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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

498 replies

DarkGreen · 15/01/2021 08:35

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?

OP posts:
Notyourcat · 17/01/2021 11:22

Definitely aged kitchen bathroom
Followed by the empty/soulless look.
A few bright colours/modern touches and great lighting will turn it around.
Darkness being the third reason.

Nodancingshoes · 17/01/2021 11:36

Make sure its spotlessly clean. We viewed a house that was dirty and I just couldn't see past that to see the positives. I still think about that dirty kitchen when I drive past that house!!

Jokie · 17/01/2021 11:36

Old kitchen/bathroom
Shoddy DIY where you can tell that if you look at it wrong, it'll break
Kitchens without ovens
Inadequate storage space
A house that has been smoked in
Clutter

Nodancingshoes · 17/01/2021 11:39

Also, misleading photos. We went to view a house that looked huge on the listing. It was just clever photography- all the rooms were small and dark

izzyrose85 · 17/01/2021 15:06

@SquirtleSquad

Ask the agents not to park right outside in viewings so the road doesn't look busier than it would normally be and the parking looks less restrictive.
This - particularly if it's close to your windows

I have pointed out to agents at least twice as a viewer that the agent's car parked right outside the lounge window highlighted to me how annoying the parking was and how close people could park to the windows blocking the light! You obviously can't stop others parking there but the agent can avoid doing so!

ghostyslovesheets · 17/01/2021 15:19

totally depends on price

I look at a house and what I would want/need to do to it - if the costs outweigh the price of the house + my budget it's a no.

I can overlook cramped bath rooms, small kitchens, bad décor, shit gardens, etc if there is the room and budget to change them - current house was cheap as chips but needed money spending on it - now it's lovely.

Big no's for me would be - no parking/on road parking, no garden, mid terrace, near a busy road (I have cats), lack of an office space, tatty next door, high crime areas.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 17/01/2021 15:23

@NoraEphronsNeck same! Well he was awake. Just chilling!

Serin · 14/02/2021 13:49

Damp.
Mould.
Cracks in walls.
Smells.
Dark rooms.
Lack of parking.
State of neighbouring homes.

PrivateParty · 14/02/2021 15:27

The owner being there. Awkward. No thanks.

DinosaurDiana · 14/02/2021 15:30

The poo and wee in a potty in the lounge was a bit off putting.

Winditbackagain · 14/02/2021 17:02

If the property is on a hill
Pet smells
Ugly tiles
Damp/mould

caspersmagicaljourney · 14/02/2021 17:16

Old kitchen/bathroom

Sorry, but if I was selling up I would not be investing here, as they are usually to the personal taste of the owner, and expensive, so potentially a waste of money.
In fact, unless I was buying a newbuild property, I would expect to replace/update these upon moving in to another house.

WatchWatch · 14/02/2021 17:19

Damp, mould and nicotine are the only things that put us off beyond structural issues. But we only buy renovation projects.

whatisthislifesofullofcare · 14/02/2021 18:32

I viewed one and the cat had shit on the sofa 🤮

caringcarer · 14/02/2021 19:16

Poor finish on decor. Small Rooms. Bad smells. Damp/cold feeling.

ballroompink · 14/02/2021 22:20

Definitely depends on your stage of life as well as budget I think. When DH and I were looking for our first place we couldn't afford much and wanted somewhere that was ready to move in, no renovation needed, no redecorating needed immediately etc. as we just didn't have the money. These days, needing to redecorate wouldn't put me off. Our current house was so cluttered when we viewed it and had loads of woodchip, artex, horrible clattery 1990s laminate flooring, built in wardrobes etc. but it's also a really spacious Edwardian house that we are slowly getting there with!

For our next move, the definite no nos are:

  • noisy/busy road
  • tiny garden or garden that's a square of astroturf with a patio, paved over, etc. Happy to have a garden that needs work but a postage stamp of fake grass puts us right off
  • Strong animal smells
  • A hideous or decrepit kitchen that would need sorting out instantly
  • A small kitchen
  • Dodgy-looking neighbours or a dodgy-looking area
  • Obviously botched DIY jobs or poorly done work on the house in general
  • Main bathroom downstairs
DouglasJohnson · 29/04/2021 14:42

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Lampzade · 29/04/2021 15:33

I have recently bought a house.
When viewing houses the things that put me off :
Wallpapered rooms
Cluttered house
Dirty driveways- jet wash the driveway ffs
Carpets downstairs- I only like carpets on the stairs and in bedrooms . Prefer wood floors downstairs

I don’t mind having to do up bathrooms, but I wouldn’t want to have to change the kitchen

Soulless new builds with little character

If there is no off street parking, I will not even view the house

Neglected gardens

Four or five beds with a tiny garden. My friend recently bought a beautiful five bed house in a very expensive area. The house took over a year to sell because the garden is basically just a patch of grass.

Large houses on small plots

Lampzade · 29/04/2021 15:50

@CaraDuneRedux

I think what this thread illustrates is that there are a variety of people out there who are your potential market and some you will never be able to reach. Made up percentages, but I think it looks a bit like this:

5% will turn down a house for too many bottles of shampoo in the shower. Presumably only interested in show-homes/new builds. You can probably afford to write off this fraction of the market.

15 % with a reasoned tick-list (no on-street parking, for eg, large enough garden) which they will not compromise on and have the money to know they don't need to compromise on. You can't reach this fraction - again write them off.

20% who simply lack the visual imagination to see past a bit of clutter. You can reach these if you're prepared to put in a bit of work, and it's probably worth doing in order to boost your chances of finding the right buyer at the right price.

20% who don't mind a bit of clutter, but will be put off by something like a bad bathroom. Depends on how much money you're prepared to spend - but the general rule of thumb from estate agents is that you don't put a new bathroom/kitchen in simply to sell, because you will not get the money back. So if your kitchen is dated, simply on financial grounds you may have to write this fraction off - but it's swings and roundabouts. Maybe accept you don't want to spend 15K on a new kitchen which will only make the house marginally more likely to sell, but accept that you maybe need to put the house on for 8K less than the one down the street which has just had its kitchen done.

15% who don't mind major decorative renovations, in fact the "clean slate" aspect quite appeals (I was in this category when I was young and full of energy) but will expect it to be priced accordingly. If I'm putting in a new kitchen and bathroom, I expect the house to be cheaper by roughly that amount than a comparable house in the same area with everything done perfectly.

5% who don't mind major structural work but will be expecting it at a knock down price.

People in the last two categories are probably going to be put off by a perfect house - they're looking for a bargain!

Any house will sell at the right price.

No house will ever appeal to 100% of the market - the bargain hunters will assume the perfect "show home" isn't for them, people looking for "move-in-ready" won't even bother looking at a fixer-upper, people with the money to be able to ask for an extensive tick list won't look at a house that doesn't meet that tick list.

But you can "tinker round the edges" - decluttering, lick of pain on the obviously shabby bits etc. - to increase the percentage of people you will get through the door.

This
2bazookas · 29/04/2021 15:56

The things that put me off are stuff the seller can't change; smells from nearby factory/restaurant; noise from traffic, school etcc, and obvious parking problems.

If you only have roadside parking, park your own vehicles somewhere else (neighbours drive?) so that the viewers can park easily.

shivawn · 29/04/2021 15:59

A lot of the responses here are unreasonable and out of context with the OP's situation eh people saying no off street parking as if OP is going to be able to just magic some up.

I think the best thing to do is just make sure the place is as clean as possible. Maybe touch up the paintwork in any areas that need it. Deal with any damp or mould and give the paving a power wash. Don't invest too much time or energy in to anything else, the new owners can do what they like with it.

Twinkie01 · 29/04/2021 16:00

Animals. They smell.

Quincie · 29/04/2021 16:01

Small garden, dark rooms, lack of privacy.
We have bought some terribly decorated houses but that's fixable.

Titsywoo · 29/04/2021 16:10

So much depends on the person though. When I was looking at houses with DH we were only really fussed by location, size of rooms and size of the plot. The house we ended up buying we have refurbed and extended it so much that nothing of the previous owners remains and that was our plan so the crap kitchen, horrible garden and dog smell didn't bother us!

PatsyStone39 · 29/04/2021 16:10

I saw a beautiful house yesterday but discounted it instantly as the next door neighbour had a huge England flag in the lounge window.

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