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 kitchen with no dining space and postage stamp back garden (we have a German shepherd).
Some people desire conservatory’s and en suites but I can live without them. I like utility/boot rooms and largish but low maintenance gardens. A kitchen diner with space for my range dual fuel cooker

True but the stress of never knowing if I could find a parking space when I came home would ruin the loveliness of the house. I was talking to someone recently who lived in a terrace in London and now has a house in our town with a drive and she said she doesn't know herself, sometimes she had to drive around for 30 minutes looking for a space.

I agree. Every time I see one on Escape to the Country, I tell DP that is one type of house I wouldn't want. I think he knows now!

Wonderful!

Can only agree-and I live in one.

Anything leasehold; anything with low ceilings; a new build on an estate (which I know sounds snooty, I've just lived in so many new builds!); open plan (having only ever lived in small flats, I'm so sick of open plan!); anything with no views (doesn't need to be picturesque, I just don't like to feel "low down"). Lots of my non-negotiables (hard flooring; dishwasher; tumble dryer) are easy enough to add to a property that lacks them at purchase. Anyway, the likelihood of me ever being able to buy anything at all is miniscule.

A bungalow.
Anything overlooked by anyone
Anything without a direct sea view
A new house
A leasehold house
Anything without a garage
Not listed (preferably not in a conservation area)
Anything without a bath
And preferably without any neighbours within half mile radius. May struggle !

A house without a garden. Anything single-brick construction. Anything where I can't see any greenery from the windows.

Deal breakers for me are :
No off road parking, must have a drive way.
No side entrance.
North facing rear garden
Being overlooked in every direction
Busy main road or rat run
School or pub in the vicinity
Complete renovation required
Open plan living. I like segregated kitchen and living area.
Damp areas inside property with mould
Being near a railway line
Free standing kitchen units
Paved over back garden. Patio and grass area is fine.
Very tall overgrown trees and hedges in neighbouring gardens. A legal minefield.

We have a RING camera and DH obsessively checks it when we're out to see if 'our' space on the road is still there. I hate hate hate not having a drive.

Same here. All that extra cleaning and wasted space 😫

One with those big brown beams

I rented a house with that layout when my son was around 14 and loved it - he had top floor to himself -

A new build or anything with a tiny garden or overlooked. We live in a 4 bed farmhouse with a 2 bed detached cottage surrounded by our own land, which we love. I couldn’t imagine living in a town or city, so I suppose anything urban would be off the cards too.

Must have access to the garden from the front, a lounge that’s separate from kitchen/dining, downstairs toilet. Oh and I would never buy a house that didn’t have a driveway to park on.
Hate stairs in the living room and not in a hall. Also new build estates, why are the gardens and roads so small!!

A rendered house.
A semi or terraced house.
One with less than 3 toilets.
one with an over looked garden.
single skinned brick.
x smokers house.
must have hallway
stairs must be in the hallway with shoe storage not in lounge.
Floor boards upstairs must not sound like they are giving way

Another one here who has lived in a thatched cottage- by far the best house we ever lived in. So sorry we had to move….

One with a swimming pool.

We have a pool. It was fun for about 5 minutes. Since then it's been nothing but a massive millstone. Something is ALWAYS wrong with it. The dehumidifiers, or the pump, or the heater, or the chlorine levels, or the filters... Plus it always seems to be a kind of soup of unfortunate insects, despite having a cover, and it needs vacuuming before use every time. Big regrets!!

Terraced
No off street parking (my ultimate non-negotiable!)
Anything listed

Anything on an unadopted street.

A very old one
A very new one unless clearly not on a flood plain
A damp one
One with no garden
A very higgledy piggledy irregular one

I grew up in a listed 16C thatched cottage. It was lovely - my parents are still there now. They’re lucky in that their local authority has quite a few listed properties so they’re not slow or unhelpful. The thatch is so low maintenance. They’ve had it totally re done once in 40 years and then they’ve just had the top re done a few times. Again, they live in an area with other thatched places so finding a thatcher isn’t hard. I also think they got a grant to do the full re thatch!

My dad did learn some specific DIY like how to do lime plaster but the normal maintenance is nothing out of the ordinary.

The one downside was that they can’t get a heat pump.

Also lots of old houses have tiny poky windows making them very dark, luckily theirs doesn’t but they looked at a LOT of places before they found this one.

Do you have a sea view? That would be my absolute dream.

Terrace, semi-detached or a flat (definitely never ever a flat).

I like not having to worry about keeping it down after 7pm 😂