poorly insulated house.

The previous owners did a piss-poor job at insulation. The house was newly renovated (new windows througout too) but even the addition has zero insulation.

Big things that I would reconsider if I had it to do over again:

1.) Commute. There is a big difference between a 30 minutes commute and a 50 commute. Back when we were looking, it seemed that an extra 20 minutes wasn't a big deal to end up with a much better house. We thought it was better to either live right in the city with no commute or farther out with a better property/house than buy a ton of money and have a 30 minute commute.

2.)Lot is too big. We have 2 acres and only use .5 acres. The problem was that we really didn't see anything in the middle. Houses were either huge filling every inch of the lot and looking right into the neighbors windows or on a huge lots.

3.)Not enough kids. Big houses on big lots mean less density in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood tended to be one that people moved up into after being in smaller house in a denser neighborhood when the kids were babies through early elementary. There are lots of high school and college kids but only 4 elementary age kids and 1 preschooler.

Little things that I live with and would never bother investing in to fix:

1.) The rooms seem to off by a few feet in one direction and cut into longer shapes. I wish my family room was 3 feet deeper. It could be shorter but I woiuld prefer a square.
2.) We have lots of bi-fold closets every. There are 3 in the master bedroom, more in the hallway etc. They are a good size but I would prefer a walk in closet and to be able to retrive the wall space.
3.) The kitchen layout is bad. The workable space is very limited with not very much counterspace but then a huge open area in front of a desk and closet and large breakfast room.
4.) The kitchen window should be bigger. I would prefer windows on the sides of the house because the lot is beautiful but you never see large sections.
5. The bedrooms upstairs are very uneven in size which creates fights between the kids. I would prefer fewer rooms and two equal rooms or even the same number of rooms and two smaller equal ones.

Anonymous wrote:---rotten exterior window sill, have to scrape fungi off
every 2 months during spring and summer

---lukewarm water for bathing after just 10 minutes due
to 18-year old water heater that needs new
element/parts

---asphalt driveway "going back to Nature"

---bent gutter from where tree branch fell on it

---carpet disintegrating from children wearing it out
running, wrestling, vomiting, spilling food, etc.

---deck wood cracking, needs repainting & sealing

---missing several light bulbs so making do with less light

---refrigerator water filter needs replacing

---vinyls siding around windows starting to buckle

---window shades torn from children biting and pulling on
them

---chair arm needs sanding & refinishing where toddler
gnawed on it like a rat

---couch needs replacing due to being used as a
trampoline

I think, when having children, I should have moved out into the woods and erected a teepee to live in. It would have saved me a whole lot of time and expense.

Are you a single mom or is your husband really lazy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hope non of you have kids living in these defect houses its called child endangerment

At least my kids will know how to spell.

Part of being a parent is to provide a safe place to live. I think the PP was stating the obvious that some of these defects are very dangerous especially if you have kids.

Holes in the drywall from the doorknob in our bedroom and in the basement from DH's "home theater" system which he is too lazy to finish installing properly.

Our electrical outlets are all upside down--DH replaced about half of them, but not on the main level, you know, where guests actually see them.

Not really a defect, but our LR and dining room still have the 1980s white fabric vertical blinds that came with the house.

Sticking with the 80s theme, there is plush white carpeting in the master bath and the kids' bathroom upstairs. DS when he was younger was bothered by the rust spots from the toilet hinge screws that would show up on the back of the toilet bowl rim, so he would try to "clean" them by peeing on them, and so yeah, it's bad up there.

We put new cabinets in our laundry room a few months ago, and when the installer opened the boxes, one cabinet and two drawers were damaged. The replacements have been sitting in our garage for a couple of months, we cant get the installer to come back out to finish up.

Anonymous wrote:Hope non of you have kids living in these defect houses its called child endangerment

At least my kids will know how to spell.

I would like to paint most of the house, fix our gas fireplace and replace my living room furniture. Not planning to sell, just on the agenda.

I used to be a professional painter so it is not too expensive and I can't justify hiring it out, it is just finding the time that seems so daunting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH is the biggest defect in our house. Wish I could include him in the sale.

The next time the house is on the market, state that DH conveys - and that it's a deal breaker if people refuse to accept him as part of the deal.

Too funny.

I don't think you'll get many offers on that deal unless you offer the buyers cash at closing. I don't think real estate disclosure laws require you to inform buyers if you buried someone in the backyard, so that may be another option.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone has them -- little things that are wrong with your house that you delay fixing but know you would have to confront when it came time to sell. So, what are yours?

Mine: A couple of stains and cracks in the plaster on the ceiling, and some seriously messed up trim in one of the bathrooms. Also, the thresholds between rooms need to be replaced.

Mark A. Paulos Home Improvements
Plaster/Drywall Repair
Wallpaper Removal
Paint
Gutter cleaning & Repairs
Roof repairs
I have 140 reviews to show from my Service Magic Acct. with hiogh ratings
Insured to $1 million
Serving Moms' On The Hill for 10 years
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301-219-6593

Need a crapper on the first floor.

You know, on the whole stupid list (kitchen, bathroom, flooring, update heating) it's the quarterround that really irritates me.

We've been slowly renovating our 50's colonial for the past 4 years and are almost done. The last big thing is the bathrooms. They're original to the house and beautiful, but the tile is cracked in many places and the upstairs one had a major leak in its skylight. The windows probably all need to be replaced and the wood on the sunroom my husband and his buddy built 20 years ago is starting to rot. I'd also like to install some crown molding in the master bedroom.

All that is going to have to wait until after we settle with the roofers who improperly installed our new roof and caused the leak in the upstairs bathroom.

And by the time all that is done, it'll probably be time to paint again.

---rotten exterior window sill, have to scrape fungi off
every 2 months during spring and summer

---lukewarm water for bathing after just 10 minutes due
to 18-year old water heater that needs new
element/parts

---asphalt driveway "going back to Nature"

---bent gutter from where tree branch fell on it

---carpet disintegrating from children wearing it out
running, wrestling, vomiting, spilling food, etc.

---deck wood cracking, needs repainting & sealing

---missing several light bulbs so making do with less light

---refrigerator water filter needs replacing

---vinyls siding around windows starting to buckle

---window shades torn from children biting and pulling on
them

---chair arm needs sanding & refinishing where toddler
gnawed on it like a rat

---couch needs replacing due to being used as a
trampoline

I think, when having children, I should have moved out into the woods and erected a teepee to live in. It would have saved me a whole lot of time and expense.

---rotten exterior window sill, have to scrape fungi off
every 2 months during spring and summer

---lukewarm water for bathing after just 10 minutes due
to 18-year old water heater that needs new
element/parts

---asphalt driveway "going back to Nature"

---bent gutter from where tree branch fell on it

---carpet disintegrating from children wearing it out
running, wrestling, vomiting, spilling food, etc.

---deck wood cracking, needs repainting & sealing

---missing several light bulbs so making do with less light

---refrigerator water filter needs replacing

---vinyls siding around windows starting to buckle

---window shades torn from children biting and pulling on
them

---chair arm needs sanding & refinishing where todddler
gnawed on it like a rat

---couch needs replacing due to being used as a
trampoline

I think, when having children, I should have moved out into the woods and erected a teepee to live in. It would have saved me a whole lot of time and expense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hope non of you have kids living in these defect houses its called child endangerment

And what if we do? Are you volunteering to come over and fix some of these problems this weekend?

+1