My stay at Frank's was OK. The house itself is beautiful as is Stoke Newington, and it's a great area to be just outside the bustle of very-central London while having good transport links and a nice community vibe. It's quiet, but close enough to Church Street that you can easily nip in and out. The rooftop view is also breathtaking - you won't find much else like it. Frank is also a very kind and welcoming host, and replies very promptly to messages.
The reason I have given 3* is because I did not feel very comfortable in this house. Firstly, the room that I was in appeared to be one of the only ones without locks, at least on the floor I was on. As so many guests (essentially 'strangers') stay in the house, I didn't feel very secure leaving my things there during the day when I was out, especially as I was in the basement area which is out of sight unless you are downstairs in it. Having had negative experiences in the past of people entering my room unwanted at night, this was a bit of a safety concern for me as I'm sure it would be for other guests. I would recommend that a lock would be put on this door.
Secondly, I did not find the cleanliness standards of the house to be up to a level I would expect of an AirBNB. During my stay, none of the toilets had soap - I am not sure if Frank expected guests to bring their own handsoaps, but I find it strange to not provide this as a minimum in a toilet - I think soap is in a different category from the likes of shower gel/shampoo/conditioner, especially in the period coming out of a pandemic. Worse than this for me was that there were bugs everywhere. This may be more of a personal issue, and I do to a large extent understand that it is 1) summer and 2) in a house with a beautiful garden with great biodiversity. This is just as a heads up to any other guests who have really quite big fears of insects/bugs/spiders like me - this is not the stay for you. I would note that I did not take stars off my stay because of this, as I do recognise that it is out of Frank's control! - however I did find it quite concerning that the room I was in had a number of 'balled up' dead spiders on the ceiling (at least four) on the day that I moved in, which to me is indicative of poor cleaning/housekeeping. Especially as the room is so small (which isn't a problem at all, I actually thought the size was perfect for me) I would have expected things like this to be noticed and cleaned, especially against a white ceiling. It made me think that the room I stayed in had not really been cleaned thoroughly at all. Similarly, the rest of the house has a lot of webs and bugs - again, understandable to an extent, particularly in an older house with high ceilings, but not fully.
Thirdly, I did not find the listing to be completely accurate - it's a small thing, but I selected this listing over another on the basis that it states hairdryers are available. Due to my hairstyle and type, I need to blowdry my hair, however Frank told me that there was no hairdryer, and if I needed one I would be best to ask another guest. I did not feel comfortable doing this, particularly as I knew no one else there having only stayed a very short while - I ultimately only ended up staying on the Friday night, and moved my things out on the Sunday morning after staying elsewhere the night before. Yes, it is small, but it is something I specifically chose the room for because the listing stated that a hairdryer would be available. I also would recommend adding a photo of the rooms to the listing alongside pictures of the house, as although the room was a very suitable size for me, it would definitely be helpful for future prospective guests to see this as well as the fact that it has no mirror (although I appreciate that it does not state that there is a mirror in the listing, I thought it was quite a standard thing in a room... maybe that's just me)!
Overall, Frank is a great host and the house has a lot of potential. This is a home which will be suitable for a lot of people and that many will enjoy, but it was not personally for me, even if the cleanliness and safety issues that I have raised were to be resolved. If you do not mind these things, it is decent value for what you get, especially in London. Hopefully this is constructive! Thank you.