What type of house would you never buy?

[PinterandPirandello]

Just looking at a thread where properties are being recommended for £750k. One of the houses was completely open plan downstairs which we would hate as a family. Dh likes to sit at the kitchen table and have the radio on (loudly), dc like to game and I like to watch telly in peace. Plus the dishwasher and washing machine on. So we prefer at least a couple of separate rooms. However, I can see open plan could work with small kids but I’d still want private space.

A townhouse, especially when the ground floor is a garage. We have three floors in our current house and I long for a bungalow.

A terrace - my first home was a 2 up 2 down terrace but I would feel hemmed in now and too aware of neighbours.

I feel the same about open plan @PinterandPirandello , even more so if a bedroom is on a mezzanine.

Our house is almost open plan but with large double doors between each area. That's perfect for us, we can open all the doors and have line of sight from end to end, or close any of them to have separate rooms.

I wouldn't buy a house with serious damp. Even if it was fixable. I just don't want to get involved with damp.

One with a thatched roof.

Someone once told me if you yearn for a pretty, chocolate box cottage with a thatched roof, move opposite one.

I also don’t like open plan and wouldn’t buy. I also wouldn’t buy anywhere which didn’t have space for a good sized dining table.

Im not a fan of housing estates/suburbia so I’d never buy anything like that - I’d much prefer a smaller Victorian terrace in the centre of town, which I know some may disagree with.

One with no access to the back garden other than through the house.

Anything Grade II listed- constantly needs something fixing and when you do the work you open a can of worms on other urgent things that need fixing or previous shoddy work. And on top of that you have the Conservation Officer delaying everything and not caring if things get worse because of his delay- because he's not paying for it.

Every repair job ends up costing at least triple the original quote.

A house on an estate - I’d rather live on a country lane (like now) or even a busy road.

Wouldnt want to live in a dormer bungalow - don’t want bedrooms up AND down. And the ones near me have been converted poorly and the dormer windows have been poorly designed.

I've lived in a house that's open-plan downstairs for a long time, and I wouldn't buy another. It's draughty for one thing, and there aren't enough walls or corners to put furniture. The only advantage is that it is has plenty of natural light.

Anything that wasn’t detached with a proper garden! I value my space away from people 😂 also anything without a driveway that was purely for my use, no shared parking, nothing with allocated bays or anything like that!

One on a main road, having lived on one, could never escape the traffic noise in the background, and never got used to it.

A new build on an estate. I did consider it once when I needed to move for work. Went to view one which was already finished and that night woke up in a panic, feeling very claustrophobic. Just not for me. Fortunately found a 1900 sandstone semi-detached cottage with established garden in which I instantly felt at home.

Also, any house which is overlooked or hemmed in by neighbours. My username reflects my need for open views

My no-nos are a kitchen not big enough to fit a dining table and I would have said no new build, but the cost of heating our drafty, poorly insulated Victorian villa is making me rethink that one!

Open plan would put me off, as would an integrated garage.

I wouldn’t buy a Victorian or Edwardian house that had been altered radically inside, particularly one that had been knocked about downstairs and made open plan, with a huge box extension stuck on the back. We’re in the process of moving and I’ve been amazed by the number of beautiful old houses that have been butchered and turned into open plan monstrosities rather than being modernised sympathetically. I’ve got nothing against modern houses that were built with large open plan areas - I just hate houses losing their original character. I would never buy a terraced house, or a typical 1950s-1990s house. I also wouldn’t consider a listed building or a house with a thatched roof - I’ve heard that the spiders who live in thatch are truly colossal!

Haha! I live in one and adore it, but they aren’t for everyone.

Im pretty open to any sort of house. My must haves are a porch of some sort, and decent parking. I have watched people come to blows over parking issues.

Any house where the kitchen and living room are one.

Me and DH are selling up soon when we retire and that's probably the only thing I won't compromise on.

I'm also not keen on cottages as they tend to look lovely on the outside, but in reality most of them are tiny poky little things and the lack of space would get to me.

I agree with all of these replies!

Funnily enough, I was only thinking yesterday of how we use our space downstairs. My friend lives in the next street and her house had the same layout as ours but it has been “ opened up”. You go into their living room and you see the whole room - dining area, lounge, kitchen. For me, the drawback is never having private space unless you go to a bedroom. Her retired homebody DH was there and it occurred to me that they’d nearly always have sight of each other although he does have a shed 😆. It also occurred to me that she is much better at living with others than I am

OP - we have a similar set-up downstairs with walls and doors and it has worked very well for us all with our AC. I can listen to my audiobook if I’m cooking and retired DH can watch his TV (too loud) in the lounge while AC is on the computer in the dining room

Ive also lived in a townhouse and it drove me mad. I agree about the need to have access to the back.

Id not want to live in a flat again, I love being able to open the door straight out to the garden

Anything old and listed. I don’t want original features, I want modern and well insulated.

Terrace.
Any house that has living space with open stairs to upstairs. So many of them around. Hallways all the way

Open plan and townhouses tie equally for me. Just no.

I also have to have a driveway but that’s because I have an EV.

House hunting at the moment and I am
finding it so hard (forced downgrade from divorce).

I also don’t like (but not a dealbreaker), poky halls with nowhere for coats and shoe storage, toilets off kitchens, dining tables in sitting rooms and stairs off living areas-prefer a hall.

Anything open plan. Anything cold that costs a fortune to heat. A project.

Anything that needed work. Decorating is fine though.

I was looking to buy a new bungalow but the kitchen, eating, living area is all one. I don’t want to sit in my kitchen in the evening, listening to the dishwasher. This layout seems really popular for new build bungalows.