Asking what puts you off when viewing a house to buy?

[DarkGreen]

We have had our house valued but we are just getting the house ready to sell. Touching it up bits and tidying up.

For context its a 2 bed terraced house on a country lane with no driveway but space on the Road to park outside the house. It is an old house.

What areas and things should we focus on? What would you look for and what would put you off?

The owners being there, especially if they lead/follow you around

Shoddy work, especially if it's recent.

Bad smells. They'll be a nightmare to get out, probably impossible. We saw one house once that was very nice but there was a room that was clearly the dedicated smoking room. The smell didn't really permeate into the rest of the house, but it was still awful and put us off it. And a couple of others that just stank all the way through. I love dogs, but if you knew as soon as you walked in that one lived there just by the smell, that was a no. Houses with dogs don't need to smell.

All houses with dogs smell!

People seem to be obsessed with having a south facing garden but if you go to the other end of the garden you are facing south so if you're in that situation see if you can put garden furniture etc at the other end to show how it can be used, depending on how big it is. If it's a big garden I can't really see why it matters (some terraces have long thin gardens).

In our previous house (end of terrace) we had a small north facing garden but had a summer house at the other end which persuaded our buyers to overlook the fact that it faced the "wrong" way.

Other than that, declutter but you may have done that already.

Low divider between your garden and the neighbours, I like my privacy and too awkward putting a big fence up as soon as you move in

Freestanding oven

Ugly fireplace

Fitted wardrobes especially those 80s style ones which go over the bed

Carpets

Ugly tiling in the kitchen, another ballache to replace

Bad neighbors or train line etc

Smells

Parking

Being hugely overlooked in garden

The garden is south facing and not overlooked but it is messy needs weeding and we haven't done any fancy patio its just a bit of patio as you walk out then grass to the end. Would this put you off?

Things obviously hiding marks/stains/dodgy work - if that’s what’s obvious, what isn’t obvious? I want to be able to ask the estate agent and get an answer (“the owners have taken the doors off the cupboards because they prefer access that way”). Some estate agents were brilliant at this, others not at all.

Yes to the owners following you around.

I don’t really want a surprise when I look round the house, I want the photos to be clear so I know what I’m walking into.

Bad smells, clearly worn carpet, any sort of rust or damp stains. Basically anything that implies I'm going to have to redecorate ASAP after moving rather than waiting.

Cons for me would be

No off road parking
Tiny kitchen
Whether the current owners were smokers - you cannot get that smell out
Lack of decent fences - I like my privacy
Not on a main road - constant traffic noise
Scruffy neighbouring houses i.e. unkempt gardens or rubbish/dog poo strewn gardens etc.

To be honest, having dealt with a garden that had gone partly to ruin, a messy garden would put me off now. We had to cut down trees, returf, clear some brambles out of a flower bed... If everything else was fab, I'd probably overlook it, but a weedy garden looks neglected and would make me wonder about the state of the house.

And yes, in our case the messy garden went hand in hand with a run-down house.

Definitely dog smell. We’ve rejected a few houses because of dog smell.

A kitchen that needs redoing, because that’s one of the most expensive and annoying things to have to replace.

A house that has a downstairs bathroom instead of an upstairs one.

A garden completely surrounded by huge trees that will shed leaves and block all the light.

Water stains in the ceiling. Horrible tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. Scruffy, stained carpets. Basically anything that makes the place look uncared for as I would think it would mean the upkeep wasn't great and I'd face further problems down the line.

Immediate no to anywhere with:-

Smells (smoker or dog)
Cats (I'm allergic)
D.I.Y. shoddiness - I'm not paying for half arsed amateur work, especially crappy wood flooring with strips round the edges instead of being properly fitted.
Low fences
Artex ceilings

I'd also be put off (but maybe I could overcome) by:

Clutter/Untidiness
Built in furniture/shelves in bedrooms and living rooms

Anything else I can see through and it doesn't bother me such as gaudy carpets, weird wallpaper, colour schemes, etc - all easily changed.

I was badly put off a house once because it stank of bleach. I just can't stand that smell and had to get out of there quickly. Poor owners probably thought they were doing a good thing by cleaning hard before we got there.

If a dog had lived in it previously (impossible to get the smell out) and if it had a conservatory.

Mess and loads of stuff everywhere. I’ve looked at houses where, even with the best imagination, I couldn’t see past the mess. A messy garden wouldn’t necessarily put me off. All the houses we’ve ever bought have been bought To do up but if it was a house that shouldn’t need lots of work yes the garden would be off putting.

Having been smoked in.
Road noise.
Close neighbours.
No parking
Insufficient storage
Narrow corridors
Being dark
Location and appearance of locality
On a path from pub or town
Cheap kitchen and bodge job repairs
Insufficient bathrooms and lavatories
Tiny garden
Damp and in general poor repair

We once viewed a house with the owner leading. He told us that it had been on the market for nine months with no offers.

It was filthy. The cabinets were sticky. They'd vacuumed but not behind doors. It was just horrible.

I know you should look past that but it was so off-putting.

@Kazzyhoward - lol at the Artex, I’m the same.

Dirty house that hasn’t been cleaned or decluttered. Smells, smells and smells - I don’t want the place to smell of perfume / air freshener too much either just nice and clean. Dirty carpets. Also shoddy diy work which looks ok in the pics but when you get there you know the house will need sorting out. Dirty grout / mould in the bathroom. Odd use of rooms - recently saw a house where one bedroom was dedicated to their reptiles in a huge tank - fine but clearly not shown on any pics as it stunk in there! Also had some sort of sex chair in the same room very odd!

Garden, definitely. We bought out house 5 years ago and we’re still trying to sort out the sodding garden!!

A gallery wall - all those little holes in the wall would drive me crazy and I know I'd have to redecorate immediately
Difficult parking
A bathroom that needs replacing
Owners who don't know when things were done in the house

I can look past bad decor as I'd usually change it anyway. Things I dislike

• awkward shaped rooms
• road noise
• no parking
• dark
• ensuites
• plastic kitchens

I love

• proper flooring (tiles or wood)
• light rooms, white paint
• wooden cupboards