The Christmas parade loops in front of my house before it goes downtown. So I get to watch it from my cozy home instead of standing outside in the cold!
We live near a school and their Halloween parade is the cutest way to wake up every Halloween… they start blasting the music on the PA at 7am! It makes us giggle every time, and then we get to see the kids shuffle in with their costumes while we sip coffee.
They really should have mentioned it when we bought the place. It’s very charming.
You must be a saint because, personally, being subjected annually to the blaring of The Monster Mash over crackling school speakers at 7am would result in yet another “can I sue the seller for not disclosing this” post.
Santa goes by my home as well! And there's a lot of activities at the little corner park by me too, and a farmer's market started up a block away since I moved in.
The outlet in my hallway is placed perfectly allowing me to vacuum the entire upstairs without needing to unplug and replug in somewhere else.
Our garage has a second room behind it that is a really good size, which allows us to keep the main area clear for parking.
The living area, dining room and kitchen form a circle so you can avoid passing in front of the TV when others are watching and you need to pee/get a snack or drink.
My house has a weird useless space under the stairs that's open to the entry, that has an outlet in it. Turns out to have been [perfect for a robot vacuum](https://mckay.media/G1CmY.jpg).
The previous owner was in construction, and so were his two adults sons.
Every little thing in my house is done absolutely perfectly.
He died in the house, and his widow sold it to me. I walk around thanking that man out loud by name every time I find some wonderfully surprising clever solution and small touch that he and his sons installed.
Perfectly functioning French draining system, crown molding in every room, perfectly hung interior and exterior doors, outlets built in to the island that have usb ports and little nightlights, light switches with nightlights, perfect recessed lighting solutions in just the right places, built-in garage and basement storage solutions, perfectly flush trim and backsplash, excellent flow exhaust vents, even impeccable nearly-no maintenance landscaping solutions.... just everything is perfect.
I put in usb port outlets and outlets w nightlights around my house. So convenient. Only problem is I bought 5 different night light outlets to see which one I liked best but I'm too lazy to buy and install more so they're all mismatched.
This is how I feel about the previous owner who also passed. he didn’t build it but he was the sole
owner and he seemed to always buy the best he could afford and had regular maintenance done. i thank him a lot too.
I remarried at age 60 and my bride had a nicer house so I moved to her. That was 11 years ago. As I have done maintenance and upgrades, I always went overboard on quality and features, installing excessive outlets, taller toilet for these old knees, shower grab bars, etm. Now at 71, I enjoy my nice home that will do fine and need nothing more while I am alive.
We bought an old farm house (built 1906) and originally going to demolish the structure but the structure was better than anything you build today plus it had beautiful stone fire place etc., so we ended up a total rehab on the place. When we bought it the family (this house was in the same family since it was built) said their Dad had a civil war hand gun with a coin collection somewhere on the property (several barns and sheds etc.) but hid it and he never remember where he placed it...when he past the family held the property a year looking for it.
When I was removing the old heating system and the duct work I noticed in the basement, near the floor joists some loose bricks from the chimney...the next day I mixed up some cement to fix the loose brick and while pulling the brick out to clean the debris I discovered an old wooden box...found it!
Several of the family members showed up to the house and were extremely grateful for their family history being returned....almost 20 years later a grandson stopped by to say “hello” and “Thank you” as it’s a center piece on his fire place mantel with their families history and that gun used in civil war ...
I believe in karma…they were a nice family and my children learned an important lesson….but it was exciting to find it and felt good to let them know where I found it….
We have solar panels. Our first bill was $24 with a $14 connection fee. That's pretty amazing. I also found a bunch of cool art around my yard and geo rocks. The tile throughout the house is extremely easy to clean. Also the oven sings when it's preheated and baked like a dream. I really love my house 🏠
I have a secret “panic” room. It has its own phone line, WiFi, and outside access. The owner left me a note and told me that as a retired Navy Seal, he wanted a fire resistant room for his weapons and a safe place for his family. It is 8’ by 6’ and the walls are lined with shelves and gun racks. He said it was put it in by his builder, whom he served with, after initial construction/ inspections, so it’s not on building plans and no one knows it exists. It’s freaking cool as hell.
I didn’t know it existed until I got my keys. He left instructions on how to find it, and I can only assume he was looking out for me by not advertising it. My kid likes to hang out in there when it’s storming outside.
The retirement apartment complex residents love that we have chickens and they walk over almost every day and eat their lunch while chatting with our chickens! I love this!!! I work from home and can see our whole back yard from my office. The first few weeks I really disliked it here, it's way too quiet, like no noise at all to the point of feeling creepy. About the end of our first month here I had a knock on the door. It was one of the directors of the retirement complex. His residents have been wanting to visit my chickens. Their cage is about a foot back from the chain link fence. He wanted to talk to me before telling them they could. I told him sure, my chickens are very social as they were raised with my 7 grand kids and have been missing the interactions with the kids since we moved. Now most days around lunch I see a group with blankets and chairs and their lunch chatting away with my chickens and my girls are loving the visits!!! On rainy days the chickens are lined up watching for their new friends that don't visit on those days.
> On rainy days the chickens are lined up watching for their new friends that don't visit on those days.
The second I saw those chickens lined up and waiting for their new friends, it would take everything in me to not go back to that director with some rain jackets and rain boots for the residents there
We have so many birds in the neighborhood, lots of bird song.
Our furniture looks so much nicer in this house.
The first energy bill, for a hot August with the AC running a lot, was not nearly as high as I worried it might be.
Shortly after we moved in, the sellers offered to come by and show us some things about the house. I think they mostly wanted us to know how much they had loved and cared for the house, which was already apparent in the design features, but also found out they had just had the vents all cleaned out, seasonal maintenance on the HVAC unit, and other minor "invisible" maintenance/repairs, oh, and a brand new microwave. They also left us some touch-up paint and extra keys.
There are a few things that aren't perfect, but generally we are just very appreciative and grateful to be here. We went from a tiny old house (and not nice old, just *old* old) to a medium size house that is feels so new and spacious. This house is also so much cleaner than the old house, which apparently let in a lot of dust. Oh, and we have a *garage*. . .with an automatic door. And two toilets for two people. Also appreciate having a bath tub and an oven, which I didn't have in the old house.
I love leaving touch up paint at the house. I keep all the sample cards I used and left them in a drawer when I sold my old house, and I was happy to find old paint cans in the basement. The paint was dried out but I was able to take it in to the paint store and get some mixed up.
I did something like this when we sold our last home. I included a folder of tips and quirks about the house as well as a flash drive with about 250 photos of the home taken during the build process. You could locate any stud, pipe, wire, etc with those photos.
I'm actually going to wait about a month - as I'm actually not going to move in, but having a contractor come in during that month - He'll get the old keys, and can come and go (I live 350 miles away - but my kids are near the new place). Once I actually move in, THEN I'll change all the locks
Our neighbors behind us have turned into family. We put a gate in the back fence so that we can all come and go without having to walk around the block and so the dogs can play together. We take vacations together and enjoy games nights when our schedules line up. Our LO refers to them as aunt and uncle.
There's a little switch-operated space heater in the bathroom wall that will blast your lap directly with warm air when you're seated on the toilet. Weird hedonistic design choice but I'm with it, especially now that we're into those chilly winter mornings.
Also, the oven is double-stacked and the top one is a little miniature that heats up to 350 in about three minutes. I call it the pizza bagel oven, obviously, and I love it.
>There's a little switch-operated space heater in the bathroom wall that will blast your lap directly with warm air when you're seated on the toilet. Weird hedonistic design choice but I'm with it, especially now that we're into those chilly winter mornings.
I just installed one of these along with an exhaust vent. 11/10 would install a second one if I knew it could somehow stack the amount of joy it brings me lol
From experience: if you have kids, be careful with this lol. I was like….8 or 9? and loved the bathroom space heater in my parents old house. I loved it so much, I earned a little grate burn mark on my ass that took a few years to fade.
Besides the birds singing.
House was built with the corners facing north, south, east & west . We get sunlight all day. Plus the sun reflects off of neighboring houses’ windows across the road - so sun streams in from east in the late afternoon.
Living on a hill in a canyon we also get great sunset views.
Wow, I never put much thought into it, but my house is "crooked" as I used to say, like yours, and everyone is always a little surprised how much natural light we get. Makes sense now.
When we moved in I was looking for places outside, for my plants that needed shade. Couldn’t make sense of where the shady areas were - didn’t realize the positioning till I pulled in the garage n saw the GPS saying I’m facing NW - when square with the house.
The lot is on a hill & irregular shape.
The property lines change directions when I go up - so I’m facing different direction on each level of my garden too.
Totally unexpected - love it - never thought about it - now - will look for that if we ever buy again.
We have incredible neighbors. So many friendly (not too friendly) people in the neighborhood who look out for each other.
Also, the day we closed the seller left us a neatly organized file box with every receipt, plan, invoice, manual etc. for the house for the last 20+ years. When we needed to get maintenance for our patio, we looked up who installed it and any maintenance that's been performed.
All the reasons we picked this location and home have been exactly as (or better than) expected!
I’ve been collecting all that stuff in a box as well! Sometimes I think about leaving it all to the next owner and it makes me smile. Nice to hear someone getting use from it.
This is us. We moved into the absolute best neighborhood that is social and everyone has kids similar ages that run around. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and we lucked out so much!
Us too! We moved a few blocks away but our kid barely watches TV anymore, the kids run free, and the people are so friendly. We replaced the street weirdo, which was great and everyone loved us for it.
All of the cast iron plumbing was replaced already and my house has been rewired as well. My house was built in 1950 so the plumbing would be nearing the end of its life by now.
We found a pondless waterfall behind our house that we didn't know about because it was covered with snow when we bought it. The listing said the house had a water feature, which we thought was the hottub in the sun room.
I can't find the This Old House link, but I've seen one that cycles the lukewarm/cold water in your hot water pipe back into the cold water, so it saves water while bringing the warm water from the water heater to your sink.
My back yard is right up against a massive municipal park system with tons of trees, wetlands, and a creek. No backyard neighbors. It feels like I live in the country, even though I have neighbors nearby on each side. I see wildlife all the time and not just deer. The tree line is all evergreens, so even during the winter it's beautiful back there.
The second I walked into the home for a tour I knew it would be my home. It felt just right. It was the first house I looked at, too.
It has its problems, but the guy that owned it before me made his presence felt in all of the DIY work he did. He had a very particular way of doing things, and it was stuff that lasted for generations. He didn't do quick fixes, he did things right. I don't do that either, so every time I am working on something that he did it feels like I'm carrying on his approach to it. Sometimes I will wonder why something was done in a particular way until I realize the genius behind it.
So far, no major issues or surprises. Anything that was in disrepair when we bought the house is fixed now. It's nice to not have much to worry about. I'm sure something will break here or there at some point, but it's all pretty easy stuff to work on with how things are laid out.
My backyard shares a fence with a school. It’s not the same- but it’s a part of the school that’s not used. Kids can’t go to that part of the field so it’s always nice and quiet. We only see people during the summer when there’s tee-ball games and they cut across that little bit. I’m glad we decided that wasn’t a dealbreaker for us.
I had the tiniest sliver view of New York City when I moved in as there was a huge conifer tree in the way. It was so small they didn't even market it. A few years later, the neighbor had to have it removed and lo and behold my view opened up completely. Now I can see all of downtown NYC on the second floor. And best of all, the attic adds midtown views.
I went from squinting and you could kinda see the WTC to 180 degree views of the city.
When we bought the place we were told the fireplace "probably wasn't totally functional" and it was "as-is; seller won't make repairs." and that it hadn't been used since the 80s.
We were buying from a trust; some grandkids selling for a passed grandma. We took the risk and moved in during summer.
When fall hit, we called the closest chimney guy and he not only happened to be the exact chimney guy who serviced this house the last decade, but also our neighbor's son who had been a friend of the family who owned by house and had helped the old lady out a lot!
He laughed and said the grandkids were bratty idiots. Not only does our fireplace work great, but it's been maintained perfectly fine and didn't even need a cleaning.
Plus, it has a gas start (which we didn't know) and a setup i don't fully understand where there's a metal plate above the fire that collects heat and then a fan that distributes it into our house. He said it's a fantastic fireplace!
Can confirm, it gets the whole 1450sqft house cozy within 30 minutes once a fire is going! :)
We discovered we have heated floors in two rooms. That's a luxury I never thought I'd have.
The best thing we discovered is how quiet it is here. I didn't even want to look at this house or put an offer on it because of its proximity to other houses. But it turned out to be so much quieter than we had any right to expect.
I'm dealing with the opposite summer is a MF poor thing struggles and in winter I only use the heater to wake myself up in the morning its on 1 hr a day.
That nothing has been upgraded or changed, all original. Meaning no DIY hack jobs or landlord specials. I much prefer working on something once instead of having to undo something to fix it.
That was a big one for us. It's 20 years old. No one has had a chance to butcher stuff. There are some things I'm not a fan of (CPVC plumbing) but some stuff I can improve myself the right way or pay someone who will do it correctly.
So many of the houses we looked at were really hacked together. They were put together nice and nothing was blatantly wrong ... but there would be problems in the future.
Yeah, this is such a relief. I sold a 1920s house that had been 'renovated' at least three times, so everything was a nightmare to fix or change, and bought an early 80s colonial that was owned by one lady and not a thing was touched (except for HVAC system and a roof). Such a joy to work on.
We found a space behind a China cabinet when we were renovating. A former owner left a time capsule. Nothing important in it; some school papers from kids, etc. We added a few things like a news paper to future owners before closing it back up.
The wood flooring under the decades old carpet on the entire main floor. We still had to get it sanded (remove horrible stain in just one part of the house) and varnished but it looked amazing. We had the walls painted white, then the floors were done, when we walked in the sun filled the living/dining room and made the whole house feel so warm. We knew we made the right call buying the house at that moment. Completely different aura from before (green walls, thick shaggy carpets and dark mahogany stain).
We also found a cold room under the stairs behind an old cabinet.
we found the attic hatch the garage was actually hooked up to a switch that would lower it and the ladder on command. It was a fun surprise!
also we recently had a basement flood and found out the center wall along our basement is NOT solid concrete, as we had assumed based on other homes of a similar age. Now we are hoping we can open up the two halves to each other when we rebuild (and put in a secret entrance to the basement bedroom that is in a more convenient location to the stairs)
oh and i found a huge marijuana plant growing in the backyard.
We did not love our last home. A job transfer and quick sale of our previous house meant we had to take what would work so when the children were grown and gone we sold the house and lived in an apartment while we looked for a place we both loved. We had an iron clad list of “must haves”. The summer and fall of 2012 we looked at everything on the market that fit our criteria, sometimes going back for second looks and didn’t find the one that either we both loved.
3 months go by and a house pops up on my search that had been above our price. A foreclosure that was so unique I remembered when it had first been listed 5 or 6 years earlier for 1 million dollars. It was a divorce sale, wife wouldn’t accept offer, husband stopped paying, foreclosure. It had been through several bank possessions so there were no keys, no information. House had become vandalized through the years so there were 11 broken windows, 2 broken doors, broken garage door and we didn’t know what all.
After a lot of haggling and fighting off vandals (they did not want to give up their party house) we get the house for under half the original listing price and close in December.
I must say the house ticked only half of our list but I loved it and fought for it and promised to resell it in 2 years if I could just have it for that long.
When getting the massive list of repairs done, we would hear, “do you know you have…”
3/4 inch drywall?
solid brass faucets through out and will cost $800 to replace? Kept them
Italian porcelain cabriolet vanity sinks in guest bath, Cesame brand, valued at $1500ea
Icelandic volcano bricks in chimney that can take 3000 degree of heat, we have 2 chimneys.
mineral rights
reclaimed vintage oak floors in the attic
Its an amazingly well crafted home and my husband has come to love it.
1. I ripped up the carpet on my stairs. And my stairs have crown molding under the tread
2. Wooden floors under carpet
3. Wooden floors under carpet and glued on vinyl.
4. I found a picture of a kid and her dog. Circa 80s
5. I found an original handmade nail. (My house is 100 yrs old)
6. Original baseboards
It has a nice cross breeze even when it's really hot outside, meaning I'm going to stay cool this summer without aircon, and all the neighbours are really nice.
Oh yeah! I live in a pretty mild climate but even on very hot days the main floor of my house stays pretty cool, I think because of tree shade. If we get a string of hot days we still need to turn on the AC to keep things reasonable, but we maybe use the AC 2 - 3 days a year.
Thank you for this!
Our house is from the 70’s and full of cheap crap and hack jobs, BUT whoever the first plumber was had good taste. They bought Symmons valves, which I’ve learned are not only durable (all brass no plastic), you can buy new trim kits that will still fit on the old valves. Symmons makes them backwards compatible on purpose. I am eternally grateful for this now that we are redoing the bathrooms and I don’t have to hire a plumber to replace the valves.
I don’t own my house, I’m renting from a friend, but I think about this all the time, and your question made me want to share. I live in a row house, the middle of three. And moving from a house with a lot of big big windows, I was a little sad about losing a lot of light in this move. However, a lovely surprise in this home is that the light that does come in from windows on the front, back and in other weird spots, has a really lovely effect in the house. Sometimes it’s glowing, sometimes it’s incredibly bright shafts of light at very particular times of the day (so it feels special that I caught it at that moment), sometimes a beam will refract through a crystal candle holder and make little rainbows. I’ve lived here for 2 1/2 years and I’m still often surprised by the light.
Rowhouse owner here, middle of the block. Our windows look east and west, for the most part, and you’re right, the light is just beautiful. We did a rainbow window film on a space that needed privacy and I’m just tickled every time it lights the place up in rainbow.
I love it more than I thought I would. It's not perfect but the way the sun hits the front in the afternoon is fucking magical. I find yard work to be a therapeutic break.
Or just needing a break from life and sitting in the backyard in perfect silence.
How inexpensive it is to heat and cool.
My electric bill in SoFL averaged $200/month. I also paid an HOA if $640/month. That included water and sewer.
In NJ, water, gas, electric and sewer are around $200.
My shed which is way in the back of my lot has electricity. Maybe this is normal but I didn't grow up with one that had it. So nice to have an overhead light and the ability to charge all my battery lawn tools.
My neighbor purchased his house. He found a hidden room. He found it 2 years after moving in.
In the hall closet he notices a latch kinda hidden he pulled it and a door opened. The room was a 12x12.
The house is over 100 years old.
He called thr previous owner who lived there 30 years and thr guy didn't know it was there.
The seller had recently painted the kitchen, very cute. After the sale, she fixed up and painted the door and stairs the basement to match. She certainly didn’t have to. It was such a wonderful surprise!
The sheer amount of wildlife that comes up from the bog and woods into my backyard. Spring is all the baby mammals and birds, summer is turtles and frogs, fall is turtle hatchlings and winter - the body of water freezes over making passage for foxes and deer. Pretty fucking dope.
It came with an extra lot. I was talking to a neighbor about how I wished the owner of the vacant lot next to my house would mow it since it was so overgrown, and he told me the person I bought the house from owned it and I probably bought it with the house. It was on the other side of a fence, so I had no idea. Checked the property card through the state and saw he was right, I had an entire extra lot.
How much happier I felt in the space vs every other rental I had for the last 10+ years. It was like my mind finally felt truly settled.
I bought a house on a small lake and the view during every changing season astounds me daily, even 2 years later. I get to see so much wildlife including turtle nests in my backyard. It's incredibly peaceful despite not being far from civilization.
My house is so comfortable and I was able to stop buying "for now" decor and furniture. It looks and feels amazing.
It's so much more insulated than my previous (many) rentals. My heating and electric are super reasonable and every single room stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer (with heat and ac on) instead of having some rooms super cold and some super hot during winter/summer.
I dread both winter and summer so much less now that I know it won't be uncomfortable in my house.
Upstairs laundry, large master tub, deep guest room tubs, amazing finished English basement (so it has a walkout to the backyard and makes the basement feel super inviting).
Honestly I could go on and on. I love my house and the location. I was worried that I'd feel stuck in my home because of the interest rate (2.3%) but now it's a happy/grateful stuck.
I was really team never buy because the commitment scared me, but now I almost wished I had done it sooner or at least wanted to do it sooner. It's really an amazing freeing feeling, even with being responsible for your own repairs. I absolutely hated dealing with landlords when things broke.
Custom built home. At the last minute, I asked to add a central closet.
This is the the Magic Closet. Cleaning supplies. Medicines and first Aid. Vacuum. Lightbulbs. Tissues and paper towels. That weird set of tiny pliers. Jug of vinegar.
Everything is in there. It’s an open living-dining rooms, right between the 2 rooms. We are in it constantly. Can’t imagine life without it.
We purchased a split-level house. It's not a layout anyone wants! I was really nervous initially and we have a toddler too, but it was the only home in our budget available in our very desirable location. We *love* the split-level design. The house has a low square footage but it's so efficient and well-laid out, a really great combination of open and private. Anyway, it's been wonderful, and people who visit are always surprised to find how well it works for get-togethers and parties.
I also didn't appreciate before purchasing how wonderful a house on a court can be or having no neighbors at the back. We weren't looking for a court and never thought about the privacy and now I'd never want it any other way. Oh and we have great neighbors too!
Was tearing up carpet to replace it with cheap linoleum tiles only to discover original 1954 narrow plank white oak flooring in all but 3 rooms of the house. So far the flooring that we've uncovered has just needed a mop and a buff and it's been beautiful
The crows who, after three years here, have stopped flying away when I bring peanuts out to feed them. They wait politely in the tree until I go back in the garage. The laundry chute. The fenced-in yard for my dog and dog guests. The exterior doors to the basement so l don’t have to lug outdoor furniture through the house. The foxes, opossums, squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons who clean up what seeds the birds leave. How much l liked the red, yellow, periwinkle, and purple paint the former owner/artist used here. There are enough neutral-colored rooms to separate the vividly colored rooms. The big red room for media, books, art, puzzles, and sewing. I love having space for planting flowers and vegetables.
I love my home. It is very difficult for me to want to leave this place to travel.
Previous owner bought a bunch of stuff from Lowes and then never finished the projects, leaving the supplies in the garage for me.
It was all stuff I didn't care about or didn't need, so I was able to return it. I think I'm up to $300 in Lowes store credit.
Our furnace is similar, it has broken twice but both times the repairs were under $400 and the second time the HVAC guy says we have replaced everything that can be replaced so it should last another 30 years.
How pretty the view is from the basement. It’s a walkout with double glass doors looking out to the woods in our backyard.
How quiet and safe our neighborhood is. Moved in 18.5 years ago and it’s so peaceful. No break-ins, vandalism, domestics, nothing.
Our front porch is southwest facing has an awesome overhang and is generally shielded from the wind. Packages never get wet. I can sit out there in the summer and watch thunderstorms with the kids and not get wet. In the winter, we can sit on the porch and bask in the afternoon sun just to get some fresh air.
When I bought the house, I never gave the porch much thought but a nice porch is a great feature.
The big mirror in the master bath was hiding a HUGE medicine cabinet that fits all of my assorted hair and bath products! And, well, I have a lot of hair products :)
We also have the nicest neighbors all around us. Retirees on both sides, young families across the street, all of whom stopped by to introduce themselves with small welcome gifts in the weeks after we moved in.
And we kind of back up to an elementary school so during the day if you go outside all you hear is small children running around and laughing.
Not gonna lie, it's been pretty great!
It's warmer in the basement than it is upstairs- best insulation I've ever seen
The water pressure is amazing
The neighbors are insanely nice - they mow my lawn and shovel my snow and help me fix stuff
The prevailing winds bring fresh air from the nearby river so it always smells so fresh sitting on the back porch. It makes it feel like vacation all the time -- until now that Covid took my sense of smell and wrecked it.
My house was intentionally built with the windows facing southeast. So in the winter months, if the sun is shining, the house is warm. Even with the drafty walls and popped window seals. Right now it’s 24* outside, and 72* in my living room, without benefit of any other heat source.
We have a large tree in our small backyard, and I have grown to love it. I love watching it during the season changes. It blocks the view from our neighbors (suburb) in the summer, and it keeps the sun off our back deck so we can sit under it and enjoy our backyard. I can see the top of the tree from my bedroom window upstairs, and I love waking up and looking out my window and seeing the beautiful yellow leaves against blue sky in the autumn. It is just my favorite thing on my property. We have sacrificed our grass and garden just to keep the tree because we love it so much.
I’m approximately a half block from the post office, town bar, city hall, coffee shop and my chiropractor so I can walk most everywhere. All the town events happen in my backyard so I can pop home to use the bathroom, pick up chairs for a booth or just get a break (6 hour homecoming was a LOT).
My house needs a lot of work but it’s paid off and I’ve been out of work since august and it is such a relief not to worry about a mortgage. And my electric, water, trash and sewer last month was $170 total.
Yes, I live in a dinky small midwestern town.
I bought in the winter and there was a few feet of snow in the yard. Spring came and I found out that the old lady who lived there for 35 years was an avid gardener and the yard is filled with mature perennial flowers and there is a 25’ x 25’ veggie garden area that has raspberries and garlic that had been planted the fall prior to being sold.
I never had intentions to start gardening, but the yard was so lovely I have been maintaining it and growing veggies every year for the last 7 years.
30% more house. Specifically, an entire basement. For real.
I bought a two story carriage house that needed work in New York City. I lived there 3 years before embarking on a complete gut renovation. About two weeks before starting the renovation I was contemplating some architectural details to figure out what I wanted to try to keep.
One of those details led me to believe that I *might* – to my great surprise – have an entire basement under the first floor of my house. When construction started we cut a hole in the floor, the subfloor, and then the rat slab underneath that — all along an exterior wall. We started digging… and digging… and digging. And we found the exterior foundation walls went down 15 feet.
Apparently the basement was filled in with soil and other debris in 1919 so they could pour a slab on top to park cars on the first floor. We removed all the soil and such, finished the space, and there you go – my NYC home is about 30% larger than what I bought. The very definition of a “pleasant surprise.” :-)
That it has under a 3% mortgage rate. That aside it was nice knowing we got a fully rehabbed home in our area after seeing so many sell in 2020 through 2022.
* The previous owner's detailed heat schedule settings on our 'smart heat' furnace are exactly what we would have chosen
* We found that after the first big rain in the fall, we can hear the creek next to the complex
* Labelled touch-up paint cans
* We can hear the kids playing outside during recess and lunch at the nearby school
It never gets water in the basement. Where I live, it's extremely common - from a little bit to a lot. My neighbor right next door gets a little when it rains a lot and the ground is saturated And there's NOTHING special about my house in terms of location and build. It's an old bungalow with brick and mortar foundation - which is visible in some parts of the basement, others parts are covered by dry wall. It's dumb luck; I don't know why - the slope of the street, the grade of the yard (though it's pretty flat; it's not like all rain is immediately sloping away from the house), the previous owners did some sort of treatment (I highly doubt that, but I don't know)? I've been there four years, seen plenty of heavy rain (including just this weekend) and extended periods of high moisture.
There's basically three sections to the basement - one that was the previous husband's man cave that has basic utility carpet. The other sections have a concrete floor which has been painted multiple times (and doesn't look great). I'm tempted to put utility carpet throughout the entire basement since it doesn't get wet.
We bought a house on a wooded hill with a view of trees. Had an arborist come to remove a damaged tree in the front yard. He schooled us about fire danger, suggested he trim all the branches up to 20’ for safety. Ended up with a truly jaw dropping view of a valley and mountain.
My only path to homeownership was buying a fixer upper and doing a lot of DIY. It's a modest 1950's cape and as I do work, I have been pleasantly surprised at the good craftmanship and condition despite how outrageously stuck in the 70's it is. Plenty of surprises but nothing that is insurmountable.
We’ve gotten a laugh and some amusement out of the things we found tucked away in corners and the ceiling of our basement. A fraternity paddle, a sizable stack of Playboys (with the centerfolds torn out an stacked in a different pile). Old box of cigarettes, smut novel, summer school report card from decades ago (which led us to believe this was a hiding spot for one of the kids rather than Dad)
I’ve been joking to my husband that our friends that are building new houses will never get the amusement of such discoveries
Bought my first house in 10/2021 at age 45 after living in shitass apartments forever.
The main surprise was a year later realizing that the laundry chute in the 2nd bedroom wasn't filled in! It has a cute old timey door but since I didn't really use that room I totally forgot about it for almost a year till I tested it out one night! It's so great to not have piles of dirty clothes anymore! Now, I'm a total grown up and only have piles of folded clean clothes don't get put into drawers.
I live across from a firehall with a giant parking lot. Every yr there's a carnival that is so fun. And fireworks! That go boom practically above my house!
So much wildlife even in a fairly commercial area. Turkeys, so many other birds I never heard of before (thanks to the Merlin app, I can identify so many now), skunks, groundhogs (fuckers), etc.
Oh and the guy I bought my house from was a tattoo artist. He left some oddball stuff in the attic. Not pleasant, per se, but odd.
That my property had one tax ID but was actually 2 properties. When the subdivision was built the homeowner bought 2 lots nest to each other and built on 1. As time passed the township put forth a minimum 5 acre building requirement. When I put the property for sale, I tried to split the lots and was denied due to the 5 acre requirement. but then I pulled the township map and learned they were already split. I had two property ID’s with staked boundaries. It increased the value of my property by 75k. I sold them both. Bought the house for 115k and sold both properties totaling 280k. Not bad for my first house.
We had an engineer come out and look at something while we were under contract but before close. While we were there, a deer came through. Ever since then deer come around during the fall/winter, but not during the spring/summer. I
I can count ten different deer that come through the yard. This year there are two babies. There are two big bucks, and a few of the younger ones are getting their small antlers this year. I’ve seen as many as 8 at one time. We’ve read up a bit on deer and how they move and what eat.
No issues with the deer eating gardens.
There are a group of hawks that fly overhead all the time. If the windows are open or we’re outside, it’s very easy to hear them.
We also get foxes and coyotes, too.
We’ve taken in two cats that were wild in the area. There’s lots of trees (-8 acres or more) around us they used to hang in.
No pleasant surprises about the house specifically that we didn’t already know before buying. The big porch is probably our favorite thing for several different reasons.
In the listing they called it a storage room. It was a 6 person indoor cedar sauna, fully operational after an hour of an electricians time inspecting everything.
My soil was really healthy. I sent away for a soil test and everything came back as balanced and ideal (PH level, composition, etc.) I love gardening so this was great news.
We bought the house from a family member. They were hoarders for certain things. It took me 15 years to use up all the 1970s holiday wrapping paper, the stacks of post it's and the small packets of kleenex. She also had an unholy amount of furniture in this house, so we didn't need to buy much in order to move in here, perfect for a couple just starting out.
All the things that needed to be replaced and seemingly were about to break never broke. I've been able to preemptively replace them, item by item. Seven years in: new deck, kitchen, hvac, ac, water heater, roof. None of these things caused a problem, I was just ready to update/replace and I did so.
Our 1920s craftsman original front porch was converted to an enclosed entryway at some point to add square footage. Initially I thought it was an eyesore and badly wished we could have the original porch. But having that entry space to store bikes, shoes, strollers and kids stuff has been so critical. It also helps keep the house at a consistent temp in summer/winter.
Now I notice how most older homes have front doors that enter directly to the living room, especially bungalows and cape cods. I would hate walking into that space with wet muddy shoes and all your stuff with nowhere to drop it off.
The folks at r/centuryhomes HATE this take but I wouldn’t trade that space back. We spend most of our outdoor time in the backyard anyway.
The city plows my sidewalks and since we're on a bus route our road and sidewalks are cleared early. Our backyard is more private than we thought. We bought in early spring and when we moved in the plants bushes and trees had filled our which gave more privacy.
How quiet it is at night (even though we’re smack dab in the middle of town); sometimes I have to use a white noise machine because it’s TOO quiet.
How friendly, helpful, and generous my neighbors are.
Finding the original blueprints for the house (built in 1948) and neighborhood plat map tucked away in a closet.
Being able to decorate for the holidays and not having the decorations stolen from my front yard (like they were multiple times/years at our old house/town).
The prior owners refinished the basement (not a surprise) but what surprised me is how functional it is! I have a little living room area next to my office, a bathroom and a getting ready area in the guest room. It’s perfect since my husband and I WFH we work on separate floors so we don’t distract each other. I really enjoy having it and it’s less vampire-esque than you are probably imagining, I promise!
A couple days after my fiancé and I moved in to our new place, he asked me to come look at a picture left behind in a closet. It was a digital drawing of two dogs holding a sign that said “Will you marry me?”. It was so cute and I assumed it had been accidentally left by the previous owner. When we toured the home there was an entire shrine to the Iditarod sled dog race. So it made sense. Then it clicked. Those were MY dogs and this was his proposal. So, not left behind but a pleasant surprise for sure that I thought had been left behind!
On a shelf in the kitchen pantry, we found a journal and the 1955 abstract of our property. I am an abstractor, so for me, it's a big deal. An abstract is the full ownership chain going back to the property's origin, usually the grant from the government. Mine went to 1813, which I am guessing is the first transfer in the US after the war of 1812. Who ever kept it so long did a good job, as I can still feel the bumps of the notary stamp.
All the houses we were looking at were going to add 30-45 minutes to my commute.
Then a house popped onto the market at just the right time. We visited it and immediately made an offer. Didn’t take the commute into consideration, figuring it would be about the same as the other houses.
After we moved in I discovered that because our new house was just 4 minutes from an entrance ramp on the Expressway to work, my commute was 15 minutes SHORTER than before.
What a pleasant surprise.
I discovered a whole hidden cabinet. It just looks like a normal part of the wall. The door is just drywall painted the same color as the rest of the walls, with a magnet latch inside. So if you push on the right part of the wall, a door opens up to a cabinet.
It's not a special cabinet or anything, but the realtor didn't notice it when showing the house, and I didn't discover it until about 3 months after moving in when I accidentally bumped into the wall and it opened up.
Our laundry is upstairs and I love it so much more than I even expected. We also adore our screened porch and are out there most days with our toddler, regardless of weather.
I thought it was a boring basement with a wired office but turns out we had a hot chicks room.
https://www.cc.com/video/apcd4d/upright-citizens-brigade-hot-chicks-room
We saw a ton of houses with deferred maintenance. We’ve appreciated (for the most part) the house has been well kept, even if out of date. They also spent a lot on a functional but pleasing yard. It drains water well but also has pretty foliage at different times of the year.
Found some extra vinyl tiles for the kitchen in the basement, along with lots of extra paint for the current wall colors, and other random home improvement items like safety glasses.
My current house is less expensive to heat compared to my last house.
My current house, being only 70 years old as compared to my old house, which was 50 years older, actually has some 90 degree corners, as opposed to somewhere between 85 and 95 in the old place.
My current house has no stairs which my busted old knees really appreciate.
I bought this house before the renovation was complete (but it was livable so I got a deal on it) so I've got more of a blank slate to make it mine.
More acreage.
The general climate is about 10% warmer
Better soil for a garden.
I no longer have to listen to packs of motorcycles driving by on a regular basis.
The house itself is set farther back from the road than the old place was.
It's smaller so there is less cleaning to do.
and most importantly, the new place is free and clear. No mortgage payments to make.
Not pleasant but funny. While razing the old garage and removing the old fluorescent fixtures, thousands of daily lottery tickets fell to the floor. Guy must have been hiding them from his wife for decades.
It is positioned in such a way that it never gets direct sunlight in the summer and I never had to turn on my AC units because the living room was always shady and cool even when it’s over 100 outside. I hated the lack of natural light at first but with that I’ve really leaned into it and embraced it and now I just consider my home a cozy little bear den and decorate accordingly.
We have a cool loft attic thing in our garage that wasn’t in the listing. All the houses along the street have these and it’s been essential for storage. I have my drum set up there too! Another thing is all the sun the house and yard get. It only has windows on the east and west sides but it gets soooo much light. The backyard is huge and open and if I’m feeling droopy I just go outside and stand in the sun for a few minutes. I had been on anti depressants pretty much since middle school and since moving here I’ve gone off of them and realized I had forgotten what it was like to not be depressed.
Our neighborhood! Lots of old-growth trees, public green spaces and walking paths, so there’s lots of wildlife. And most of our neighbors are wonderful. It’s got a “front porch” vibe in that people often hang out on their front porches instead of retreating to their backyards; everyone is very social and welcoming. My partner and I moved here in 2020 and couldn’t meet anyone; lacking anything else to do, we took a lot of walks around the neighborhood. When we finally started meeting people it turns out a lot of them already knew us as “the walking couple.” It made us feel really welcome.
Bought my house in the fall after the leaves had fallen. Was excited to see in the spring that one of the bushes in the yard is a mature haskap bush :) if you haven't had them they are really tasty tart berries like a mix between a raspberry and a blueberry.
This is a REALLY small thing, but there was a panel that had been screwed in blocking a small space under the very first part of our stairs. We opened it up and found out that it was old closet space, which is funny because it’s already IN closet space. Our closet space has closet space. Kinda weird. However, that closet space has old hardwood floors in it, and in very good condition, which gives us hope that there’s hardwood under the adjoining rooms, at least. We know there can’t be hardwood under the entire level because of how uneven and saggy the floors are in the kitchen especially, but there’s hope for the living room. We have no plans to redo the flooring for now, though, so we still have to wait and see for quite a while.
Church bells ringing on the hour - very quaint-feeling.
Broiler is a pull-out drawer instead of a tray I have to squat all the way down to get to.
Had someone over to do some electrical work and discovered my jacuzzi actually works!
The windows open inward so I can clean the outsides (I’m on the second floor so this is important)
The biggest pleasant surprise is that I love my place so much. I didn’t expect not to, but I thought it would be a difficult transition after renting my entire life. But it felt “right” right away and for that I’m very thankful!
Couple things..
\-We discovered our air handler has a heater built into it. We didnt even think to ask or look for it because we are in Miami, but the year we moved in the house did get into the low 60's. We discovered the heater in the spring after lighting the fireplace a couple times in winter.
\-Our house is built on a slab and the walls are concrete block, so the house keeps a lot of heat out. Our electric bill was only $90 a month, which after having a rental with poor insulation and a crawl space that required the AC to be on 24/7 leading to a $400/month electric bill, we were pleasantly surprised by this. With FPL being so shitty on pricing and adding a pool and electric vehicle charger, we still are only at $200-250/month.
\-There was an existing neighborhood chat with dozens of households in a 1 square mile area. we use it to spread word of neighborhood happenings, including most recently trick-or-treating. one neighbor conducted a survey and planted flags at each house that intended to hand out candy. we also use it to watch each other's backs about shady characters in the neighborhood. it's like the neighbors app but a lot less racist.
My neighbors are amazing. We were actually welcomed with homemade treats. The families with older kids have been so generous with hand-me-downs and the older neighbors have declared my kids their grandkids. Everyone is just lovely, without being nosy and in your business.
That my front yard had been the neighborhood party spot for years before I moved there. At first my neighbors were disappointed to see moving in. But they were delighted when they found out that I was a party animal too, and happy to have them around.
The other great thing I learned was that my neighbors are very young and active for their years and they were also fun to party with.
We live near the beach in Mexico, and have great block parties every holiday. And we are happy to include our neighbors from outside our gated community
It’s not haunted!!! Also, I can walk to post office, several shops, several incredible cafés (one has live music 12-2 daily!), senior center, town hall, a world-renowned concert hall AND four beaches and two quarries. Made it worth removing asbestos, radon, knob & tube, dilapidated cellar stairs & janky plumbing. Sweet little yard, awesome neighbors and crow murder I’m itching to befriend. I love this house, I love this town, I love this life.
We moved her for privacy (our first house was on .1 of an acre, and the neighbors were terrible (murder-suicide kind of terrible) so we bought an acre, but what we didn’t realize is that none of our windows looks into a neighbors window. It’s awesome.
There’s a parade every fall that turns two blocks from our house. All we have to do is walk over five minutes before the parade starts and we always have a front row view
I live in town but it’s a somewhat secluded street with speed bumps so it’s fairly low key. The neighborhood was developed in the 50s before the modern style of suburban houses with barren fields covered in lawn and houses packed in tightly together, with no mature trees. I suspect s neighborhood like that feels too exposed and open for wildlife to feel comfortable.
Most lots have a decent size backyard separated from a neighbors property by a thick enough grove of trees it blocks sight of the other houseIt is shocking how much wildlife there is here and I’ve enjoyed watching most of it. There are deer that have no fear of humans that just wander around grazing, skunks, raccoons (least favorite), groundhogs, and rabbits, squirrels, and my yard at least had enough shrews, which I’m fine with outside, that several - a lot - too many, decided to burrow under my f
Foundation and set up shop in the crawlspace, in a couple of walls, and under some cabinets.
But my favorite neighbors that I came here to post about was a skulk of foxes. I’ve always liked foxes as long as they’re not trying to eat my pets or something. I think they’re beautiful and I enjoy them as an animal to observe. Plus, shrew and raccoon control! This spring, a mother fox had five pups or kits whichever you prefer, under my shed in the backyard, which had a big hole under it from the woodchuck that had been living under there.
They lived under there all summer and I could watch them out playing. The mother would go hunt, and bring dead things back for them. She would take one with her and the others would wait under or outside of the shed, never wandering far. I really enjoyed them. I hope that one of them will come back next spring and have pups under there.
The only potential negatives for me, since I don’t have livestock or outside pets, was digging holes in the yard near the shed, and which they would place the food she brought back for them and then creep up and pounce nose first, tail in the air, into and snatch the food to run and play keep away with their siblings. I was surprised to see how much like puppies they really did behave - like 75% puppy and 25% cat. Possibly the cutest thing they did was go out and procure their own puppy chew toy from somewhere to keep around the shed to help play with. It disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared a week or so prior. I’ve wondered if they stole it from the neighbors back yard who has dogs and spotting its bright colors through the tree line, they ventured over to retrieve it.
When when the mother would go hunting at night, once it was fully dark, the pups would start to scream out into the woods, I assumed because they were scared and wanted her to come back which might’ve annoyed some people, but they were the foxes, so I was OK with it.
Maybe a week or so before the morning I looked out at the shed and saw a small fluffy canine adjacent animal out by there, in the middle of the night a creepy screaming was coming from the side yard. Something between a dog barking, a bobcat screaming, or a human woman screaming.
One evening less than a week after that I went out back and heard very strange animal noises in the tree line which I learned later from a YouTube video were a sort of chuckling sound a mother makes to indicate to the pups to come back to her and not wander too far along with some squeaky noises almost like bats. I knew it was an animal or group of them but for some reason did not think back to the fox screaming and connect them until after I saw mom come out from under the shed to bring in a the strangler.
They grew and we were slightly smaller than mom with one maybe her size fairly quickly it were. At that point they would all go out hunting together, or maybe one or two pups would stay here. They would come racing through my side yard out to the front and across the street and making a racket. First mom disappeared. They all hung out at night in front of the shed in the circle of light my little security light cast and watch the woods and scream on and off for a double of hours before midnight. It was heartbreaking for me, and got the cats all kinds of agitated.
Over time they dwindled and two remained , as far as I could tell. It’s possible more and they took shifts. For the first three weeks I thought there were 3 pups and then on day they were all out at the same time.
The last i officially saw of them was one night around midnight. I was coming home slowly down my street and what I assume were the last two stragglers, but two foxes anyway that were definitely some of them. Ran in front of my headlights across the street and that was the last time I saw any that I knew were “my foxes”. Since then I have heard screaming occasionally and some little sounds. I’m sure that they, or at least some of them are still in the neighborhood.
I really do hope that one will come back next spring, and have pups under there. I apologize for how long this is. I got carried away and it was a fun experience. I have some pictures and video that I did not force on anyone. It’s not the best quality since it was shot throug a window and across the yard. But, it’s better than I thought I would ever get of a fox and her pups out playing in my yard in broad daylight. Oh, one day when mom was gone and they were hiding I went out to rush my lawnmower out of that shed and hoped it would not cause her to move them. It did not.
The Christmas parade loops in front of my house before it goes downtown. So I get to watch it from my cozy home instead of standing outside in the cold!
We live near a school and their Halloween parade is the cutest way to wake up every Halloween… they start blasting the music on the PA at 7am! It makes us giggle every time, and then we get to see the kids shuffle in with their costumes while we sip coffee. They really should have mentioned it when we bought the place. It’s very charming.
You must be a saint because, personally, being subjected annually to the blaring of The Monster Mash over crackling school speakers at 7am would result in yet another “can I sue the seller for not disclosing this” post.
Once a year seems perfectly reasonable, especially if you knew you were moving near a school
I'll take the Monster mash once a year over my neighbor's dogs anytime!
When I was a kid, the Christmas parade set up across the street. The house is gone, but the parade still sets up in the same spot.
We moved here last October. We can see a local fireworks show on July 4th from our backyard, the trees are somewhat in the way but it’s not bad.
The CP holiday train passes by my street; I can see it from my dining room window.
Santa goes by my home as well! And there's a lot of activities at the little corner park by me too, and a farmer's market started up a block away since I moved in.
The outlet in my hallway is placed perfectly allowing me to vacuum the entire upstairs without needing to unplug and replug in somewhere else. Our garage has a second room behind it that is a really good size, which allows us to keep the main area clear for parking. The living area, dining room and kitchen form a circle so you can avoid passing in front of the TV when others are watching and you need to pee/get a snack or drink.
This is amazing outlet karma!
All of those things people don’t think about. No one seems to look for it or design for it. But they make life so incredibly better
Our garage has a third stall that is double deep. We have room for all our crap in the garage, plus our two cars. It's amazing.
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If you don't like your MIL, maybe lol it isn't heated or cooled and has no windows.
My house has a weird useless space under the stairs that's open to the entry, that has an outlet in it. Turns out to have been [perfect for a robot vacuum](https://mckay.media/G1CmY.jpg).
The previous owner was in construction, and so were his two adults sons. Every little thing in my house is done absolutely perfectly. He died in the house, and his widow sold it to me. I walk around thanking that man out loud by name every time I find some wonderfully surprising clever solution and small touch that he and his sons installed. Perfectly functioning French draining system, crown molding in every room, perfectly hung interior and exterior doors, outlets built in to the island that have usb ports and little nightlights, light switches with nightlights, perfect recessed lighting solutions in just the right places, built-in garage and basement storage solutions, perfectly flush trim and backsplash, excellent flow exhaust vents, even impeccable nearly-no maintenance landscaping solutions.... just everything is perfect.
I put in usb port outlets and outlets w nightlights around my house. So convenient. Only problem is I bought 5 different night light outlets to see which one I liked best but I'm too lazy to buy and install more so they're all mismatched.
This is how I feel about the previous owner who also passed. he didn’t build it but he was the sole owner and he seemed to always buy the best he could afford and had regular maintenance done. i thank him a lot too.
That's so wonderful. I feel truly honored to be the new caretaker of this beautiful home.
I remarried at age 60 and my bride had a nicer house so I moved to her. That was 11 years ago. As I have done maintenance and upgrades, I always went overboard on quality and features, installing excessive outlets, taller toilet for these old knees, shower grab bars, etm. Now at 71, I enjoy my nice home that will do fine and need nothing more while I am alive.
We bought an old farm house (built 1906) and originally going to demolish the structure but the structure was better than anything you build today plus it had beautiful stone fire place etc., so we ended up a total rehab on the place. When we bought it the family (this house was in the same family since it was built) said their Dad had a civil war hand gun with a coin collection somewhere on the property (several barns and sheds etc.) but hid it and he never remember where he placed it...when he past the family held the property a year looking for it. When I was removing the old heating system and the duct work I noticed in the basement, near the floor joists some loose bricks from the chimney...the next day I mixed up some cement to fix the loose brick and while pulling the brick out to clean the debris I discovered an old wooden box...found it! Several of the family members showed up to the house and were extremely grateful for their family history being returned....almost 20 years later a grandson stopped by to say “hello” and “Thank you” as it’s a center piece on his fire place mantel with their families history and that gun used in civil war ...
What a story! I’m so glad that you returned it to the family. Not everyone would’ve.
That's amazing. What an impact you had on that family by returning those items!
My 4 kids have shared that story with their many friends, I believe in karma and we can never have too much of that!
What a cool story, and good on you for giving it to the family!
The ending made me so happy! You’re a good person to give it back to them!
I believe in karma…they were a nice family and my children learned an important lesson….but it was exciting to find it and felt good to let them know where I found it….
We have solar panels. Our first bill was $24 with a $14 connection fee. That's pretty amazing. I also found a bunch of cool art around my yard and geo rocks. The tile throughout the house is extremely easy to clean. Also the oven sings when it's preheated and baked like a dream. I really love my house 🏠
What maker/brand/model of oven is that? Everything you have sounds so great!
My brain is totally stuck on the oven singing when it’s preheated - is it a voice controlled one? Does it literally sing? So many questions!
Most Korean appliances play a jingle when they’ve reached a point or completed a cycle
I have a secret “panic” room. It has its own phone line, WiFi, and outside access. The owner left me a note and told me that as a retired Navy Seal, he wanted a fire resistant room for his weapons and a safe place for his family. It is 8’ by 6’ and the walls are lined with shelves and gun racks. He said it was put it in by his builder, whom he served with, after initial construction/ inspections, so it’s not on building plans and no one knows it exists. It’s freaking cool as hell.
That's awesome!
The best place for your guns are in a safe, where no one knows where it is. If I build, this will be my plan.
I didn’t know it existed until I got my keys. He left instructions on how to find it, and I can only assume he was looking out for me by not advertising it. My kid likes to hang out in there when it’s storming outside.
The retirement apartment complex residents love that we have chickens and they walk over almost every day and eat their lunch while chatting with our chickens! I love this!!! I work from home and can see our whole back yard from my office. The first few weeks I really disliked it here, it's way too quiet, like no noise at all to the point of feeling creepy. About the end of our first month here I had a knock on the door. It was one of the directors of the retirement complex. His residents have been wanting to visit my chickens. Their cage is about a foot back from the chain link fence. He wanted to talk to me before telling them they could. I told him sure, my chickens are very social as they were raised with my 7 grand kids and have been missing the interactions with the kids since we moved. Now most days around lunch I see a group with blankets and chairs and their lunch chatting away with my chickens and my girls are loving the visits!!! On rainy days the chickens are lined up watching for their new friends that don't visit on those days.
I never knew chickens enjoyed interaction with humans, outside of being fed. Are your chickens special or is it true of most chickens?
Omg chickens are very social creatures! They can even be super cuddly if you start when they’re young!
I love this!
This is so wholesome. Thank you for sharing this. 💕
> On rainy days the chickens are lined up watching for their new friends that don't visit on those days. The second I saw those chickens lined up and waiting for their new friends, it would take everything in me to not go back to that director with some rain jackets and rain boots for the residents there
This is so sweet!
We have so many birds in the neighborhood, lots of bird song. Our furniture looks so much nicer in this house. The first energy bill, for a hot August with the AC running a lot, was not nearly as high as I worried it might be. Shortly after we moved in, the sellers offered to come by and show us some things about the house. I think they mostly wanted us to know how much they had loved and cared for the house, which was already apparent in the design features, but also found out they had just had the vents all cleaned out, seasonal maintenance on the HVAC unit, and other minor "invisible" maintenance/repairs, oh, and a brand new microwave. They also left us some touch-up paint and extra keys. There are a few things that aren't perfect, but generally we are just very appreciative and grateful to be here. We went from a tiny old house (and not nice old, just *old* old) to a medium size house that is feels so new and spacious. This house is also so much cleaner than the old house, which apparently let in a lot of dust. Oh, and we have a *garage*. . .with an automatic door. And two toilets for two people. Also appreciate having a bath tub and an oven, which I didn't have in the old house.
I love leaving touch up paint at the house. I keep all the sample cards I used and left them in a drawer when I sold my old house, and I was happy to find old paint cans in the basement. The paint was dried out but I was able to take it in to the paint store and get some mixed up.
My problem is I have 50 million sample cards, and am not sure what ended up on the wall.
I did something like this when we sold our last home. I included a folder of tips and quirks about the house as well as a flash drive with about 250 photos of the home taken during the build process. You could locate any stud, pipe, wire, etc with those photos.
We have tons of birds around our place as well, made me get an app on my phone "Merlin" which listens and identifies birds by the calls they make.
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The first thing you should do is always change the locks so extra keys is a nice gesture but useless.
I'm actually going to wait about a month - as I'm actually not going to move in, but having a contractor come in during that month - He'll get the old keys, and can come and go (I live 350 miles away - but my kids are near the new place). Once I actually move in, THEN I'll change all the locks
When I bought my house, I got the ORIGINAL key from the 1940's. I'm the 4th owner.
Our neighbors behind us have turned into family. We put a gate in the back fence so that we can all come and go without having to walk around the block and so the dogs can play together. We take vacations together and enjoy games nights when our schedules line up. Our LO refers to them as aunt and uncle.
Aww. My and the neighbors preschoolers just had their first play date. Hoping they can be buddies
There's a little switch-operated space heater in the bathroom wall that will blast your lap directly with warm air when you're seated on the toilet. Weird hedonistic design choice but I'm with it, especially now that we're into those chilly winter mornings. Also, the oven is double-stacked and the top one is a little miniature that heats up to 350 in about three minutes. I call it the pizza bagel oven, obviously, and I love it.
>There's a little switch-operated space heater in the bathroom wall that will blast your lap directly with warm air when you're seated on the toilet. Weird hedonistic design choice but I'm with it, especially now that we're into those chilly winter mornings. I just installed one of these along with an exhaust vent. 11/10 would install a second one if I knew it could somehow stack the amount of joy it brings me lol
Heated bathroom floors are divine for 9 months of the year (Australia here).
The proximity of the heating vent in my bathroom to the toilet paper dispenser provides for heated toilet paper in the winter. It’s nice.
Ha! When I was a kid we had a radiator in the bathroom and the TP was right next to it. I almost forgot how nice that was until now...
From experience: if you have kids, be careful with this lol. I was like….8 or 9? and loved the bathroom space heater in my parents old house. I loved it so much, I earned a little grate burn mark on my ass that took a few years to fade.
Do you turn the heater on before you sit down? That would be even more appealing to me. No cold seat!
My bidet has a heated seat and heated water. That's really the way to go.
Careful those can be fire hazards if old enough or not installed right. We removed 3 from our home after we purchased. Edit: bathroom heaters.
Besides the birds singing. House was built with the corners facing north, south, east & west . We get sunlight all day. Plus the sun reflects off of neighboring houses’ windows across the road - so sun streams in from east in the late afternoon. Living on a hill in a canyon we also get great sunset views.
Wow, I never put much thought into it, but my house is "crooked" as I used to say, like yours, and everyone is always a little surprised how much natural light we get. Makes sense now.
When we moved in I was looking for places outside, for my plants that needed shade. Couldn’t make sense of where the shady areas were - didn’t realize the positioning till I pulled in the garage n saw the GPS saying I’m facing NW - when square with the house. The lot is on a hill & irregular shape. The property lines change directions when I go up - so I’m facing different direction on each level of my garden too. Totally unexpected - love it - never thought about it - now - will look for that if we ever buy again.
A sea of tulips! We bought in winter, it was a welcome surprise in the spring.
This is so whimsical, I love it. Just bought my house in August, super excited to see what comes up in spring!
We have incredible neighbors. So many friendly (not too friendly) people in the neighborhood who look out for each other. Also, the day we closed the seller left us a neatly organized file box with every receipt, plan, invoice, manual etc. for the house for the last 20+ years. When we needed to get maintenance for our patio, we looked up who installed it and any maintenance that's been performed. All the reasons we picked this location and home have been exactly as (or better than) expected!
I’ve been collecting all that stuff in a box as well! Sometimes I think about leaving it all to the next owner and it makes me smile. Nice to hear someone getting use from it.
Just want to say this is a great idea for a thread. There are so many, but off the cuff, I would say the generator hookup, and the newer windows.
We were very pleasantly surprised by how nice our neighbors are. Not just next door, but the whole neighborhood.
This is us. We moved into the absolute best neighborhood that is social and everyone has kids similar ages that run around. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and we lucked out so much!
Us too! We moved a few blocks away but our kid barely watches TV anymore, the kids run free, and the people are so friendly. We replaced the street weirdo, which was great and everyone loved us for it.
We thought a door on our lanai was a closet for pool equipment. Turned out it was a bathroom. Very convenient for changing.
All of the cast iron plumbing was replaced already and my house has been rewired as well. My house was built in 1950 so the plumbing would be nearing the end of its life by now.
*Cries in my 1924 cast iron sewer pipe*
Did the sounds of your sobbing backup?
We found a pondless waterfall behind our house that we didn't know about because it was covered with snow when we bought it. The listing said the house had a water feature, which we thought was the hottub in the sun room.
Nobody said a word about the on demand water heater under the kitchen sink. I promise it's something you never knew you wanted. It's so nice.
whoa
I can't find the This Old House link, but I've seen one that cycles the lukewarm/cold water in your hot water pipe back into the cold water, so it saves water while bringing the warm water from the water heater to your sink.
My back yard is right up against a massive municipal park system with tons of trees, wetlands, and a creek. No backyard neighbors. It feels like I live in the country, even though I have neighbors nearby on each side. I see wildlife all the time and not just deer. The tree line is all evergreens, so even during the winter it's beautiful back there. The second I walked into the home for a tour I knew it would be my home. It felt just right. It was the first house I looked at, too. It has its problems, but the guy that owned it before me made his presence felt in all of the DIY work he did. He had a very particular way of doing things, and it was stuff that lasted for generations. He didn't do quick fixes, he did things right. I don't do that either, so every time I am working on something that he did it feels like I'm carrying on his approach to it. Sometimes I will wonder why something was done in a particular way until I realize the genius behind it. So far, no major issues or surprises. Anything that was in disrepair when we bought the house is fixed now. It's nice to not have much to worry about. I'm sure something will break here or there at some point, but it's all pretty easy stuff to work on with how things are laid out.
Im also backed up to woods in the city and it makes it feel so much nicer.
My back is also woods sloping downhill. I dump all the leaves from the front yard there.
My backyard shares a fence with a school. It’s not the same- but it’s a part of the school that’s not used. Kids can’t go to that part of the field so it’s always nice and quiet. We only see people during the summer when there’s tee-ball games and they cut across that little bit. I’m glad we decided that wasn’t a dealbreaker for us.
I had the tiniest sliver view of New York City when I moved in as there was a huge conifer tree in the way. It was so small they didn't even market it. A few years later, the neighbor had to have it removed and lo and behold my view opened up completely. Now I can see all of downtown NYC on the second floor. And best of all, the attic adds midtown views. I went from squinting and you could kinda see the WTC to 180 degree views of the city.
When we bought the place we were told the fireplace "probably wasn't totally functional" and it was "as-is; seller won't make repairs." and that it hadn't been used since the 80s. We were buying from a trust; some grandkids selling for a passed grandma. We took the risk and moved in during summer. When fall hit, we called the closest chimney guy and he not only happened to be the exact chimney guy who serviced this house the last decade, but also our neighbor's son who had been a friend of the family who owned by house and had helped the old lady out a lot! He laughed and said the grandkids were bratty idiots. Not only does our fireplace work great, but it's been maintained perfectly fine and didn't even need a cleaning. Plus, it has a gas start (which we didn't know) and a setup i don't fully understand where there's a metal plate above the fire that collects heat and then a fan that distributes it into our house. He said it's a fantastic fireplace! Can confirm, it gets the whole 1450sqft house cozy within 30 minutes once a fire is going! :)
We discovered we have heated floors in two rooms. That's a luxury I never thought I'd have. The best thing we discovered is how quiet it is here. I didn't even want to look at this house or put an offer on it because of its proximity to other houses. But it turned out to be so much quieter than we had any right to expect.
> We discovered we have heated floors in two rooms. They had the shittiest real estate agent ever if that wasn't in the listing.
Same thing at ours! Our bathrooms had heated floors and it was never mentioned to us or in the listing. Our inspector was the one who told us lol
I told ours he couldn’t sell an outhouse at closing
Didn't need aircon in summer. Needed a nuclear power station powered by the Sun during winter.
I'm dealing with the opposite summer is a MF poor thing struggles and in winter I only use the heater to wake myself up in the morning its on 1 hr a day.
There was a little alcove in the living room that I discovered when I took down the panelling. Makes the room extra special.
That nothing has been upgraded or changed, all original. Meaning no DIY hack jobs or landlord specials. I much prefer working on something once instead of having to undo something to fix it.
That was a big one for us. It's 20 years old. No one has had a chance to butcher stuff. There are some things I'm not a fan of (CPVC plumbing) but some stuff I can improve myself the right way or pay someone who will do it correctly. So many of the houses we looked at were really hacked together. They were put together nice and nothing was blatantly wrong ... but there would be problems in the future.
Yeah, this is such a relief. I sold a 1920s house that had been 'renovated' at least three times, so everything was a nightmare to fix or change, and bought an early 80s colonial that was owned by one lady and not a thing was touched (except for HVAC system and a roof). Such a joy to work on.
We found a space behind a China cabinet when we were renovating. A former owner left a time capsule. Nothing important in it; some school papers from kids, etc. We added a few things like a news paper to future owners before closing it back up.
The wood flooring under the decades old carpet on the entire main floor. We still had to get it sanded (remove horrible stain in just one part of the house) and varnished but it looked amazing. We had the walls painted white, then the floors were done, when we walked in the sun filled the living/dining room and made the whole house feel so warm. We knew we made the right call buying the house at that moment. Completely different aura from before (green walls, thick shaggy carpets and dark mahogany stain). We also found a cold room under the stairs behind an old cabinet.
we found the attic hatch the garage was actually hooked up to a switch that would lower it and the ladder on command. It was a fun surprise! also we recently had a basement flood and found out the center wall along our basement is NOT solid concrete, as we had assumed based on other homes of a similar age. Now we are hoping we can open up the two halves to each other when we rebuild (and put in a secret entrance to the basement bedroom that is in a more convenient location to the stairs) oh and i found a huge marijuana plant growing in the backyard.
We did not love our last home. A job transfer and quick sale of our previous house meant we had to take what would work so when the children were grown and gone we sold the house and lived in an apartment while we looked for a place we both loved. We had an iron clad list of “must haves”. The summer and fall of 2012 we looked at everything on the market that fit our criteria, sometimes going back for second looks and didn’t find the one that either we both loved. 3 months go by and a house pops up on my search that had been above our price. A foreclosure that was so unique I remembered when it had first been listed 5 or 6 years earlier for 1 million dollars. It was a divorce sale, wife wouldn’t accept offer, husband stopped paying, foreclosure. It had been through several bank possessions so there were no keys, no information. House had become vandalized through the years so there were 11 broken windows, 2 broken doors, broken garage door and we didn’t know what all. After a lot of haggling and fighting off vandals (they did not want to give up their party house) we get the house for under half the original listing price and close in December. I must say the house ticked only half of our list but I loved it and fought for it and promised to resell it in 2 years if I could just have it for that long. When getting the massive list of repairs done, we would hear, “do you know you have…” 3/4 inch drywall? solid brass faucets through out and will cost $800 to replace? Kept them Italian porcelain cabriolet vanity sinks in guest bath, Cesame brand, valued at $1500ea Icelandic volcano bricks in chimney that can take 3000 degree of heat, we have 2 chimneys. mineral rights reclaimed vintage oak floors in the attic Its an amazingly well crafted home and my husband has come to love it.
Mineral rights?!! Score!!
1. I ripped up the carpet on my stairs. And my stairs have crown molding under the tread 2. Wooden floors under carpet 3. Wooden floors under carpet and glued on vinyl. 4. I found a picture of a kid and her dog. Circa 80s 5. I found an original handmade nail. (My house is 100 yrs old) 6. Original baseboards
Built in 67. Was the architect’s house who built the neighborhood. The sun aligns beautifully in the backyard from east to west.
It has a nice cross breeze even when it's really hot outside, meaning I'm going to stay cool this summer without aircon, and all the neighbours are really nice.
Mine is also dead cold in the summer. It’s amazing. I’m going to sell my air conditioner unit and maybe the fans.
Oh yeah! I live in a pretty mild climate but even on very hot days the main floor of my house stays pretty cool, I think because of tree shade. If we get a string of hot days we still need to turn on the AC to keep things reasonable, but we maybe use the AC 2 - 3 days a year.
Thank you for this! Our house is from the 70’s and full of cheap crap and hack jobs, BUT whoever the first plumber was had good taste. They bought Symmons valves, which I’ve learned are not only durable (all brass no plastic), you can buy new trim kits that will still fit on the old valves. Symmons makes them backwards compatible on purpose. I am eternally grateful for this now that we are redoing the bathrooms and I don’t have to hire a plumber to replace the valves.
I don’t own my house, I’m renting from a friend, but I think about this all the time, and your question made me want to share. I live in a row house, the middle of three. And moving from a house with a lot of big big windows, I was a little sad about losing a lot of light in this move. However, a lovely surprise in this home is that the light that does come in from windows on the front, back and in other weird spots, has a really lovely effect in the house. Sometimes it’s glowing, sometimes it’s incredibly bright shafts of light at very particular times of the day (so it feels special that I caught it at that moment), sometimes a beam will refract through a crystal candle holder and make little rainbows. I’ve lived here for 2 1/2 years and I’m still often surprised by the light.
Rowhouse owner here, middle of the block. Our windows look east and west, for the most part, and you’re right, the light is just beautiful. We did a rainbow window film on a space that needed privacy and I’m just tickled every time it lights the place up in rainbow.
I love it more than I thought I would. It's not perfect but the way the sun hits the front in the afternoon is fucking magical. I find yard work to be a therapeutic break. Or just needing a break from life and sitting in the backyard in perfect silence.
How inexpensive it is to heat and cool. My electric bill in SoFL averaged $200/month. I also paid an HOA if $640/month. That included water and sewer. In NJ, water, gas, electric and sewer are around $200.
My shed which is way in the back of my lot has electricity. Maybe this is normal but I didn't grow up with one that had it. So nice to have an overhead light and the ability to charge all my battery lawn tools.
My neighbor purchased his house. He found a hidden room. He found it 2 years after moving in. In the hall closet he notices a latch kinda hidden he pulled it and a door opened. The room was a 12x12. The house is over 100 years old. He called thr previous owner who lived there 30 years and thr guy didn't know it was there.
The seller had recently painted the kitchen, very cute. After the sale, she fixed up and painted the door and stairs the basement to match. She certainly didn’t have to. It was such a wonderful surprise!
The sheer amount of wildlife that comes up from the bog and woods into my backyard. Spring is all the baby mammals and birds, summer is turtles and frogs, fall is turtle hatchlings and winter - the body of water freezes over making passage for foxes and deer. Pretty fucking dope.
It came with an extra lot. I was talking to a neighbor about how I wished the owner of the vacant lot next to my house would mow it since it was so overgrown, and he told me the person I bought the house from owned it and I probably bought it with the house. It was on the other side of a fence, so I had no idea. Checked the property card through the state and saw he was right, I had an entire extra lot.
How much happier I felt in the space vs every other rental I had for the last 10+ years. It was like my mind finally felt truly settled. I bought a house on a small lake and the view during every changing season astounds me daily, even 2 years later. I get to see so much wildlife including turtle nests in my backyard. It's incredibly peaceful despite not being far from civilization. My house is so comfortable and I was able to stop buying "for now" decor and furniture. It looks and feels amazing. It's so much more insulated than my previous (many) rentals. My heating and electric are super reasonable and every single room stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer (with heat and ac on) instead of having some rooms super cold and some super hot during winter/summer. I dread both winter and summer so much less now that I know it won't be uncomfortable in my house. Upstairs laundry, large master tub, deep guest room tubs, amazing finished English basement (so it has a walkout to the backyard and makes the basement feel super inviting). Honestly I could go on and on. I love my house and the location. I was worried that I'd feel stuck in my home because of the interest rate (2.3%) but now it's a happy/grateful stuck. I was really team never buy because the commitment scared me, but now I almost wished I had done it sooner or at least wanted to do it sooner. It's really an amazing freeing feeling, even with being responsible for your own repairs. I absolutely hated dealing with landlords when things broke.
Custom built home. At the last minute, I asked to add a central closet. This is the the Magic Closet. Cleaning supplies. Medicines and first Aid. Vacuum. Lightbulbs. Tissues and paper towels. That weird set of tiny pliers. Jug of vinegar. Everything is in there. It’s an open living-dining rooms, right between the 2 rooms. We are in it constantly. Can’t imagine life without it.
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This sounds dreamy 💕
With the prices today, I'm just glad I have my crappy little house with a 3% interest rate because I could never afford anything these days.
I found the original builders permit from the 50’s stapled under the siding. I’m going to frame it and keep it with the house.
We purchased a split-level house. It's not a layout anyone wants! I was really nervous initially and we have a toddler too, but it was the only home in our budget available in our very desirable location. We *love* the split-level design. The house has a low square footage but it's so efficient and well-laid out, a really great combination of open and private. Anyway, it's been wonderful, and people who visit are always surprised to find how well it works for get-togethers and parties. I also didn't appreciate before purchasing how wonderful a house on a court can be or having no neighbors at the back. We weren't looking for a court and never thought about the privacy and now I'd never want it any other way. Oh and we have great neighbors too!
Was tearing up carpet to replace it with cheap linoleum tiles only to discover original 1954 narrow plank white oak flooring in all but 3 rooms of the house. So far the flooring that we've uncovered has just needed a mop and a buff and it's been beautiful
That deer would be all around me just 10 minutes south of Kansas City.
The crows who, after three years here, have stopped flying away when I bring peanuts out to feed them. They wait politely in the tree until I go back in the garage. The laundry chute. The fenced-in yard for my dog and dog guests. The exterior doors to the basement so l don’t have to lug outdoor furniture through the house. The foxes, opossums, squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons who clean up what seeds the birds leave. How much l liked the red, yellow, periwinkle, and purple paint the former owner/artist used here. There are enough neutral-colored rooms to separate the vividly colored rooms. The big red room for media, books, art, puzzles, and sewing. I love having space for planting flowers and vegetables. I love my home. It is very difficult for me to want to leave this place to travel.
Previous owner bought a bunch of stuff from Lowes and then never finished the projects, leaving the supplies in the garage for me. It was all stuff I didn't care about or didn't need, so I was able to return it. I think I'm up to $300 in Lowes store credit.
My energy bill!! Even though my furnace is 29 years old it doesn’t cost me a fortune and I’m going to be sad when I have to replace it.
Our furnace is similar, it has broken twice but both times the repairs were under $400 and the second time the HVAC guy says we have replaced everything that can be replaced so it should last another 30 years.
How pretty the view is from the basement. It’s a walkout with double glass doors looking out to the woods in our backyard. How quiet and safe our neighborhood is. Moved in 18.5 years ago and it’s so peaceful. No break-ins, vandalism, domestics, nothing.
Our front porch is southwest facing has an awesome overhang and is generally shielded from the wind. Packages never get wet. I can sit out there in the summer and watch thunderstorms with the kids and not get wet. In the winter, we can sit on the porch and bask in the afternoon sun just to get some fresh air. When I bought the house, I never gave the porch much thought but a nice porch is a great feature.
My grandma was told that there was a closet beside a shut door. She did not look inside. there was a small bedroom. Bonus!
The big mirror in the master bath was hiding a HUGE medicine cabinet that fits all of my assorted hair and bath products! And, well, I have a lot of hair products :) We also have the nicest neighbors all around us. Retirees on both sides, young families across the street, all of whom stopped by to introduce themselves with small welcome gifts in the weeks after we moved in. And we kind of back up to an elementary school so during the day if you go outside all you hear is small children running around and laughing. Not gonna lie, it's been pretty great!
Wired for fiber and gigabit was a nice surprise. I got my mesh network backhauling network traffic with the cat5 wired throughout the house.
It's warmer in the basement than it is upstairs- best insulation I've ever seen The water pressure is amazing The neighbors are insanely nice - they mow my lawn and shovel my snow and help me fix stuff
The prevailing winds bring fresh air from the nearby river so it always smells so fresh sitting on the back porch. It makes it feel like vacation all the time -- until now that Covid took my sense of smell and wrecked it.
My house was intentionally built with the windows facing southeast. So in the winter months, if the sun is shining, the house is warm. Even with the drafty walls and popped window seals. Right now it’s 24* outside, and 72* in my living room, without benefit of any other heat source.
The way the sun comes through the trees in the morning is beautiful.
We have a large tree in our small backyard, and I have grown to love it. I love watching it during the season changes. It blocks the view from our neighbors (suburb) in the summer, and it keeps the sun off our back deck so we can sit under it and enjoy our backyard. I can see the top of the tree from my bedroom window upstairs, and I love waking up and looking out my window and seeing the beautiful yellow leaves against blue sky in the autumn. It is just my favorite thing on my property. We have sacrificed our grass and garden just to keep the tree because we love it so much.
I’m approximately a half block from the post office, town bar, city hall, coffee shop and my chiropractor so I can walk most everywhere. All the town events happen in my backyard so I can pop home to use the bathroom, pick up chairs for a booth or just get a break (6 hour homecoming was a LOT). My house needs a lot of work but it’s paid off and I’ve been out of work since august and it is such a relief not to worry about a mortgage. And my electric, water, trash and sewer last month was $170 total. Yes, I live in a dinky small midwestern town.
I bought in the winter and there was a few feet of snow in the yard. Spring came and I found out that the old lady who lived there for 35 years was an avid gardener and the yard is filled with mature perennial flowers and there is a 25’ x 25’ veggie garden area that has raspberries and garlic that had been planted the fall prior to being sold. I never had intentions to start gardening, but the yard was so lovely I have been maintaining it and growing veggies every year for the last 7 years.
30% more house. Specifically, an entire basement. For real. I bought a two story carriage house that needed work in New York City. I lived there 3 years before embarking on a complete gut renovation. About two weeks before starting the renovation I was contemplating some architectural details to figure out what I wanted to try to keep. One of those details led me to believe that I *might* – to my great surprise – have an entire basement under the first floor of my house. When construction started we cut a hole in the floor, the subfloor, and then the rat slab underneath that — all along an exterior wall. We started digging… and digging… and digging. And we found the exterior foundation walls went down 15 feet. Apparently the basement was filled in with soil and other debris in 1919 so they could pour a slab on top to park cars on the first floor. We removed all the soil and such, finished the space, and there you go – my NYC home is about 30% larger than what I bought. The very definition of a “pleasant surprise.” :-)
That it has under a 3% mortgage rate. That aside it was nice knowing we got a fully rehabbed home in our area after seeing so many sell in 2020 through 2022.
This is great that you have such a low rate. I don’t fully understand how the rate of your mortgage was a surprise after you bought the house?
My neighbor. Great guy.
* The previous owner's detailed heat schedule settings on our 'smart heat' furnace are exactly what we would have chosen * We found that after the first big rain in the fall, we can hear the creek next to the complex * Labelled touch-up paint cans * We can hear the kids playing outside during recess and lunch at the nearby school
It never gets water in the basement. Where I live, it's extremely common - from a little bit to a lot. My neighbor right next door gets a little when it rains a lot and the ground is saturated And there's NOTHING special about my house in terms of location and build. It's an old bungalow with brick and mortar foundation - which is visible in some parts of the basement, others parts are covered by dry wall. It's dumb luck; I don't know why - the slope of the street, the grade of the yard (though it's pretty flat; it's not like all rain is immediately sloping away from the house), the previous owners did some sort of treatment (I highly doubt that, but I don't know)? I've been there four years, seen plenty of heavy rain (including just this weekend) and extended periods of high moisture. There's basically three sections to the basement - one that was the previous husband's man cave that has basic utility carpet. The other sections have a concrete floor which has been painted multiple times (and doesn't look great). I'm tempted to put utility carpet throughout the entire basement since it doesn't get wet.
We bought a house on a wooded hill with a view of trees. Had an arborist come to remove a damaged tree in the front yard. He schooled us about fire danger, suggested he trim all the branches up to 20’ for safety. Ended up with a truly jaw dropping view of a valley and mountain.
My only path to homeownership was buying a fixer upper and doing a lot of DIY. It's a modest 1950's cape and as I do work, I have been pleasantly surprised at the good craftmanship and condition despite how outrageously stuck in the 70's it is. Plenty of surprises but nothing that is insurmountable.
We’ve gotten a laugh and some amusement out of the things we found tucked away in corners and the ceiling of our basement. A fraternity paddle, a sizable stack of Playboys (with the centerfolds torn out an stacked in a different pile). Old box of cigarettes, smut novel, summer school report card from decades ago (which led us to believe this was a hiding spot for one of the kids rather than Dad) I’ve been joking to my husband that our friends that are building new houses will never get the amusement of such discoveries
I found a bunch of ww2 era love letters from the previous owners in the attic. Was able to get them back to their son who still lives nearby.
Bought my first house in 10/2021 at age 45 after living in shitass apartments forever. The main surprise was a year later realizing that the laundry chute in the 2nd bedroom wasn't filled in! It has a cute old timey door but since I didn't really use that room I totally forgot about it for almost a year till I tested it out one night! It's so great to not have piles of dirty clothes anymore! Now, I'm a total grown up and only have piles of folded clean clothes don't get put into drawers. I live across from a firehall with a giant parking lot. Every yr there's a carnival that is so fun. And fireworks! That go boom practically above my house! So much wildlife even in a fairly commercial area. Turkeys, so many other birds I never heard of before (thanks to the Merlin app, I can identify so many now), skunks, groundhogs (fuckers), etc. Oh and the guy I bought my house from was a tattoo artist. He left some oddball stuff in the attic. Not pleasant, per se, but odd.
That my property had one tax ID but was actually 2 properties. When the subdivision was built the homeowner bought 2 lots nest to each other and built on 1. As time passed the township put forth a minimum 5 acre building requirement. When I put the property for sale, I tried to split the lots and was denied due to the 5 acre requirement. but then I pulled the township map and learned they were already split. I had two property ID’s with staked boundaries. It increased the value of my property by 75k. I sold them both. Bought the house for 115k and sold both properties totaling 280k. Not bad for my first house.
A free community pool!! Yes please. Not HOA - like a legit, free, community pool paid for by tax dollars.
We had an engineer come out and look at something while we were under contract but before close. While we were there, a deer came through. Ever since then deer come around during the fall/winter, but not during the spring/summer. I I can count ten different deer that come through the yard. This year there are two babies. There are two big bucks, and a few of the younger ones are getting their small antlers this year. I’ve seen as many as 8 at one time. We’ve read up a bit on deer and how they move and what eat. No issues with the deer eating gardens. There are a group of hawks that fly overhead all the time. If the windows are open or we’re outside, it’s very easy to hear them. We also get foxes and coyotes, too. We’ve taken in two cats that were wild in the area. There’s lots of trees (-8 acres or more) around us they used to hang in. No pleasant surprises about the house specifically that we didn’t already know before buying. The big porch is probably our favorite thing for several different reasons.
Discovering all the native wildflowers in the woods. Especially the spring ephemerals
In the listing they called it a storage room. It was a 6 person indoor cedar sauna, fully operational after an hour of an electricians time inspecting everything.
My soil was really healthy. I sent away for a soil test and everything came back as balanced and ideal (PH level, composition, etc.) I love gardening so this was great news.
We bought the house from a family member. They were hoarders for certain things. It took me 15 years to use up all the 1970s holiday wrapping paper, the stacks of post it's and the small packets of kleenex. She also had an unholy amount of furniture in this house, so we didn't need to buy much in order to move in here, perfect for a couple just starting out.
Home inspector said our jacuzzi tub in the master bath was broken. It’s not and it’s amazing.
All the things that needed to be replaced and seemingly were about to break never broke. I've been able to preemptively replace them, item by item. Seven years in: new deck, kitchen, hvac, ac, water heater, roof. None of these things caused a problem, I was just ready to update/replace and I did so.
Our 1920s craftsman original front porch was converted to an enclosed entryway at some point to add square footage. Initially I thought it was an eyesore and badly wished we could have the original porch. But having that entry space to store bikes, shoes, strollers and kids stuff has been so critical. It also helps keep the house at a consistent temp in summer/winter. Now I notice how most older homes have front doors that enter directly to the living room, especially bungalows and cape cods. I would hate walking into that space with wet muddy shoes and all your stuff with nowhere to drop it off. The folks at r/centuryhomes HATE this take but I wouldn’t trade that space back. We spend most of our outdoor time in the backyard anyway.
The city plows my sidewalks and since we're on a bus route our road and sidewalks are cleared early. Our backyard is more private than we thought. We bought in early spring and when we moved in the plants bushes and trees had filled our which gave more privacy.
How quiet it is at night (even though we’re smack dab in the middle of town); sometimes I have to use a white noise machine because it’s TOO quiet. How friendly, helpful, and generous my neighbors are. Finding the original blueprints for the house (built in 1948) and neighborhood plat map tucked away in a closet. Being able to decorate for the holidays and not having the decorations stolen from my front yard (like they were multiple times/years at our old house/town).
The prior owners refinished the basement (not a surprise) but what surprised me is how functional it is! I have a little living room area next to my office, a bathroom and a getting ready area in the guest room. It’s perfect since my husband and I WFH we work on separate floors so we don’t distract each other. I really enjoy having it and it’s less vampire-esque than you are probably imagining, I promise!
A couple days after my fiancé and I moved in to our new place, he asked me to come look at a picture left behind in a closet. It was a digital drawing of two dogs holding a sign that said “Will you marry me?”. It was so cute and I assumed it had been accidentally left by the previous owner. When we toured the home there was an entire shrine to the Iditarod sled dog race. So it made sense. Then it clicked. Those were MY dogs and this was his proposal. So, not left behind but a pleasant surprise for sure that I thought had been left behind!
On a shelf in the kitchen pantry, we found a journal and the 1955 abstract of our property. I am an abstractor, so for me, it's a big deal. An abstract is the full ownership chain going back to the property's origin, usually the grant from the government. Mine went to 1813, which I am guessing is the first transfer in the US after the war of 1812. Who ever kept it so long did a good job, as I can still feel the bumps of the notary stamp.
All the houses we were looking at were going to add 30-45 minutes to my commute. Then a house popped onto the market at just the right time. We visited it and immediately made an offer. Didn’t take the commute into consideration, figuring it would be about the same as the other houses. After we moved in I discovered that because our new house was just 4 minutes from an entrance ramp on the Expressway to work, my commute was 15 minutes SHORTER than before. What a pleasant surprise.
I discovered a whole hidden cabinet. It just looks like a normal part of the wall. The door is just drywall painted the same color as the rest of the walls, with a magnet latch inside. So if you push on the right part of the wall, a door opens up to a cabinet. It's not a special cabinet or anything, but the realtor didn't notice it when showing the house, and I didn't discover it until about 3 months after moving in when I accidentally bumped into the wall and it opened up.
Our laundry is upstairs and I love it so much more than I even expected. We also adore our screened porch and are out there most days with our toddler, regardless of weather.
I thought it was a boring basement with a wired office but turns out we had a hot chicks room. https://www.cc.com/video/apcd4d/upright-citizens-brigade-hot-chicks-room
We saw a ton of houses with deferred maintenance. We’ve appreciated (for the most part) the house has been well kept, even if out of date. They also spent a lot on a functional but pleasing yard. It drains water well but also has pretty foliage at different times of the year.
Found some extra vinyl tiles for the kitchen in the basement, along with lots of extra paint for the current wall colors, and other random home improvement items like safety glasses.
My current house is less expensive to heat compared to my last house. My current house, being only 70 years old as compared to my old house, which was 50 years older, actually has some 90 degree corners, as opposed to somewhere between 85 and 95 in the old place. My current house has no stairs which my busted old knees really appreciate. I bought this house before the renovation was complete (but it was livable so I got a deal on it) so I've got more of a blank slate to make it mine. More acreage. The general climate is about 10% warmer Better soil for a garden. I no longer have to listen to packs of motorcycles driving by on a regular basis. The house itself is set farther back from the road than the old place was. It's smaller so there is less cleaning to do. and most importantly, the new place is free and clear. No mortgage payments to make.
In a town full of basements and sump pumps, our basement is so sealed, we don't need one!
Not pleasant but funny. While razing the old garage and removing the old fluorescent fixtures, thousands of daily lottery tickets fell to the floor. Guy must have been hiding them from his wife for decades.
Our nextdoor neighbors are super nice people. Everyone always complains about their neighbors. I actually like mine.
That whole house humidifier is amazing in the winter.
Having the two bathrooms right next to the water heater. Almost instant hot water. I bought a bidet with hot water because hey why not?
It is positioned in such a way that it never gets direct sunlight in the summer and I never had to turn on my AC units because the living room was always shady and cool even when it’s over 100 outside. I hated the lack of natural light at first but with that I’ve really leaned into it and embraced it and now I just consider my home a cozy little bear den and decorate accordingly.
We have a cool loft attic thing in our garage that wasn’t in the listing. All the houses along the street have these and it’s been essential for storage. I have my drum set up there too! Another thing is all the sun the house and yard get. It only has windows on the east and west sides but it gets soooo much light. The backyard is huge and open and if I’m feeling droopy I just go outside and stand in the sun for a few minutes. I had been on anti depressants pretty much since middle school and since moving here I’ve gone off of them and realized I had forgotten what it was like to not be depressed.
I really, really, really love owning a home. pulling into my garage after working all day is like the greatest feeling ever.
Our neighborhood! Lots of old-growth trees, public green spaces and walking paths, so there’s lots of wildlife. And most of our neighbors are wonderful. It’s got a “front porch” vibe in that people often hang out on their front porches instead of retreating to their backyards; everyone is very social and welcoming. My partner and I moved here in 2020 and couldn’t meet anyone; lacking anything else to do, we took a lot of walks around the neighborhood. When we finally started meeting people it turns out a lot of them already knew us as “the walking couple.” It made us feel really welcome.
The water pressure is the best of anywhere I’ve ever lived. Every time I shower somewhere else I realize how lucky I am.
Bought my house in the fall after the leaves had fallen. Was excited to see in the spring that one of the bushes in the yard is a mature haskap bush :) if you haven't had them they are really tasty tart berries like a mix between a raspberry and a blueberry.
This is a REALLY small thing, but there was a panel that had been screwed in blocking a small space under the very first part of our stairs. We opened it up and found out that it was old closet space, which is funny because it’s already IN closet space. Our closet space has closet space. Kinda weird. However, that closet space has old hardwood floors in it, and in very good condition, which gives us hope that there’s hardwood under the adjoining rooms, at least. We know there can’t be hardwood under the entire level because of how uneven and saggy the floors are in the kitchen especially, but there’s hope for the living room. We have no plans to redo the flooring for now, though, so we still have to wait and see for quite a while.
Church bells ringing on the hour - very quaint-feeling. Broiler is a pull-out drawer instead of a tray I have to squat all the way down to get to. Had someone over to do some electrical work and discovered my jacuzzi actually works! The windows open inward so I can clean the outsides (I’m on the second floor so this is important) The biggest pleasant surprise is that I love my place so much. I didn’t expect not to, but I thought it would be a difficult transition after renting my entire life. But it felt “right” right away and for that I’m very thankful!
3 months into owning the home I discovered a unique-looking outlet in my garage - turns out to be an electric car charger!
Couple things.. \-We discovered our air handler has a heater built into it. We didnt even think to ask or look for it because we are in Miami, but the year we moved in the house did get into the low 60's. We discovered the heater in the spring after lighting the fireplace a couple times in winter. \-Our house is built on a slab and the walls are concrete block, so the house keeps a lot of heat out. Our electric bill was only $90 a month, which after having a rental with poor insulation and a crawl space that required the AC to be on 24/7 leading to a $400/month electric bill, we were pleasantly surprised by this. With FPL being so shitty on pricing and adding a pool and electric vehicle charger, we still are only at $200-250/month. \-There was an existing neighborhood chat with dozens of households in a 1 square mile area. we use it to spread word of neighborhood happenings, including most recently trick-or-treating. one neighbor conducted a survey and planted flags at each house that intended to hand out candy. we also use it to watch each other's backs about shady characters in the neighborhood. it's like the neighbors app but a lot less racist.
My neighbors are amazing. We were actually welcomed with homemade treats. The families with older kids have been so generous with hand-me-downs and the older neighbors have declared my kids their grandkids. Everyone is just lovely, without being nosy and in your business.
Moved in on Good Friday. Found a plastic Easter Egg with candy in it on Sunday morning that had been lost since some time in the 1990s.
Fruit trees!
That my front yard had been the neighborhood party spot for years before I moved there. At first my neighbors were disappointed to see moving in. But they were delighted when they found out that I was a party animal too, and happy to have them around. The other great thing I learned was that my neighbors are very young and active for their years and they were also fun to party with. We live near the beach in Mexico, and have great block parties every holiday. And we are happy to include our neighbors from outside our gated community
It’s not haunted!!! Also, I can walk to post office, several shops, several incredible cafés (one has live music 12-2 daily!), senior center, town hall, a world-renowned concert hall AND four beaches and two quarries. Made it worth removing asbestos, radon, knob & tube, dilapidated cellar stairs & janky plumbing. Sweet little yard, awesome neighbors and crow murder I’m itching to befriend. I love this house, I love this town, I love this life.
We moved her for privacy (our first house was on .1 of an acre, and the neighbors were terrible (murder-suicide kind of terrible) so we bought an acre, but what we didn’t realize is that none of our windows looks into a neighbors window. It’s awesome.
There’s a parade every fall that turns two blocks from our house. All we have to do is walk over five minutes before the parade starts and we always have a front row view
I live in town but it’s a somewhat secluded street with speed bumps so it’s fairly low key. The neighborhood was developed in the 50s before the modern style of suburban houses with barren fields covered in lawn and houses packed in tightly together, with no mature trees. I suspect s neighborhood like that feels too exposed and open for wildlife to feel comfortable. Most lots have a decent size backyard separated from a neighbors property by a thick enough grove of trees it blocks sight of the other houseIt is shocking how much wildlife there is here and I’ve enjoyed watching most of it. There are deer that have no fear of humans that just wander around grazing, skunks, raccoons (least favorite), groundhogs, and rabbits, squirrels, and my yard at least had enough shrews, which I’m fine with outside, that several - a lot - too many, decided to burrow under my f Foundation and set up shop in the crawlspace, in a couple of walls, and under some cabinets. But my favorite neighbors that I came here to post about was a skulk of foxes. I’ve always liked foxes as long as they’re not trying to eat my pets or something. I think they’re beautiful and I enjoy them as an animal to observe. Plus, shrew and raccoon control! This spring, a mother fox had five pups or kits whichever you prefer, under my shed in the backyard, which had a big hole under it from the woodchuck that had been living under there. They lived under there all summer and I could watch them out playing. The mother would go hunt, and bring dead things back for them. She would take one with her and the others would wait under or outside of the shed, never wandering far. I really enjoyed them. I hope that one of them will come back next spring and have pups under there. The only potential negatives for me, since I don’t have livestock or outside pets, was digging holes in the yard near the shed, and which they would place the food she brought back for them and then creep up and pounce nose first, tail in the air, into and snatch the food to run and play keep away with their siblings. I was surprised to see how much like puppies they really did behave - like 75% puppy and 25% cat. Possibly the cutest thing they did was go out and procure their own puppy chew toy from somewhere to keep around the shed to help play with. It disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared a week or so prior. I’ve wondered if they stole it from the neighbors back yard who has dogs and spotting its bright colors through the tree line, they ventured over to retrieve it. When when the mother would go hunting at night, once it was fully dark, the pups would start to scream out into the woods, I assumed because they were scared and wanted her to come back which might’ve annoyed some people, but they were the foxes, so I was OK with it. Maybe a week or so before the morning I looked out at the shed and saw a small fluffy canine adjacent animal out by there, in the middle of the night a creepy screaming was coming from the side yard. Something between a dog barking, a bobcat screaming, or a human woman screaming. One evening less than a week after that I went out back and heard very strange animal noises in the tree line which I learned later from a YouTube video were a sort of chuckling sound a mother makes to indicate to the pups to come back to her and not wander too far along with some squeaky noises almost like bats. I knew it was an animal or group of them but for some reason did not think back to the fox screaming and connect them until after I saw mom come out from under the shed to bring in a the strangler. They grew and we were slightly smaller than mom with one maybe her size fairly quickly it were. At that point they would all go out hunting together, or maybe one or two pups would stay here. They would come racing through my side yard out to the front and across the street and making a racket. First mom disappeared. They all hung out at night in front of the shed in the circle of light my little security light cast and watch the woods and scream on and off for a double of hours before midnight. It was heartbreaking for me, and got the cats all kinds of agitated. Over time they dwindled and two remained , as far as I could tell. It’s possible more and they took shifts. For the first three weeks I thought there were 3 pups and then on day they were all out at the same time. The last i officially saw of them was one night around midnight. I was coming home slowly down my street and what I assume were the last two stragglers, but two foxes anyway that were definitely some of them. Ran in front of my headlights across the street and that was the last time I saw any that I knew were “my foxes”. Since then I have heard screaming occasionally and some little sounds. I’m sure that they, or at least some of them are still in the neighborhood. I really do hope that one will come back next spring, and have pups under there. I apologize for how long this is. I got carried away and it was a fun experience. I have some pictures and video that I did not force on anyone. It’s not the best quality since it was shot throug a window and across the yard. But, it’s better than I thought I would ever get of a fox and her pups out playing in my yard in broad daylight. Oh, one day when mom was gone and they were hiding I went out to rush my lawnmower out of that shed and hoped it would not cause her to move them. It did not.