Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Would you consider a house that doesn’t wow you?

51 replies

Wantarefund · 06/12/2019 20:58

We currently live in an awful house and are planning to move.

At the moment none of the houses I’ve seen online (actually only one suitable) wow me. It’s a great house, big rooms and a big garden but I don’t look at the photos and think ‘ooooooh’. It really just needs a new kitchen, the bathrooms are pretty basic but look clean and well maintained and it’s all very plainly decorated. It’s an older house and I worry we’d just go in and ruin it Blush.

But then I do see houses (unsuitable ones) that wow me but surely it’s ridiculous to hold out for that? Because even if they have been done beautifully they might not be done exactly the way you would have done them?

OP posts:
Coffeeandcrumpet · 06/12/2019 21:01

My house is a very standard semi that was un loved it did not wow me but I could see potential. We have worked hard but no major structural changes, it does wow me now!

JoJoSM2 · 06/12/2019 21:11

If you've got the garden and the room sizes etc it gives you a lot to work with to make it wow. Our current house was a bit like that and it was enjoyable to knock it about and re-decorate to bring it back to life and make lovely.

3luckystars · 06/12/2019 21:12

Maybe if you visited them you might get a good feeling?

Whiskers14 · 06/12/2019 21:14

A house can be given a "wow" factor through decor and renovation, but you've still got to be excited about its potential, as we were with our Victorian terrace and as coffeeandcrumpet was with theirs. If you're not even feeling its potential then no, don't consider buying it.

Disfordarkchocolate · 06/12/2019 21:16

I've never been able to afford wow and I'm not the sort to make a house wow.

I've always bought what fitted my needs in the best area I could afford, that's it.

whateverhappenstheremore · 06/12/2019 21:20

I bought a house my husband loved but it never wowed me - but like you there was just nothing on the market and we needed something bigger so I bought it. I was never really satisfied with it though so despite numerous improvements including an extension we eventually moved into a house we both love. I would wait

tilder · 06/12/2019 21:23

Yes. Our last house had as much kerb appeal as a rock. It's location was phenomenal. Loved that house.

Current house is a wow house. But it's practical drawbacks really detract from it.

I will never put wow above the way a house suits our lifestyle again.

IndianaMoleWoman · 06/12/2019 21:24

We went for location over “wow”. I don’t like the house but it’s in a guaranteed great school catchment and the houses here sell really quickly, so when we’re in a position to go for a “wow” house we should sell quite easily, and hopefully make some profit.

Instead of ruminating on the idea it’s not a “wow” house, I remind myself that it’s a stepping stone to what we really want and it’s served it’s purpose so far in that we got our DD into the great school.

EskewedBeef · 06/12/2019 21:26

I've never bought a house that made me say wow. They've all ticked enough boxes is all.

Bluntness100 · 06/12/2019 21:26

You really can't tell on line, you need to go see them in real life and you need to have some imagination in terms of what you can do with the space. If you struggle with that, do you have a friend or someone who can help you?

viccat · 06/12/2019 21:28

I know what you mean, I look at some online and just love the decor and features. But it's rare to come across houses that have that and also tick all the other boxes (location, within budget etc. etc.).

My current house was very bland when I bought it. It had been rented out for many years and was basically magnolia walls and brown carpets throughout. I've put my own stamp on it over the years, it's far from perfect now but it is totally transformed from what it was. At the end of the day, a lot of the wow factor is just paint, wallpaper, flooring and fixtures and fittings, which can all be changed to suit your taste.

paddingtonbearsmarmalade · 06/12/2019 21:28

Our house wasn’t (and isn’t!) wow but when we went to see it we liked the “vibe”, the space, the light and the potential. It’s a bit quirky and every single room needs doing up but it is perfectly liveable as it is and I’m really excited about what we could do with it.

We saw it on a whim as we were viewing another house in the area (which was awful) and our house just felt right. But never wow!

lilgreen · 06/12/2019 21:29

Never been wowed by a house in my budget. I have always thought that I could imagine living there with the changes in decor etc.

babycatcher411 · 06/12/2019 21:29

It depends if you want to do the work to make it wow. I’ve never wanted to buy a house that initially makes me think wow, because I know I most likely wouldn’t actually be happy with many of the finer details, and would likely want to change things, but not feel I can justify the cost because I probably already would’ve paid a premium to buy a wow house in the first place.

If you can see it’s potential, and are up for the work, be it DIY or through a tradesmen, then if it practically ticks the boxes, as in the practical side, not nearly ticks the boxes, then I’d go for it.

Original poster
Wantarefund · 06/12/2019 22:36

Really interesting replies everyone, thanks.

I think because of the type of house we live in now I’m just ready to live in a house that’s ‘done’ rather than constantly thinking about what needs doing and spending!! But on the same I hand I totally agree with what someone is saying - if something is ‘nice’ then you feel you can’t just rip it out/repaint it or whatever because it feels wasteful even if it’s not too your taste.

We will go and see the house and I’m sure we will know either way!

OP posts:
NaomiFromMilkShake · 06/12/2019 22:40

I have never bought a house, without knowing where my Christmas tree was going.

anxioussue · 06/12/2019 22:43

I don't like our house but it ticked the important boxes

Original poster
Wantarefund · 06/12/2019 22:43

The bay window in this house would be ideal Naomi, not that I’ve thought about it Blush

OP posts:
HeddaGarbled · 06/12/2019 22:44

This wow factor nonsense is a new thing invented by Location x3 and the like, just like the forever home concept on another recent thread. Don’t get sucked in.

I would strongly recommend that you go and look at some houses in real life rather than spend too much time on Rightmove. They are often quite different in real life.

Don’t go and look at ones which don’t meet most of your needs, but don’t be too inflexible: sometimes the one which is nearly right but not quite, turns out to be the one you really like when you see it.

Original poster
Wantarefund · 06/12/2019 22:47

Thanks Hedda, we have a bit to do before we can sell so don’t want to go and view any yet before we’re ready in case we fall in love with one then don’t get ours sold in time and I’m trying not to manically check Rightmove every day!

You’re so right about not being too inflexible.

OP posts:
Airwhy · 06/12/2019 22:58

Ours wasn't a wow house, in fact we didn't like it at all the first time we viewed. But then the vendor dropped the price so we decided to go back for a second viewing and although we didn't like it much that time either, the location and price were too good to turn down.

Thankfully turned out that a bit of surface decor really brightened it up. We've put a lot of money into it since, and we both love it now and would only move for something that knocked out socks off.

titchy · 06/12/2019 22:59

God yes. Our current house was pig ugly when we bought it. It's now just about passable. But it was so fugly no other bugger would even look at it so now, after a significant extension we have a house which is passable, but is a bloody big leap up from what we would have had if we'd gone for 'wow'. And when you're staring retirement in the face that's hugely important.

goldpendant · 06/12/2019 23:02

I avoided viewing the house we now own, it had lots of wow but unsuitable (busy Rd, no parking). I eventually viewed it and fell in love, here we are now, and very happy too! See them ALL!

Dinosauraddict · 07/12/2019 07:08

My DH and I always have an agreement when house hunting that when we walk around it, we'll only offer if we both have that internal 'I love it' moment. This has meant we've sometimes viewed a lot of houses and there have been times where one of us is disappointed after a viewing that the other didn't feel the same, but it's always stood us in good stead. Our main house at the moment we were persuaded to view by a trusted EA (they do exist). It didn't meet the core requirements we'd clearly laid out: garage, en suite and something else that I can't even remember, but we walked in and it wowed us both. Huge project (and it will never have a garage) but we compromised for all the original Edwardian features and a 5th double. I would always hold out for that 'I love it' house. But view in person, online does not give you the real sense of the house!

VaguelySensible · 07/12/2019 07:28

Both the properties I have bought did not WOW me. But they were right for me. I kept returning to them despite viewing and liking other places. The wows I viewed all had major compromises and flaws. The homes I bought had minor compromises.

Does a home need WOW? What is WOW, anyway? Living in your home and putting your mark on it makes it homey, makes it yours.