I live in an apartment now and actually love it. The only thing I don't like is there is no garage and no outdoor space.

1. My major complaint is that we have 3 levels...which means lots of stairs.

2. It is way too big for 2 people -- 5000 square feet. Cleaning it takes too much time away from my quilting.

3. The outside needs a makeover--now that DH can no longer do the yard maintenance, we have had to hire a landscaper and he doesn't take care of it the way DH did. But it's really hard to find someone to do the work that needs to be done.

4. I wish the main kitchen had room for a large table, because I hate eating in the dining room when we have company.

kathsgrdn, there might be something wrong with your heat pump. We have two heat pump systems (zoned), and the house is toasty warm...no matter how cold it is outside. When we first moved here, the upstairs system didn't do an adequate job, so we replaced it with a larger system--now we can easily maintain the upstairs at 72 degrees, year-round.

1. There is no basement
2. Front door steps are rounded with no railing which I need
3. I wish it had one more room so I could have a craft room
4. We need a new overhead garage door
and we need outdoor electrical outlets as there are none

1. New improved toilets. Ours don't always flush well.

2. Flooring needs to be replaced, compliments of the animals.

3. New kitchen....made wheelchair accessible.

4. Actually we need to make it all wheelchair accessible. Doing that this spring.

Wanda, I thought there was too, but the old one did this too. So, I bought a bigger one than my house needed when I replaced the old one. It didn't help and I read that heat pumps just aren't made for temps below 30 degree. Maybe I will call the heat pump people and ask them to come look at it. We now have space heaters, one for either Lauren or me, usually Lauren to use and one for the living room.

LoL at patti's dirty windows

1) Dining room is too small, no room for a cabinet or sideboard.
2) Living room is too big, we rarely use it (use the den/family room instead)
3) Wish linen closet was bigger
4) One of our neighbours drives us nuts with cars parked in front of our house all the time, barking dog (all of our other neighbours are fantastic)

No foyer, front door opens right into the too small living room.
House is a bit dark, wish we had more windows.
Everything has to be carried up a flight of stairs to get to the main floor of the house, including wood for the wood stove.
I wish we had bigger bathrooms so litter boxes would fit better.

Thankfully, there is nothing about my house that I would change....love it all :-)

Where to start?

1. I hate my small lot. The neighbor on one side is too close. I'm also on a corner so there is not one side that is not visible to the public. I dream of buying the house next door and knocking it down (which would make no sense at all).

2. Lack of bathroom privacy! Only one full bath. I wish I had two. It is hard to have overnight guests. No one has privacy. It is located over the kitchen and all sounds can be heard downstairs. The powder room is right next to the kitchen, so no privacy there either. I want a noisy exhaust fan that also plays loud music in there!

3. Forced hot air heat. When it is blowing, the house warms up (unevenly). Then it turns off and the house cools, then warm again, then cool again. It also blows dust around.

4. Laundry in the basement. It would be so wonderful to have a laundry room on the first floor. I detest dragging laundry from upstairs, down to flight and then back up.

I also have a long list of other nuisances, such as my much hated porcelain tile kitchen floor and drafty windows, but most of those could be solved by throwing a reasonable amount of money at them. It's the big dollar stuff that drives me nuts. I have a whole floor plan in my mind but I think that is never going to happen.

If I had to pick one thing from my above list, it would be a slightly larger private lot farther from the neighbor (who is very nice, thank heavens).

OMG -- I almost forgot!! I have the neighbors from hell across the street. They have been living elsewhere for the past year and the house is unoccupied. I pray every day for a Sale sign to go up. They are dreadful. Foul mouthed and clogging the street with their collection of crappy old cars. It has been so wonderful to have them not there, but I suspect they will return one day.

** Just reread this and I have to add that I am very blessed to own this house outright and live in a beautiful community. I sound so whiny in my comments!

Not enough water spigots around the house, have only one and a large area I have to run water hose...too much work!

I hate my tile, everyone else likes it. Again too large of area to redo.

No mud room

Too small of a laundry room...would like to expand it and combine with a mud room one day...DH says it is just fine the way it is :(

my back yard floods during a very heavy rain - luckily not ever gotten into the house

kitchen cabinets, appliances need to be replaced

carpet is old and worn out

need new windows - hopefully I will get that done in the spring.

I love our house... this time of the year (winter) it could move over the mountain pass and out of the valley, so we would see the sun more often.... otherwise it is perfect. (Frozen Fog and 29 degrees this morning... and days and days) We have been here 9 years and there are many little things that need to be done, like paint the wood trim outside, new toilets, kitchen sink. Carpet isn't too bad, but new floors in some areas would be nice. Oh, yes, we face a new roof in the future.... all do-able.

First, what I love about my house - it's within walking distance to shopping, medical, library, bus, etc. but still in a private, quiet area. Lovely park and access to quiet streets/trails for walking. The right size for us. We are on a corner lot, but the garage and hedge/trees give us privacy in the back yard.

What I don't like (I consider these to be minor quibbles):

House is older and the rooms are not open, bright and airy like newer homes.

Basement area needs to be renovated.

Kitchen cupboards and main floor rooms need painting.

Some rooms have inadequate heating.

And Patti, my windows are dirty too!

Love this old house but with a 175 year old one you have some problems. The kitchen and bath are updated and redone in the past 10 years and are great. BUT, people back in the 1800's didn't have many clothes, hence small closets in every bedroom. I have armoires for that but I'd love a huge walkin closet. This huge house has a small master bath which is incongruous and a larger 1/2 bath on first floor. I'd like another full size one.

But all in all, love the house and it's charm makes up for the other flaws.

NO CLOSETS. My clothes hang in wardrobes and on racks in the attic. I'd like other built-in storage, too, but don't have that either. My linens reside in a dresser used for that purpose. Vacuum, brooms, etc., are in the pantry, where I trip over them regularly.

back door is inconvenient for daily use, so front door used all the time.
No mud room or connecting door to garage.
Not enough storage space and don't have a space I feel I can call mine
The adult daughter that moved back home .

I've wanted to move for a number of years now. Hubby's feet are in concrete and not going anywhere.

I don't really hate anything in my house, but if I had the money:

1. I would love to replace the broadloom in the bedrooms with hardwood floors,

2. I would like to re-configure one of the master bathrooms to include a step-in tub for my mother when she visits,

3. I would like to replace my 25-year-old refrigerator,

4. and I really need to replace the 17-year-old hot water heater.

If I won a lottery, I would love to reconfigure my kitchen and laundry room to better fit my lifestyle. I like to cook and my stove top, oven and refrigerator are small with no real way to increase their size with the current floor plan.

We've been in our 1972 post and beam house for 25 years and all the above reasons (particularly the too small kitchen, popcorn ceiling, yecchy carpets, leaking bathrooms.....) are why we saved for 10 years to gut the house 3 years ago. We moved out and went down to studs and plywood in one fell swoop.

So the only thing I don't like is:

- back deck which desperately needs to be replaced (we ran out of money)

-the fact that the house is basement level entry with living up on the top floor but that;s the architecture of the house here and I can't change that.

Every thing else I like - I'd better after all the effort and money!

My house will be fine as soon as we paint and get new flooring,this will be done before summer. What we do not like is our neighbors do not take care of their yards BLAH! Some of us are still original owners 25 years and some have never touched their yards, no even to weed. Some have done their yards then realized they did too much, and let it all go. We live on acre lots, we wonder why some folks moved on land when they did not want to take care of it.

Our acre is not flat we have an up slope and an down slope on each side~~so we do not really see their yards until we drive out. We have a down slope in the back, that goes into a nice natural area that DH keeps up. Nice view but the few houses we can see from the back do not keep up their yards either.

We did not have a yard about the first 20 years here either, just scrubs here and there in the front, but our whole yard DH kept spotless, it always looked nice.

Why do people buy homes and not keep them up???

Downsized from a custom built 2600 sq foor,(designed and built by husband, now passed away) to a 1400 sq ft house/
I would like bigger bedrooms, and when we put the house on the basement, needed more height. Half of it hard to walk in. It is a Air Force relocatable with new plumbing and electric and good hardwood floors that son in law refinished 10 years ago and looks great.
No cross ventalation upstairs except windows (all new). Miss my big (14x30) room to spread things out when crafting or sorting out.
Good neighbors but prefer to be closer to stores and medical. Now aboout 45 minutes

The only room left to remodel is our master bath. I hate everything about it. We will be doing that this summer.

I love everything about the rest of my house. We did a family room/kitchen remodel last year and I finally have the kitchen of my dreams.

We just bought this house in June so there is not much I don't love about this house.
1. I dislike the tile in the kitchen, laundry room & second bathroom and our bathroom. It is cold cold in winter.
2. I have no yard, but saw that coming in..The back yard is about 10 feet before it drops off into a valley..and I mean it drops off..need to put some ground cover down so we don't lose more yard when the rains come..
3. Need new appliances in the kitchen. I dislike the black ones we have now.
4. Daughter won't keep her room clean, and DS is due to graduate in March and will be moving back in...

Overall I LOVE LOVE my house...

Kathsgrdn: our last house had an air-source heat pump which heated our house poorly. The HVAC guy told me that AIR-source pumps really aren't designed for below-freezing weather. Is that what you have? We should have had a GROUND-source instead.

We have fixed a lot of the things I didn't like about this house since we bought it 1.5 years ago, but there's a few more things to go:

1. Hate the old green formica counter in the kitchen. When I get enough pennies saved, it's gonna go!

2. Hate the old sliding glass door in the dining room. It's going, too.

3. The master bath will be the last room on our main floor to be remodeled. I can't wait.

4. We have our garage in the basement, then have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the main level. Not a problem now, but might be someday.

The ceilings in the old part are so low. When we put on an attached garage we took out two windows and the living/dining rooms have poor natural lighting. The house sits pretty close to the road so we do have road noise, noticeable mostly at night. Thankfully we live on a very lightly traveled road so it's not that bad.

My bedroom is on the second floor
No basement, to speak of.....just storage and water heater, etc.
Needs some new windows
Large front porch that has become storage after I put a bathroom in the laundry room and lost a big closet.
Lots of things I could change, but am content here, so that's what counts.

Kitchen lighting
No electrical outlets in any of the hallways
Pull strings for lights in closets
Popcorn ceilings

Plan to have the first three issues corrected this year. Popcorn ceilings will just have to stay put for now.

On yes. I don't like the garage used as a storage space, but can't store car in there.

There is nothing about the house I would change.
Guess in the finished basement I would like a new floor only because I don't like the color.

The biggest thing is I wish it was ours & not ours & the bank

I bought my house 8 years ago. As soon as I moved in, my DS painted it all except the bathroom. A year ago he painted that. I have had a new toilet (a tall one) installed. Also, bought a gas stove and had a gas line run for it and bought a refrigerator that dispenses ice and water from the door. I had the back door replaced with an insulated one. Replaced the carpet in the living room and both bedrooms. Had new windows installed.
1.I dislike having the laundry in the unfinished basement. I hope to have it moved to the main floor in the next year.
2. Lack of closet space and storage. No place to store my vacuum and rug shampooer. Not enough cupboard space in my galley kitchen.
3. Both bedrooms are small. My house has 964 sq ft.
4. I have a detached garage which is inconvenient when it is very cold, raining or snowing. At least my garage is a two car.
I am very thankful that my neighborhood is quiet. The city cemetery is right across the street and the two entrances are several blocks away.

If I could widen the living room by about 4 feet, I would so we could have more room for big family gatherings.
Our master bath is tiny and I haven't figured out any way to fix that.
Our yard is big and a bit of a burden to keep.
I used to think this was an ugly house, but new windows, new columns, a new roof and shutters have much improved the curb appeal.

Likes:
1.giant rec room upstairs for the teens/21 y.o. Easily holds a pool table, sofa, soccer table, etc.
2. big porches-covered patios in front and back and another in front of the 2 french doors off the bedrooms upstairs.
3. quiet neighbors-never hear a peep.
Dislikes:
1. No linen closet upstairs. How is that possible when 3 bedrooms and a bathroom are upstairs?? 2 linen closets downstairs for 2 bedrooms.
2. Laundry room is too small. Would like it wider with a countertop for folding clothes or working on projects.
3. No gas service. We are replacing our stove and I want gas-there are no lines. Don't like my electric burners and I think I would dislike a flat top even more, plus I have some cast iron pans.

Yes, Littlebug, that's what I have. I wish I had done some research before buying it.

1. Door from garage opens directly into kitchen.
2. Front foyer is too small.
3. You must go either up or downstairs to access a bathroom, so it's not accessible to anyone who can't do the stairs.(Not yet a problem for us, but could be for visitors)
4. Basement is too small.

"No gas service. We are replacing our stove and I want gas-there are no lines. Don't like my electric burners and I think I would dislike a flat top even more, plus I have some cast iron pans"

Actually, the glass tops work nicely and I used my cast iron on mine - you might also consider induction (which is even better although more expensive)

Dislikes or wants:

1) We have a legal written easement that the water department can drive up our driveway and over our lawn to get to the gate on the side of our property, to access the water tower waaaaaaaaaaaay back behind our house. There's an empty lot down the street, I'd like THAT to be their access.

2) I'd like a 3rd car garage instead of an RV parking pad next to the 2 car garage.

3) I'd like stucco instead of cedar siding; the cedar is in great shape, it's high end and pretty. We stain it every 7 years. It's work to maintain it.

4) I have 38 windows, I'd like more. The master bedroom needs one that opens on the North side for cross ventilation in the Summer.

5) I'd like a foot pedal to operate the kitchen faucet for when my hands are really gooey.

We have no plans to change anything in the near future.

We built in 2001, so if I don't like it, it's my own fault.

I don't like that we didn't do this ten years earlier!

I wish we had under-floor hot water tubing throughout the house -- so cozy. It's just in our north-facing rooms, and only there because the HVAC guy was a novice. He didn't figure the forced air systems correctly for those rooms. Oh, well, at least we have good heat and humidity throughout in winter, and adequate A/C in summer.

They built the screened porch base walls too high. People ask if we planned to enclose it later. NO! I love my porch on the SE side of the house off the breakfast room, shaded by the 60-foot sycamore.

I don't like things where I 'got too cheap', like having the master bath tile set square, not on the diagonal, or buying a 'bargain' built in oven (that I hate, and that is *built in*). I also 'saved' by re-using two nice Kohler toilets from the teardown, but of course they are water-wasters. WHY did I want a steam shower when all you have to do is get into this sealed enclosure and turn on the hot water?

We seldom use our guest room or its' bath. We seldom use the DR either, but otherwise 2900 sq ft on one hardwood floor is 'right size' for us.

(I don't like the neighbors who built their pool too close to our house.)

Since it is midwinter I forgot the #1 thing I dislike about my house, no central air. At the begining of summer, I have a handyman put my window air conditioners in my bedroom and living room. I will never again live in a house without central air.

I hate my popcorn ceilings!! Hate th berber carpet we put in about 10 years or so ago.we are both in our mid 70's,and it's too much work for us to have to move everything out to get new carpet installed,and besides that dh has a very bad back.

We also need to get new doors,both front and back
We live inthe state that should be called the termite state,instead of the golden state!!

We also need to replace our patio roof.

Other than those above things,i love our house,ocean view,less than 5 minutes to the beach,beautiful sunsets,a canyon behind the house that is enviromentally protected,so don't ever have to worry about neighbors behind us.
Kathi

kathi_mdgd -- You would be *amazed* at how much better everything looks when you get rid of a popcorn ceiling! Our condo came with that. We had a painter remove it during a week when we had no guests booked. When we returned to the condo the next winter...WOW! It was as though the space had expanded and gotten brighter. (And no more ceiling fan 'rings' that you can't get off the ceiling when the maids fail to keep the fan blades clean.)

chisue, it probably wouldn't be much trouble or cost all that much money to replace those few toilets and the oven.

No foyer, front door opens up right into living room.
Not enough insulation in the home.
No garage, just a carport...but it keeps the cars out of the weather.
What I do like:
Finally had the popcorn ceilings removed after 30+ years...that was great...and I like that it's a one-level ranch. I always wanted a house with stairs, but not anymore.
And we also have no mortgage.

Casey, why don't you switch the living room with the dining room?

1. The low light in our little "computer room"--hope to get a sun tunnel.
2. No more porch since remodeling--miss it like crazy.
3. No laundry room.
4. Walls that REALLY need to be painted.

Kathi_mdgd--I always thought you must live in Maryland. Funny what the eye picks up!

Mary3444, I also wish this house was *mine* but right now, the bank is the primary owner!

We've lived here on Lake Whitehurst (in Norfolk) for two years now and I still *love* my little mid-century modern brick ranch.

The kitchen and two baths are a trip back in time to 1962, and that's my favorite feature. I am not a fan of all this "updating" business.

The only thing I don't like is that we have a very shallow back yard. The lot is 200-feet wide, but less than 40 feet deep, and then there's the lake.

The good thing is, when you look out the windows, you see just the lake, so it's a lot like living on a house boat.

I like that part.

A lot.

:)

snidely -- We replaced the 'innards' of the toilets, but yes they are water wasters. Only the one in the back hall powder room gets heavy use. The other is in the guest bathroom. When our hoped-for grandchildren arrived, they did like this very low-to-the-floor and quiet toilet -- and the pedestal sink that I left at the 'old standard' height. When you are two that low, wide basin is perfect for staging armadas. Two new Kohlers like I have in two other bathrooms would be about $1K, installed.

If I was a real *cook* (LOL) I'd replace the oven. It's an electric oven/broiler/microwave. Probably at least $4K. I'd replace the cooktop too; I built with a gas line option.

rose -- Our 'starter' ranch was built when energy costs were low. There was *nothing* between the brick and the drywall -- and the windows were aluminum-frame. (Talk about heat exchangers!) We replaced the windows and had insulation blown into the walls at the same time. Our drafty house was snug at last! Just don't expect to get your money back. As our realtor said, "Most buyers take windows for granted and don't think about insulation either."

Most replacement windows are a money waster and will never ever never pay for themselves. Plus, most will fail before 20 years passes.

But metal frame and aluminum frame windows are the exception.

They're horrifically inefficient and drafty and unpleasant.

Here is a link that might be useful: If you have wooden windows, keep them.

Kitchen a bit small.

Not enough wall plugs, especially the three-prong kind, needed for computers and such.

Need to reach up to turn a (sometimes balky) knurled knob on the light fixture above and a distance from the door - but reachable from it - in the bedroom.

Mice ... and, recently, rats.

It needs some cleaning from time to time.

ole joyful

1. I have a nice 2 story house, but i am getting too old to wrangle an extension ladder to do the 2nd story maintence. My next house (if that comes to pass) will be a single story, or one whose upper roof line is lower to the ground.

2. I live in snow country, therefore, one should pay attention to your front entryway. Second story snow melt drips on the front stoop and ices it, an undesireable feature. I would like to have an entrance that is protected by a roof. Roof drippings should carry beyond the stoop and walkway.

3. I have two very large picture window in front. These are pleasing from an archetectural view, but the design of these windows represent a big heat loss. These windows have aged and I would like to replace them using better thermal resistance designs and rot resistence material. I may shorten the lenght of these windows at the bottom for reduced heat loss.

4. My double French entryway doors are nice, but again are big heat loosers. These are covered on the outside by a pair of aluminum storm doors, but better thermal resistance is needed. I would like to have the entry doors rebuilt with insulated doors and stronger door jambs.

jem -- I thought about some of the typical older home 'faults' you detail when we built new in 2001. We have a 10/12 roof to shed snow -- and to provide a 'second story' for some future owner who wants to add some dormers -- yet the gutters are only nine feet above the ground. (Building such an 'attic' would seem a waste, but our lot is zoned for a 6,000 sq ft home, while we wanted half of that and one story. The taller profile fits better in our neighborhood.)

Our north-facing 42" entry door is wood, with sidelights and no storm door, yet it looks like new because it's protected by a roofed six foot deep stoop, with arched openings front and east. We are also a single step above ground level at every entry point. Single story is nice, but you have to get *into* the house easily too.

Having endured aluminum-frame windows, I appreciate tight, efficient doors and windows. Casements lock at two points; French doors lock at three. I have to look out to know if a car is driving up to the house; can't hear it.

A mistake I made was having a row of French doors on the south with inadequate overhang. I must close the doors if there's any wind with a rain.

I bet you could replace your picture windows with same size more efficient ones without alterations. The new glass and frames are *tight*. You would have less re-structuring and painting to do, and wouldn't throw off the exterior symmetry.