Small bedrooms with very little closet space.

Home theater room, don't have time to set it up

It has to be gut renovated. The electrical and plumbing are from the 1950s. There is one outlet per room except the kitchen which was renovated in the 80ties. No parking or back alley access... I could go on and on. Feel better.

We bought it cheap for the location.

Well its a condo. No deck/yard space. I think with a little deck or yard we could stay there for a long long time (even just 2 bedrooms)- as it is now, we will probably have to move when we start thinking about a 2nd child.

condo with a smoker that lives downstairs so hall always smells gross and is unhealthy for little lungs (doesn't come in unit, thank god). Worse is the lead windows (son has tested positive for lead at fairly low levels but I'm too afraid to replace windows lest we make it worse).

I'm ok with 700 sq. feet, no central air, laundry in the basement and the crazy amount of dust this old house makes, it's the above two that drive me to distraction.

Everyone feels better now, no?

This time last year I would have said that the house is too small for the four of us. But we're now almost finished adding a bedroom, a family room and a new bathroom (450 sq ft total) and I know I will love my house soon.

Things left to hate:

the weird swirly popcorn pattern ceiling in two of the bedrooms. I really want to change it but the hassle of emptying out the rooms and the dust and disruption seems too much, even if the cost is put aside. I also don't like the way the floors of our 130 year old house creak.

White wool carpet. We ripped it out of the living areas when we bought the house but still need to take it off the stairs (up and down), bedrooms, and bathrooms (1980s house).

Small oak baseboards--would be such a pain in the ass to redo the whole house, plus there's a lot if other wood trim that would have to be changed to match...

We have no entryway so we all walk straight into the living room and drop coats, backpacks, bags, etc and there's no way to create an entry without taking up too much of the already tiny living room.

We're on a very short street and only 3 houses away from a busy intersection and a really ugly building.

Anonymous wrote:66 is my backyard...hoping to sell this year, not feeling confident after reading that highway thread.

Don't worry too much. You saw the value in the house when you bought it and someone else will too. People on this board tend to be a little precious or entitled when discussing deal breakers, when the reality is that this is a congested urban area and there will always be some noise.

Just have good landscaping. There's something to be said for "out of sight, out of mind."

things I detest about our home:
previous owner put in "cool" horizontal cabinet pulls that are almost full width. Means we can't open cabinets in the corners all the way.

Attic floor has loose boards and random holes (for lighting in the rooms below). I feel like I take my life in my hands every time I have to go up there. Emptying the attic in order to re-insulate and fix the floor is an overwhelming prospect. I think I need a one or two week staycation just for that one project.

All of the showers need to have the tile work re-done. We are lucky enough to have four showers, but that is a lot of work to pay for.

Previous owners tiled over the original penny tile in two bathrooms. New tile is ugly (and cracked) and stock sinks and vanities don't line up with the plumbing because the floor is now too high.

Although the smallest bedroom is has plenty of square footage, it also has seven doors (four closets, bathroom, attic, hall), making it almost impossible for anything other than a twin. And only two outlets.

No proper entryway
Crappy small garage
Small backyard

not enough windows. we have a middle townhouse unit.

Anonymous wrote:My central air unit is too small for the square footage. My house really needs a split unit, but the estimates we've gotten have been around $30,000. NOT doable. We will just have to continue living with an extremely cold house in the winter, and hot house in the summer.

We've started running the fan for fifteen minutes every hour. It has really helped even out the temperature in our house. I don't think our old thermostat could do it, but it is one of the nifty features on the Nest.

We looked into adding zoned HVAC b/c our house was so uneven. The other thing that helped, but is more difficult to do, is we had an air return added in the basement. I don't remember what it cost, but it was not grossly expensive. Would love to add another at the top of the stairs, but that would require a lot of duct work that isn't happening.

The dining room is too narrow to have both a table and a sideboard.

We have a carport instead of a garage.

We really need a split HVAC system as the temperature in the upper and lower levels is not consistent. If the upstairs is comfortable, the downstairs is too chilly.

Rowhouse: Not much sun and a 100 year old slate roof that needs a LOT of love.