fees! For a while we paid a service to do it but it was $2,400 a year (had to have a 1-year contract), so this year we are tackling it ourselves but it's a pain in the butt. I'd like to rip it out but that would be extremely expensive too!

WOW! That sounds incredible.

 

[pryncess527]

I love our backyard, deck, and huge open basement. I also love our general-purpose closet space and my laundry room.
I also love our bathroom setup -- the master bath suite is 2 half baths joined by a shower room. it was a design I'd never seen before, but I love it -- DH and I both have our own private half bath and someone can take a shower without being in the way of the other.

I wish that we had a garage, and that my kitchen opened up to the living room. I love my kitchen, but I'm isolated from whatever DH is doing when I'm in there which leads me to cook/bake less. I love visiting my moms house, her kitchen opens up to the living room and it makes me feel like I can do stuff in the kitchen will still hanging out with everyone.

I wish we had a walk-in closet for our master bedroom.

And I wish we had a fireplace. And a pool -- our backyard is wonderful, but heavily wooded and not suitable in slope for a pool.