Miss Tick Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 What is a garden tub? An extra-large (slightly wider and slightly longer than regular) tub that no one has time to sit in even if it didn't bother you to fill it with gallons and gallons of water. Instead, it sits unused and gets dusty! and collects stuff around its edges. Plus, that's a notable amount of floor space taken up. Bah. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 It won't have less than two bathrooms, though I would make an exception for a 1 1/2 bath. It won't be pantry-less. It won't have less than a 2 car garage. It won't have wood siding. It won't need me to replace the roof, soffits, gutters, furnace, air conditioner, water heater, water softener, or any windows/doors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I don't want another 2 story house. Although, as my kids become teenagers, second floor bedrooms may be good for not sneaking out windows!!! Our current house - the previous owners jerry-rigged every.thing. So we have had to really fix so. much. No more 1980s construction. No more tiny kitchens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Be a manufactured home, surrounded by trees (as in every wind storm I fear a tree/large limb falling on the house). Though if a large limb/ tree falls on the house, home owners will cover it (most likely total loss since it's an older manaufactured home) and we can move to a real house closer to town :D Oh and I want grass, we have so many trees that grass won't grow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Definitely not have a septic tank. Definitely not have steps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 It would not be 150 years old (maybe, lol). It would not have a circle driveway that goes around the house. It would not have a narrow galley kitchen. It would not be falling apart faster than we can repair, much less update as we wanted. It would not have a oil furnace for radiators and hot water (though endless hot water is nice at times) and no insulation and many original windows. It would not lack central air. It would not have two front doors, side by side even (so strange, I know - they lead into adjoining rooms). It would not have an inaccessible crawl space for half the house. It would not have attic access through a bedroom. It would not have second floor plumbing installed by compromising joist integrity. It would not have the washer and dryer each located in different areas of the house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 It will not be not on a beach. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'll never buy somewhere so unwalkable. I will never buy somewhere with a pond. I will never buy a major fixer upper. I will never buy somewhere with a closed floor plan. I will never buy somewhere with a small living room. I will never buy somewhere with low ceilings. I will never buy somewhere that doesn't have room for a closet near one of the main doors. I will never buy somewhere without at least 1.5 bathrooms (or at least somewhere convenient to put that half bath). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 This is not an issue in most parts of the US (world?), but I will never, never, never again buy a home with a flat, tar and gravel roof. We have spent thousands and thousands of dollars to have the leaks repaired, but what happens instead every single time is that not only did the original leaks not get fixed, there are now MORE leaks immediately after the roofing company worked on it. This is the freaking desert. We only get 10-12 inches of rain per year. And yet no one here knows how to build a roof that doesn't leak!!!!!!! When I lived in parts of the country that got more than twice as much rain, no leaks! Here, where it barely rains at all, somehow all that rain ends up *inside* my house destroying my ceilings and drywall! It drives me crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Will not have a wet/damp basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Ours will not have just one very small bathroom located on the second story. Other than that, I'm really flexible as we buy for location and not the actual dwelling. When we bought this farm we were asked if we wanted to check out the house again after walking the property. I looked at hubby and asked if the house really mattered at all after we'd seen the creek, pond, land, barn, and other outbuildings. He agreed it didn't. No regrets at all. We've made the house work. ;) But as we're empty nesting we're also thinking our next "house" will be a condo on the beach - not ground floor - and it will be a great rental for when we're traveling to help pay for itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 My next house will NOT have the laundry room be the main entry into the house. I am so sick of dirt and shoes and crap all over the laundry room. I have to kick shoes out the way of the dryer and I don't dare drop a clean sock! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 ...have the children's bedrooms immediately behind the kitchen. Aargh! They sleep hard enough at bedtime for me to do dinner prep/cleanup but not at nap time. I don't tiptoe around, but I could get so much done if I could bang around the kitchen at nap time. It seems everyone is looking for a ranch for their next home, but while we have littles and are planning more, I'm thinking that a two story house would solve at least some of my problems (while probably creating others!). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 ...have the children's bedrooms immediately behind the kitchen. Aargh! They sleep hard enough at bedtime for me to do dinner prep/cleanup but not at nap time. I don't tiptoe around, but I could get so much done if I could bang around the kitchen at nap time. It seems everyone is looking for a ranch for their next home, but while we have littles and are planning more, I'm thinking that a two story house would solve at least some of my problems (while probably creating others!). Not necessarily. The bedrooms ABOVE the kitchen are such that the kitchen echo up there and small noises are amplified. Same with the bedroom over the living room. Any guests can be heard almost twice as loud in their bedroom for some reason. These are things you would never know before you move in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If I was going for a ranch it would have to be a sprawling ranch like my aunt had. There was a rather large entry foyer with a library at the end of it. To the right was the bedroom wing. To the left was the giant kitchen and dining room and through there was the great room and a guest bedroom. It was perfect. The bedrooms were on the opposite side of the activity. And it had a library. Oh, how I have always wanted a library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Will have a front door and a backdoor that opens up on the back yard not a side yard but a back yard preferably a patio or porch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest2 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Our next house will not have a regular sized tub in the main bath, all of my kids are getting bigger and love to have a big garden tub bath when they come home/ tub is getting small. I want my master bath back for me:). No cream carpets, and walls that can be cleaned( no flat builders paint/texture that cannot be washed.) We will probably stay and fix this ourselves as these are all more preferences than must haves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 ....be in an area of intolerance, especially for women or academically above average children. ....have a lack of privacy ...be in an area of high town taxes for few services ...be in an area where the occupancy and building zone rules have a gob set and a nongob set. ...have school taxes rise 4% or more annually What is a gob set and a non gob set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 have an 80s style wet bar taking up prime space in the family room (and the family that lived here previously re-did the old 1980s kitchen beautifully but didn't do the wet bar 10 feet away). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhanaBee Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 When we moved into this house, it was from a house built in 1876. So we bought our current house because of my list of "Never Again!", thanks to that old house. However. My new list now consists of: 1) Not a whole lot of stairs. It wasn't a problem when we bought this house on the hill.....with a flight of stairs up the hill to get to the front porch. Then our parents got old. And I discovered that over half of my choir really shouldn't be climbing those stairs, so no choir parties can be hosted at our house. A few stairs are fine. But I still feel guilty for the time Great Grandma visited us and and had to haul herself up and down those stairs [seemingly] all day. 2) WE MUST HAVE INSULATION!!! I don't know what was up with our builder, but there is no insulation between the walls in our house. Which means you can hear almost everything going on in every room in the house. The downstairs bathroom is right next to the living room. Need I say more? 3) No more HOAs. We moved here, in spite of the HOA because, for a variety of reasons, it was our only option at the time. Now we've experienced it. Never again. And for fun, I'd really like a screened porch so I can enjoy the outside in the summer without being a personal snack station to mosquitoes. This is not high on dh's list. Mosquitoes don't bother him. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 What is a garden tub? A large soaking tub or Jacuzzi type tub. I think technically a "garden tub" does not have jets. But, meant for a deep, adult bath in any case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 An extra-large (slightly wider and slightly longer than regular) tub that no one has time to sit in even if it didn't bother you to fill it with gallons and gallons of water. Instead, it sits unused and gets dusty! and collects stuff around its edges. Plus, that's a notable amount of floor space taken up. Bah. Don't forget spiders, their webs, and the bug "dirt" that piles up around the web. Our water heater does not even have enough hot water to fill the thing to an enjoyable level, so it is totally moot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 As a real estate agent, I find this thread fascinating and illuminating. I'll be writing a blog post for future sellers with many of your concerns in mind....I hear over and over in this thread that fixer uppers are out--I'm seeing that in real life, too, so you guys are not unique in that feeling. Some of my future sellers need to hear how firm you are on that matter. :) I wish more builders or those who draw plans would listen to women. Good sized kitchens with excellent storage and a workable flow are a high priority. An adequate sized laundry room with room to hang and fold clothes would be great. Easy maintenance and materials that last.... I see a lot of homes in my day to day life. It's curious to me how some builders/designers create great closet space and good flow. And some...well, they just don't. I can't imagine what some people were thinking.... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 ...have a yard that I have to take care of, or a big driveway that I have to shovel in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 *be in the woods. Hate the bugs! Can't really go out in the summer. I want a view, and not of trees. I can't like this enough!!! Turns out I like to visit nature, not live amongst it. I long for a neighborhood to regain my summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 ... 2) WE MUST HAVE INSULATION!!! I don't know what was up with our builder, but there is no insulation between the walls in our house. Which means you can hear almost everything going on in every room in the house. The downstairs bathroom is right next to the living room. Need I say more? ... And for fun, I'd really like a screened porch so I can enjoy the outside in the summer without being a personal snack station to mosquitoes. This is not high on dh's list. Mosquitoes don't bother him. :glare: The insulation issue is common, I've decided. I think unless you specify and pay more, a builder is going to put zero insulation on internal walls! I bet his personal house has internal insulation, though! Who could think that's a good idea? Also, Mosquitos keep us inside in the summer, too. My daughter gets bitten even with deep woods off. She's their favorite snack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 My next house must have: 1. main level master bedroom & master bath, laundry, and kitchen 2. wood floors (not carpet, not laminate) 3. a decent kitchen---updated appliances, adequate storage, functional space 4. good structural and mechanical 5. decent room flow I don't mind fixing cosmetic issues, but I want the house to fit in my budget so that I can do it upfront. I've had two fixer uppers in a row, and I'm done with living in a construction zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'm solidly amazed at the number of builders who don't even listen to their clients. I've had several friends build in the last couple of years, and it is a rare builder who actually does willingly what the future owner wants. Some of the things they ask for (and are willing to pay for as upgrades) have been as simple as: pocket door connecting master closet to laundry room, increased height in the pantry shelves so that appliances can be placed there, hidden outlets in the kitchen, transom window placed in the bathroom...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Wood flooring. To easy to dent and scratch. All tile next time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'm solidly amazed at the number of builders who don't even listen to their clients. I've had several friends build in the last couple of years, and it is a rare builder who actually does willingly what the future owner wants. Some of the things they ask for (and are willing to pay for as upgrades) have been as simple as: pocket door connecting master closet to laundry room, increased height in the pantry shelves so that appliances can be placed there, hidden outlets in the kitchen, transom window placed in the bathroom...... My husband is a builder and I'm curious what you mean by this - "builders don't listen to their clients." Are you saying the homeowner says, "I want a pocket door between the bedroom and bath," only to have the builder say, "we don't do those."? Or are you saying the builder will only put it on as a Change Order (extra money)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Have a galley kitchen. It's way too small, and I hate people walking right through while I'm cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 mine will not: have a window in the bathtub as the only bathroom window. be missing a vent fan in the bathroom yard maintenance ( I hate mowing, I hate yard work) In a small town (30 minutes from culture and civilization) it will have: some screened in porch. I got bit up in the five minutes I was outside the other day. I have a great deck that bugs love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrindam Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 have bedrooms on different floors! Or at least will have 3 on same floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Never again with the steps. We were a normal young family when we bought the colonial. Later, we discovered our son would be in a wheelchair. When older relatives visit, steps are a problem. I managed to hurt my back this week and they're killing me. (Although, as I write this I wonder WHY I'm not using my son's stair lift???) We're not getting younger. Even when babies visit it's a hassle to keep them off the steps. There will never be another time in our lives when two stories are a good idea. Home elevators are insanely expensive. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Quill, I've had some of these own experiences myself. In some cases, it was that the builder/worker on site that day preferred their own design decision or were just plain lazy. As an example, I have an open flow living/dining/kitchen. I had hardwood floors installed on 2.5" oak. I wanted to have a course of 7 planks running along the outside perimeter of the room, parallel to the walls in my dining room, as a type of inset to set off that space from the living room. The "filler" of this rectangle would just be regular planking running in the same course as the rest of the flooring of my house (in this case east/west). Yes, it created a bit more work, but I was happy to pay the upgrade in labor costs. I mentioned this in the initial bid process, I discussed it with the owner, we both initialed in the order, but it turned into a two hour argument day of with the installer sent to my house. It worked out, but it would've been done wrong had I not been on site. It was hugely stressful as I also had a window installer there that day and they had to climb all over each other because floor guy was being a jerk. As an aside, the design is BEAUTIFUL, subtle, and adds a bit of class to otherwise boring oak floors. My friend closed on her house last week. Her builder was absolutely sure that she would prefer a certain stain color (that she did not). He said she absolutely needed to have built in trashcans (small ones). Well, she's a middle aged woman who knows her mind and did NOT want to have built in trashcans. She came to the house, and low and behold, she has them. :( She has had about ten of these types of experiences in the last three months over the course of her custom build. I really think these are things coming down to personal preferences where the builder is not listening to the client. I totally understand that there are building/structural considerations where the buyer should listen to the builder. But, as I told my friend, if she wanted to have a dancing pole installed in her bedroom or paint her walls flamingo pink, she should, and the builder should just charge her accordingly. Seriously, her house, her decision. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 The house we are in now makes me very happy. Our house could not have: * Guest bedroom on upper floor (after experiencing one elderly person fall down the stairs, it has been a requirement for every home since) * Master bedroom close to kids or below kids rooms * Garden tub * Huge bedrooms * Huge bathrooms * Minimal storage space (including tiny closets) * Wasted space or weird configuration * No pantry * Pass through laundry * Electric stove * Unfenced backyard * Large utility line running through the backyard (Ask before you buy! When purchased, one home abutted a green space filled with trees and three months later they were gone.) * Neighborhood without kids * Ineffective HOA (While selling a home, we received many comments about the condition of some homes in the neighborhood. It definitely made our home harder to sell.) * East or west facing exposure ETA: More * Master bedroom below the guest bedroom (there is a very good reason for this!) * Bedrooms below the kitchen (it's loud and no matter how much you insulate for sound, you will hear footsteps and things dropped) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 My next home will definitely not have just one bathroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Quill, I've had some of these own experiences myself. In some cases, it was that the builder/worker on site that day preferred their own design decision or were just plain lazy. Yep. We ran into some of that when we built as well. Most of it came from our sub-contractors though. The air guys were told exactly where we wanted the air units located (not under our bedroom window). We came back to find them installed directly under our bedroom window. We told the plumber that we did NOT want a shower head installed over our separate tub. Came back to find that he had plumbed for a shower head above our tub, because he "thought I would really wish I had one later". Thankfully caught that one before the dry wall went up. Don't tell me what I want...my own husband can't even win at that game! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 When we moved into this house, it was from a house built in 1876. So we bought our current house because of my list of "Never Again!", thanks to that old house. However. My new list now consists of: 1) Not a whole lot of stairs. It wasn't a problem when we bought this house on the hill.....with a flight of stairs up the hill to get to the front porch. Then our parents got old. And I discovered that over half of my choir really shouldn't be climbing those stairs, so no choir parties can be hosted at our house. A few stairs are fine. But I still feel guilty for the time Great Grandma visited us and and had to haul herself up and down those stairs [seemingly] all day. 2) WE MUST HAVE INSULATION!!! I don't know what was up with our builder, but there is no insulation between the walls in our house. Which means you can hear almost everything going on in every room in the house. The downstairs bathroom is right next to the living room. Need I say more? 3) No more HOAs. We moved here, in spite of the HOA because, for a variety of reasons, it was our only option at the time. Now we've experienced it. Never again. And for fun, I'd really like a screened porch so I can enjoy the outside in the summer without being a personal snack station to mosquitoes. This is not high on dh's list. Mosquitoes don't bother him. :glare: I come from a family of contractors. It is NOT standard at all to have insulation inside interior walls, so if you do plan on moving this may be difficult to find. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Have a giant sycamore tree. Beautiful tree, but SO MESSY. It's now on the regular chore rotation to pick up the sticks that fall out of it every week before we mow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Here, extra insulation around a bathroom is $80..... $80 I will happily pay. ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 My next house will lack ledges and crevices. I intend to examine every facet of the home for places that gather dust and dirt. Kitchen cabinet faces will have little to no molding. Counter edges won't have any fancy beveling. No frames around bathroom mirrors. Marble slab instead of grouted tile in the showers. Even the furniture will get changed out to chairs and tables that are minimally crumb-catching instead of fancy backed and carved edges. It is so much faster and easier to clean flat things, that's my goal, not entirely maintenance free but low maintenance on the tasks I despise. Just not sure if I can live without baseboards. I will have shelving but I'm seriously considering some sleek version of barrister's bookcases to keep out the dust. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 We bought our house understanding that my family was likely to live with us. Now we have a huge house, which has been a huge help for the last eight years... but we've had family members living with us for the past eight years (they have rotated through... repeatedly). Our next house will be perfectly sized for the nuclear family, and extended family needs to get their own living space. Everyone is now old enough that they can live in their own houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 We moved last October and love our new house. Our requirements were: -have a garage -have 2 bathrooms -NOT have a M/Bed right next to and in fact *open to* kids and living areas. :blushing: -have a dishwasher -be in town but a larger lot/ not right on top of neighbors And, oh, yes, no fixer uppers for us! Did that in our 20s...never again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Be a complete fixer upper. So time consuming. It won't have a super small entryway. It won't have a soffit in the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Totally agree about the garden tub. However, I did find it useful when our basement flooded a few years ago and I had to wash and bleach all of the baby toys that were being stored down there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Also, the plant shelf above the front door. This is the most useless use of space I have ever seen. I have been tempted to use it as a time-out space, though. ;) ETA: Ours looks similar to this: http://www.houzz.com/discussions/323537/silly-ledge-over-front-entry-door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Just curious what you really don't like about your house (or your former house) and want a list of things you know you won't tolerate again. GO. Have any dogs nearby anywhere. (I know, I'm dreaming). Have two stories. Be too close to neighbors. Be older than 20 years old. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Also, the plant shelf above the front door. This is the most useless use of space I have ever seen. I have been tempted to use it as a time-out space, though. ;) A friend of mine did use hers as a time out space -- for toys that the kids fought over. They could see them but not play with them until they were willing to play without fighting. Torture, I tell ya. Gotta say, I can imagine an ornery 4yo there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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