Would you buy a house with steps up to front door?

googler

trailingspouse wrote: »

What's the difference between walking up steps outside and walking up stairs on the inside?

Ice, snow, rain.

MrsPorridge

30 years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about this - or even asked the question. Today I wouldn't touch it as have mobility issues which I certainly didn't forsee years ago!

StaffieTerrier

We have 14 steps from our drive to the front door. It doesn't bother us as there's only the two of us and we don't have mobility problems, yet. As someone else mentioned, it's great for not being over looked. When sat down we can only see the roofs of the houses opposite us.

The only inconvenience is carrying shopping in, but I've developed the ability to carry many bags in one go :rotfl:. In winter we make sure we're prepared for ice and snow by gritting the steps but our steps are very rough surfaced, on purpose, so it's a limited problem.

One huge advantage is it seems to put cold callers off. They go to the houses at street level and avoid ours

lookstraightahead

We had an old cottage with about 15 steps. Loved it. But it was a nightmare moving and also bear in mind renovation work if you can't get a digger etc close to the property.

The cottage was lovely though and sold quickly. Didn't mind the pushchair. I do now have elderly in laws who wouldn't be able to get in.

mpet

No to that many steps.
Brother in law used to live in a bungalow with steps up to it. When the temperature dropped, you were taking your life in your hands going up and down - very slippery - and I am not elderly or infirm!

need_an_answer

I've got 7 steps to the front door and the house is nicely positioned on a hill, love it the views are amazing over the valley beyond.

My view on whether you manage steps and indeed hills in later life is a little along the lines of if you are used to the steps you accommodate them.

I have 2 neighbours who both are well into their 80s and both drive and walk regularly they love the area as much as me and both also encounter the same level of steps and slopes....its what you get used to.

Ive no intention of moving either now or in old age

knightstyle

Grew up in a tin bungalow that had 68 steps up a steep hill from the road to the front door! Parents hated the steps but it was a very cheap rental.
I see now it is a rebuilt posh bungalow worth £600k

PasturesNew

It's a personal thing, how we see ourselves, how we see ourselves in the future ... and who might visit that it'd exclude.

Personally, no. I'm a bit clumsy - and I would, no doubt, have a tumble at some point .... and most people seem to die starting with "had a fall"....

I'd also think about the future - and my mobility. Living alone there'd be nobody else to help me get in/out, it'd take a serious family connection for anybody to be vaguely interested in helping one up/down those steps....

Wyndham

I have steps up to my front door. There is a handrail (which my father in law put in for us) and that helps when he and my mother in law come to visit. It sometimes even helps me (you know those days when you feel 99 instead of 49).

We also have decking between the top of the stairs and the front door. The stairs are concrete, and in weather like today are actually fine, but the decking can be a nightmare. We get through a fair bit of salt....!

It is possible to get round the back to get things in and out. It's still steep, and there are a couple of stairs, but it's less steep than the full flight. When we have something delivered I always show them the options, and they always pick the back route.

Advantages? Well, we're not overlooked!

It's not something which bothers me (apart from when we have lots of recycling to get down the stairs), and I think it must help to keep me at least a little fitter than I would be otherwise.

Edited to add - in response to PasturesNew - I did once fall down them... it was several years ago, and I was carrying more than I should. Once you've done that once, you don't ever do it again!

oystercatcher

After a few years nursing I have come across many people who have either died or been seriously injured falling down stairs or steps.

My current disability makes steps a serious hazard and I certainly would have wanted to be bumping a pushchair up and down them in my younger days .

So, I wouldn't buy a house with steps unless there was no viable alternative.