This barn is jointly owned by two family members, a mother and her son. From the outside, it may look idyllic and charming, but unfortunately, living there was a completely different reality.



For years, essential repairs and maintenance were repeatedly put off, with a tendency to patch things up rather than properly resolve the underlying problems. Bathrooms that were well overdue for replacement were left deteriorating, and the consequences eventually became impossible to ignore.



On one occasion, water was dripping through the lounge ceiling from the bathroom above. The plaster was completely saturated, and the plumber who attended told us that we were lucky the bathroom floor had not actually collapsed through. This was an extremely worrying situation and, in our view, demonstrated just how serious the lack of proper maintenance had become.



There was also persistent mould around the lounge walls, particularly surrounding the doorway leading outside. There were patches that appeared permanently damp, regardless of whether it was summer or winter, and they never seemed to properly dry out.



Whenever there was heavy rain, water would enter through the main front door, the hallway patio door and the external doorway from the lounge. The carpet would become completely sodden, with an area of approximately two feet around each doorway becoming saturated. On numerous occasions, litres of water had to be extracted using a commercial carpet cleaner.



The wooden patio window frames were also in extremely poor condition, with holes large enough to put your fingers through. This allowed ants to enter the property in large numbers every summer, spreading into the dining room, across the dining table and onto the kitchen floor.



During winter, the property was extremely cold because the wooden patio doors had become so badly warped that they left large gaps around the frames — again, large enough to put your fingers through. This was the case even when the doors were fully closed and locked.



The main bedroom presented further problems. The adjoining neighbours generated considerable noise, which would regularly keep us awake until the early hours of the morning. There appeared to be virtually no sound insulation between the properties, and despite the disruption, little was done to address the issue.



The two dormer windows in the main bedroom were another ongoing problem. They were metal-framed and suffered from significant condensation, which would build up and eventually drip onto you during the night while you were sleeping. Waking up to water dripping onto your head was obviously far from acceptable.



Unfortunately, the experience was made even more difficult by our dealings with the family members who owned the property. The son’s wife, who is connected to the ownership of the property, was, in our experience, extremely argumentative, aggressive and unpleasant. She would involve herself in matters that did not concern her and was particularly rude when we raised legitimate requests for repairs and maintenance to be carried out.



Overall, our experience of renting this property was extremely disappointing. The issues were not isolated incidents; they were ongoing problems that, in our experience, stemmed from years of inadequate maintenance and repeatedly putting off necessary repairs.



I would strongly advise prospective tenants to think very carefully before renting this barn. Although it may look beautiful and appealing from the outside, our experience of actually living there was very different. The property had significant problems with damp, water ingress, mould, insulation, windows and general maintenance, while dealing with the people responsible for the property made the situation even more unpleasant.



It is particularly disappointing to see the property apparently receiving little more than cosmetic attention — a fresh coat of paint and some holes filled and a change of cupboard doors within the kitchen that doesn't even match the utility room — while the rent has reportedly been increased substantially ! In our opinion, putting a bit of paint over longstanding problems does not address the underlying issues.



Based on our experience, I would recommend that anyone considering renting this property looks very carefully beyond its appearance and asks detailed questions about its maintenance history, previous water damage, damp and mould, windows, insulation and the condition of the bathrooms.



It may look like a beautiful barn from the outside, but in our experience, living there was anything but idyllic.