What puts you off buying a house?

[notwhyicamehere]

Other than structural things or location- which can't be changed, what are the seemingly little things that would put you off buying a house?
For me, seeing tumble dryer or vacuum in a random room screams not enough space/ storage. As well as loads of bathroom clutter.

AIBU to dismiss houses based on things like this?

Looking to sell soon so looking to avoid those mistakes!

I have to ask, what on earth is wrong with fitted wardrobes?? And UPVC windows?

@TheSunShinesBright

Do people really not consider buying a house if the owners have pets?

Definitely! Even if the carpets look in good condition they would need to be replaced (allergic to animal hair) - not to mention the smell.

So you wouldn’t consider buying a house if you had to replace carpets?

It’s a wonder some of you have managed to find houses up to your standards.

It’s a wonder some of you have managed to find houses up to your standards.

Left the cheap ones with upvc windows (and doooor) to us😂 I quite like that pickiness 😁

@crossstitchingnana

I have to ask, what on earth is wrong with fitted wardrobes?? And UPVC windows?

Nothing at all. I’d kill for fitted wardrobes and our (Grade ll listed) wooden sash windows cost a fortune to maintain, we’d replace them with high quality upvc in a heartbeat if we could.

@Cherries590

I honestly don’t care about presentation at all. Location, the fabric of the building sound and off road parking are my concerns. Everything else I can fix.

Agree! Most things can be altered to your own taste.

If it had the space inside and outside that we wanted and was in a good location the only things that would put me off would be

• Road noise
• Neighbours seeming dodgy - e.g. unkempt garden or displaying England flags (other than during football tournaments)

Everything else could be fixed.

It sounds like my house will be the market for a while when it goes up for sale in a few weeks. It has:

Parking issues
Small kitchen
Fitted appliances in the kitchen
Overlooked garden that is mostly patio and gravel
uPVC windows
Unitdy garden next door (but never have any bother or hear the neighbour)
Pets
Small bedrooms (but perfectly adequate)
No downstairs loo

But, the last house like this one on this estate that came on the market sold within a week so maybe it won't be a problem after all.

@sallyisstarstruck

It sounds like my house will be the market for a while when it goes up for sale in a few weeks. It has:

Parking issues
Small kitchen
Fitted appliances in the kitchen
Overlooked garden that is mostly patio and gravel
uPVC windows
Unitdy garden next door (but never have any bother or hear the neighbour)
Pets
Small bedrooms (but perfectly adequate)
No downstairs loo

But, the last house like this one on this estate that came on the market sold within a week so maybe it won't be a problem after all.

As long as you don't have divan beds!

We have just had an offer accepted on our first house. We weren't super picky but we were put off by:

Main roads/rat runs.

A weird parking arrangement - shared, with garage away from house and down an alley. No way to change it as the outside of the house was a pedestrian only green space so you couldn't make a drive. Lovely if you didn't have or need a car. Bad with a 3 year old and general daily life for me as a driver!

A tenanted property. The tenants hadn't been given notice so that's months of waiting for availability and the landlord seemed really greedy. Loads of evidence of "tenancy neglect" - the man hadn't done any improvements and it showed.

No potential to add value.

An overpriced previous sale, where the vendors previously paid top whack and are now looking to make money on that, giving us buyers no room to manoeuvre on the negotiation.

A divorce sale again motivated by making the most money out of the buyers. Didn't want to get in the middle of that!

A boundary dispute. No thank you.

The place we are buying has a lovely garden and garage - we are planning to convert most of the garage space to an office space but keep some of it for bikes and storage etc.

Wind chimes within hearing distance. Yappy dogs next door. Shared drive, next to a pub/venue.

Any kind of water feature, anywhere within hearing distance. Nearly as bad as windchimes. grin

@crossstitchingnana

I have to ask, what on earth is wrong with fitted wardrobes?? And UPVC windows?

I think fitted wardrobes are really ugly and they're rarely in a style I like, plus I just don't have that much stuff so I'd be annoyed they were taking up floor space for no reason.

UPVC windows I don't think I care about - if I could choose I wouldn't have white UPVC but it wouldn't put me off.

My house hatreds are no decent parking, no bath or space for one, all-white render outside, a conservatory, high gloss kitchens or open plan layouts - things that would be impossible/hassle/fairly expensive to fix.

Wind chimes within hearing distance.

Any kind of water feature, anywhere within hearing distance.

I've heard it all now

Came here as our house is recently on the market, I’ve read a few times about neighbouring gardens being messy and flags on houses; I knew this would be the case- a neighbour opposite us has just been left his property and left all his shit on the driveway.. everything! I think he’s been evicted. It looks awful and I just know that’s going to effect us; then a pottery a few houses down has a big flag on it and the bloke looks fairly scary.. but is actually quite nice and we’ve never had issues here. It’s like the road opposite looks rough but actually has never caused problems. I’m just hoping someone will see past that soon 😭

You can change almost anything about a house except for its location. Only things that would put me off are area, plot size and price. You can rejig the internal layout, extend, remove picture rails, add plug sockets, take out fitted wardrobes etc. You can't pick up the house and put it somewhere else.

@WutheringTights

You can change almost anything about a house except for its location. Only things that would put me off are area, plot size and price. You can rejig the internal layout, extend, remove picture rails, add plug sockets, take out fitted wardrobes etc. You can't pick up the house and put it somewhere else.

Sensible post.

@WutheringTights

You can change almost anything about a house except for its location. Only things that would put me off are area, plot size and price. You can rejig the internal layout, extend, remove picture rails, add plug sockets, take out fitted wardrobes etc. You can't pick up the house and put it somewhere else.

I agree to an extent.

However, it depends how much disposable income you have left over every month.

I know people who have ripped everything out (perfectly good stuff) and renovated as soon as they move in. I also know people who, 10 years after buying the house are still living with the ‘80s decor and weird carpets.

If you have money you can change anything you like.

@WutheringTights

You can change almost anything about a house except for its location. Only things that would put me off are area, plot size and price. You can rejig the internal layout, extend, remove picture rails, add plug sockets, take out fitted wardrobes etc. You can't pick up the house and put it somewhere else.

You can't change the neighbours. We viewed a house and next door's dog was barking incessantly. We liked the house but the dog was a factor in not making an offer.

An open plan living area and especially an open plan kitchen/dining area.

A small kitchen and dining room separated by walls with the kitchen having no where to sit. Give me a kitchen diner anyday.

If you have money you can change anything you like.

I suppose if you have loads of money and are happy to get an interior decorator or architect (depending on the level of chane required) to manage everything this is true but with a MN style 'comfortable' income we are still taking time to update our house because of the time it takes to plan and do the work (3DC, 2 adults working FT so classic busy middle aged people) - getting contractors is currently a nightmare.

Mould in the bathroom or window. Just screams if you can’t be bothered to clean before you sell, what else can’t you be bothered to do. Other than that I’m fairly flexible

@Ozanj

Mould in the bathroom or window. Just screams if you can’t be bothered to clean before you sell, what else can’t you be bothered to do. Other than that I’m fairly flexible

But... I do love a good mould cleaning expedition in a bathroom It would be a real treat to buy a house that was utterly perfect but had a mouldy bath grout. It’s satisfying to clean (and effortless!)

I just can’t get past one of the early ones who wouldn’t buy a house if the owne had divan beds or pelmet curtains. Cos yeah you’re buying th beds and curtains. 😂😂😂

Some of these are totally mad.