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.

Don’t buy houses with a shared drive- a recipe for years of aggro !

Second house we had was stairs in the living room and I loved it, very cosy and cheap to heat. We moved to Surrey for DH's job and it was a compact house but what we could afford. We didn't find upstairs downstairs noise a problem but there was only the two of is.

Anything built after ~2015. I've no issues with new builds, but the ones thrown up around me seem so diddy and cramped, and I've heard stories of how the developers use cheap materials and cut corners

Totally!

Off street parking essential. I would avoid a main road. Anything old and or damp. Open plan a no no. Downstairs loo essential snd nothing near a river of even a stream.

I knew someone who had always lived on a main road and hated their house on an estate, she found it too quiet. I suppose it's what you're used to.
Personally I loathe the current trend in what I refer to as the 'garden shed' school of architecture, lots of wood on the outside, all I see is never ending painting, then eventually rotting.

Conversely, I've had the opposite - one where the only (private) garden access was from outside. It was pants and I'd never do it again if I had a choice.

I really love our open plan layout and would buy it again, I think it’s a really lovely social space and don’t like the thought of the three of us in separate rooms, we have our bedrooms for that and an extra little living room/snug so we can get privacy if need be. Open space is amazing for hosting. I wouldn’t buy a townhouse and I’m not a huge fan of the 80s style builds. I would also never buy a new build, they are built so badly and all look the exact same.

New builds. I hate the small rooms, tiny gardens and how souless they feel.

Based on threads I've seen on here, nothing with neighbours who have dirty/messy gardens, neighbours with kids, anywhere there's limited parking/lots of cars, or somewhere with shared access/utilities/facilities.
Obviously you can't control the situation, neighbours can come and go but seems fair to start in a good place.

Personally I'd not choose a town house if I could help it. Too many stairs and too cramped feeling.

If I could be really fussy - my house feels back to front - lounge at the front, kitchen/diner at the back opening to the garden. It feels like I just walk through my living space to get to my kitchen and it's a walkway rather than a relaxing space. Also, who wants their kitchen to open onto the patio, it should (imo) be an extension of your living space. I'd love to have my lounge opening onto it. So that would be something I'll look for if I ever move. Appreciate i may be the odd one out here as a lot of houses seem to have their lounge at the front!

A townhouse . Hate the fact the rooms are usually small because they've gone up rather than out .
Having said that also converted barn properties , the living space is too big and usually the roof space high so too much space around me , add in great big windows as I'd hate to live in a goldfish bowl !

Rural and too open plan.
Love being in a busy urban setting.
Love having 4 separate spaces with seating in each.
With adult children in and out with friends, girlfriends, etc...separate spaces work best.
We do have a open plan kitch, dining, living area within those 4 spaces.
Ideal for prinks!

I wouldn’t buy a house without a large garage and off road parking for multiple cars.

The rest I can live with.

Thankfully I am in my ‘forever’ home so don’t need to worry about moving again.

I see. I'm end of terrace with only hallways on the stairs adjoining & thick walls- next door have 2 spirited kids aged 6 & 8 & we rarely hear anything. DS1 drums & they report that they could only vaguely hear it when it was quieter of an evening (he's at uni now, so no more). I suppose other terraces are different than mine. I also have a wide, large back garden, which is less usual too.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather live by the sea, but needs must.

isanyonereallyanonymous I lived in a house many years ago which had the kitchen at the front & lounge at the back I hated it as all the wet/muddy/grubby shoes & feet from Dc being brought into the room & practically losing a wall for furniture placement by keeping the doors clear for access, much prefer my house now which is the other way round, I spend a lot of the day in the kitchen diner & love looking out onto the garden & greenery.

I agree with you there. My terraced has a large front garden & decent, traditional hallway. I don't think I've ever seen terraces like you speak of in my area, they're definitely not common for sure.

Anything new or anything old that had been stripped of its historic details.
Anything on a busy road.

Thatched - thatch spiders! For similar reasons I don't like old houses with beams and full of nooks and crannies.

I wouldn't want anything suburban, with driveways dominating the front, or huge gardens which I'd have to maintain. I prefer smaller townhouses in middle of the city, with a garden that gives outside space but nothing that forces me to prune all weekend. I also want stuff within walking distance - cafes, pubs, shops. But this is probably more location than anything else - we contemplated a while on moving further outside the city but then realised we'd only have a train connection in that only runs every 15 mins or so.

I would prefer bigger living spaces and happy to compromise on smaller bedrooms as a trade-off. Not a fan of pebbledash

I hate it when old houses have had all the original features taken out, and have really bad replacement windows and doors. It would rarely be financially worthwhile to put the original features back.

I wouldn’t want anywhere with a thatched roof or a damp problem.

I don’t like downstairs bathrooms either. The house would have to be perfect in every other way for me to consider a downstairs bathroom.

Very glad there are buyers out there with different criteria.

Our last house was a listed Victorian villa that had almost no original features left, on a busyish road (London), north facing garden, open plan living/kitchen/dining but also had a living room, a library, a study and a tv room. It sold in a week with multiple bids!

I've generally found that the 'nevers', at least for me, fall away in the face of the right house.

A new build or probably any house built after the 1930’s to be honest.

One with lots of neighbours

Oh yes. A house on our road was bought recently & many months have been spent ripping out the original door, original windows & fireplaces 😱. It now has plastic windows & door, front garden replaced with huge, concrete driveway, & you can see inside (no blinds yet) that it's all grey & white & silver fittings with laminate floors. It's awful (no shade on what others like, but it jars so much). I believe it's for the rental market- perhaps that's easier to maintain, but it's an area with old houses, so folk wanting to pay £££ to rent here may want the features 🤷

Things I hate:

fully open plan
very, very old (ie exposed beams and uneven walls
on a main road.

apart from that most houses would suit me.