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!

@AndSal92

I'm so intrigued by the comments of fitted wardrobes because I love built in storage! We're actually renovating and putting some in haha! Does anybody mind sharing the reasons against this? I'm super curious (and we still have time to change)

We are in a rental with build in wardrobes. I really dislike them but they’re old and poorly designed. I quite like the new ones with all the different compartments and drawers and when (if) we buy our own house I’d have those. I think the problem is, they’re designed to the specifications of the person who had them fitted and not everyone needs the same hanging/ drawer layout. When we have our own house, we hope to be in it for a long time so I won’t need to worry about if I have enough space for anyone else to have shoes or if I’ve used too much of the space for hanging clothes etc.

Oh, but the ones that are around and over your bed are another matter. It highlights how little room there is in the bedroom and makes it feel like you’re living in a caravan.

@AndSal92

I'm so intrigued by the comments of fitted wardrobes because I love built in storage! We're actually renovating and putting some in haha! Does anybody mind sharing the reasons against this? I'm super curious (and we still have time to change)

I also hate fitted furniture over and at the sides of the bed - see pic. It just looks awful.

I like fitted cupboards /wardrobes against one wall though. Depending on the design (not mirrored) Loads of storage space.

That's a lovely one! In many houses here storage is an issue and under ceiling storage is just a smart thing to have

Ah I totally see what you mean, it's a permanent fixture for something that is quite personal!

Totally agree on the over bed storage thing I've never got it!

The over the bed storage is awful. But some of these ....

www.sharps.co.uk/wardrobes-interiors

I’d give my firstborn!

Paved gardens, fake grass and the fitted furniture around beds. And caravans. Shudders.

@Diamondnights caravans with net curtains 😬

We viewed a house that had mouse traps and ant poison everywhere. Off putting

I'd want fitted wardrobes - but not all around the bed! So old fashioned and tomb like.

We viewed a house that had many socks drying on the radiator in the bay. About 30 socks I guess.

This was particularly bad because:

a) It cost just under 1 million pounds and

b) it suggested that there was nowhere else to dry them.

The owner, a car dealer, was pretty rude too. It went on and off the market and eventually sold for about 800k. Still a huge amount of money but not what the owner expected.

Bad smell, especially smoke
Bad DIY - I once rejected a flat because pipes were held together with tape
Bad history - buying from a divorcing couple can be a slow awkward process with eg one seller hard to contact
Weirdness etg I probably wouldn’t buy a house full of skulls n goth stuff
Noisy neighbours

*We viewed a house that had many socks drying on the radiator in the bay. About 30 socks I guess.

This was particularly bad because:

a) It cost just under 1 million pounds and

b) it suggested that there was nowhere else to dry them.*

This is weird and I don’t get the link to the price (other than stealth boast). Probably they put them on there because it was a big radiator? I prefer to use our biggest radiators to dry stuff too because it’s more convenient. They happen to be in the living room & dining room. I’d put the washing away for viewings though.

@StoneofDestiny

I'd want fitted wardrobes - but not all around the bed! So old fashioned and tomb like.

I never know how you're supposed to reach the cupboard above the bed.

It totally depends on the style of the fitted wardrobes. My current house had awful 30 year old ones that looked dated and shabby but some of those just shared upthread are really nice. Agree that the fitted ones around the bed are awful though.

When I was house hunting with OH for the first time a couple of years ago we thought our criteria was the same - location, 3 beds, value for money. Turns out I also can't stand:

Seeing extension cables running everywhere. Yes plugs can be added but it's annoying (to me) and it's not always a quick job.
No second toilet.
Seeing trampolines in neighbouring gardens - would check about 4 houses in all directions on Google satellite for good measure.
Scruffy neighbouring houses and gardens especially car parts piled up in the drive way suggesting repetitive irritating repair noises.
Being very overlooked.
Semi detached where the master bedroom would be attached and not on the outside wall. Don't need to hear neighbours shagging.
Strong smoke odours.
Having to squeeze round a double bed to get around the bedroom.
No kitchen worktop space once a reasonable number of appliances are added (see previous plug socket irritation).
No bathroom window.
Dirty, untidy rooms eg unmade beds. If they can't be bothered to tidy for the photo or a viewing, possibly not going to be that on top of solicitor paperwork or proactive during the sale process.
Really skanky bathrooms that look like they'll need a pressure washer to blast through the layers of muck on every surface.
No cupboards/storage.
Sloping ceilings in bedrooms.
Having the owner point at bits of awful furniture and say "we'll be leaving that".
A porch or space for one to be built cos I can never find my keys and it's always raining, and I wanted somewhere for people to kick shoes off that wasn't my hallway.

Think that's it...OH would probably remember a few more...

I don't mind in built wardrobes, bad décor choices or a bit of grime. Or divan beds

I like how so many mention lack of storage as an issue while so many also mention that above bed storage is an issue😁
I am actually planning on adding over bed cupboards in middle bedroom....🙈

Most things people mentioned are easily sorted out and wouldn't put me off.
But expensive things like windows that need replacing, wrong size rooms, damp, dodgy roof, basically anything that I wouldn't want to spend out on. Oh and lack of storage for stuff like vacuum, luggage, tools etc.
Putting a nee kitchen/ bathroom in I wouldn't mind as I enjoy that.

I also prefer fitted appliances. I like the minimalist look.

Parking problems would be a big no. We have rented places in England short term. One has parking on a drive, but other cars park so close to the drive, and also on the other side of the street, it is a huge faff to get in and out. Usually I have to get out and guide the driver.

That would ruin my day after a long work shift.

I don’t think either lack of inbuilt storage should be an issue as long as there’s space for your own storage, or fitted wardrobes as long as there’s some flexibility in use. Everyone stores different things so would need different configurations anyway.
Our study/spare bedroom has 80s built in wardrobes x2, one has a normal height rail and one had the two rails for shirts and trousers. The first one has a filing cabinet tucked under the rail now and we took the rails out of the second one and put a shelf in there, it now has DP’s musical instruments on it. Not a problem. Undoubtedly other people might want more shelves or just to knock them out and have more flexibility with their furniture positioning. It was actually marked bedroom 1 on the floor plan but we sleep in bedroom 2 which has ‘no storage’ which was not also an issue, we just got wardrobes from IKEA and chose the bits to match what we wanted to store.

So interesting that people don’t like built in wardrobes! They can usually hold much more than the equivalent size freestanding storage especially in smaller Victorian terraces that rarely have a straight wall to put a freestanding wardrobe against. I find a lack of any built in wardrobes so off putting

The built in wardrobes just freak me out. I feel all weirded out by them. I could probably tolerate them if they are built into an awkward space like an attic room. I don't feel the same way about fitted kitchens or built in storage e.g. either side of a chimney breast.
Glad to hear it's not just me who hates them though, I do feel comforted by that