19 Things Homeowners Realized All Too Late That They Completely Despise About Their Houses
Recently, homeowners have been sharing their expensive mistakes and the things they regret about their homes. And in the comments, even more people have been joining the conversation to share that one thing about their house that they simply cannot stand. Here's what they have to say:
1."I'm glad I bought my house before the huge housing crisis and glad we aren't renting, but never buy a three-story house. I don't mind stairs, but when you have a toddler and are getting old, it isn't good to have three sets of stairs."
2."I had dreams of dinner parties and lots of fun, only to be stuck next door to a nightmare Airbnb. Made sure I had room for everything, including a private office since I work from home, but 3,300 square feet is A LOT to clean. I also fell in love with a spacious old house with high ceilings without realizing that the utility bills could outpace the mortgage. The only good thing was buying when interest rates were still decent."
3."I live in an early 1900s farmhouse in the country that breathes historic and cozy, but we get squirrels and mice in the walls constantly. It's a trade that I'm happy I made 98% of the time, and the other 2% I want to take a sledgehammer to every wall and destroy the invaders."
4."I love the house we are buying that we've been renting, but we hate the doorless shower! It's so pointless — it lets heat and water out. I strung up a shower curtain and eventually will get a bath fitter to add a sliding glass door."
5."We live in the country, but every damn thing is electric! When there's a power outage, I can't cook at all, and if it's extended, we have to flush the toilet with jugs of water because the pump is electric too."
6."'Oh! Let’s put an offer on the beautiful row home in the leafy neighborhood! It was built in 19–freakin’—29!' Fourteen years later: The pipes are too narrow, and we get CONSTANT clogs and backups. The doors are so narrow we could only purchase the SMALLEST of washer-dryers; nothing would fit. Upstairs bedrooms are a FURNACE in summer; no AC will reach them! ENTIRE kitchen-renovation because the twee appliances were ALL from the 1970s. We’re broke. The end."
7."My husband sold me on the open concept floor plan. I absolutely HATE it. I hate that there’s no privacy downstairs. Sure it’s nice when you have a party, but that’s only a handful of times a year."
8."My house is 119 years old. They didn’t do a good job when they built it. I’ve lived here 33 years. Remodeling never stops."
9."I bought my house in March when there was still snow on the ground, so I had no idea what was growing in the yard. Turns out, the entire perimeter is a dense thicket full of weeds."
10."Be wary of additions and DIYs that the previous owners did. Our previous owner fancied himself a carpenter and did a lot of his own woodwork on the house. A lot of it is crooked or not up to code. The addition that got built on is a haven for rats that then find a way into our basement. We just finished the long and expensive process of rodent-proofing the addition."
11."My next house will be nowhere near a school. I live close to five different schools, and if I want to go anywhere around pickup or drop-off time, it’s an absolute nightmare. I don’t even have kids, but those drop-off/pickup lanes are the bane of my existence."
12."I love my house, but I hate the setup now that I have kids. It’s a three-bedroom bungalow where the bedrooms are right off the kitchen and living room. I feel like I can never enjoy my house when the kids are napping because their rooms are right there."
13."Buying our current home. We were living in a one-bedroom apartment for months, looking for homes. Kept getting outbid on some great properties. We finally got an offer accepted on our current house, so we took it. Unfortunately, this house has been nothing but a nightmare. If I ever get a chance to buy a new home, I have a few different requirements. One is it must be built in1990 and onward. Not dealing with asbestos, aluminum wiring, etc. ever again."
14."I'd recommend pulling a corner of the carpet up in an addition before buying. We discovered the floor in our addition had never been finished; the carpet had just been dropped on top of it. Also think about your furniture in the space. Same house, third bedroom was unusable because the pretty built-in shelves, heat/air floor vents, and closet meant that the only bed that would work in there was the crib floating in the center of the room that the previous owners had."
—Amber M., Facebook
15."My aunt bought a ridiculously expensive house on a hillside in the Southwest desert. The view was spectacular, and the sunsets looked unreal — a dwelling worthy of envy. Well, they discovered shortly after buying it that the builders didn’t use rebar in a large portion of the foundation, and their brand-spanking new home was already slipping down the hill. Gaps and micro cracks formed, which allowed the smallest and most dangerous scorpions to invade the interior. She was finding them daily and became afraid to even sleep there."
"They found out about the rebar from a neighbor who pulled up his floor and made the discovery, and my aunt did the same. The neighbor sued the developer and won. The developer abolished the business to avoid lawsuits from the entire housing community, but fortunately my aunt was able to sue before the business closed. The majority of homeowners in that community didn’t fare so well, and I don’t know if their insurance covered the damage and/or loss of home."
16."I’d say take the time to find out if the home has been on the market previously. Ours was on the market for a while, no interest. The repainting and installation (cutting corners) to make it more appealing worked! Beautiful ceramic door — set down the first huge bin, and it cracked. And didn’t stop. We were not planning to redo the floor."
"So, they made the house pretty, cut corners, and dropped the price slightly. Oh well, we mostly wanted to live close to my stepchildren who lived around the corner (they don't live here anymore). It worked out in a sense of what matters, but we hate it now."
17."I feel for everyone who has had an HOA. I joined the board out of spite, only to realize that many of my non-board neighbors were also jerks."
"Also research your basement contractor. We had a sump pump and French drain installed in our basement at our old house. They didn't install it properly (or add drains to the right area). Should have spoken up sooner as our basement continued to flood after every rain."
18."As young, broke, first-time homebuyers, we opted not to have the septic inspected. Guess what? They lied. It wasn’t a septic — it was a cesspool. Trying to save a $100 inspection fee cost us $15K."
19.And finally, "We heavily researched a neighboring state and the community; however, homes were getting 8 and 10 offers the day they were listed. So, we decided to shift our plans and picked a different state we had never been to. The home itself is fine. BUT what we did not research was the doctor situation. It did not occur to us to ask if there is a primary care doctor shortage."
"Had we known we simply would not have completed the purchase. Both of us have medical issues that require quarterly doctor visits. On top of the primary care shortage, the state places such imposing restrictions on the prescription of Valium and Xanax that it’s impossible to get prescriptions except to transition you off.
The quality of life for those that suffer from crippling anxiety without the meds makes the move less worthwhile. You can buy legal marijuana, but you can’t get anxiety meds!"
Can you relate? Tell me what you hate about your house in the comments!
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
