What puts you off a house?

[kerrymucklowe2020]

Thought this might be if interest to anyone putting their house on the market.

I hate strong artificial smelis/ plug ins / insrmse sticks etc ( what are you trying to hide ?)
Dogs. 2 houses I viewed I spent less than 5 mins in as they had barking / in your face dogs
( Plus I was thinking of one I viewed that had a new puppy that maybe it had had "accidents' on the carpets). If you have dogs - take them.out fir the viewing ( also hide pet beds / feeding bowls ).
Houses that lacked tlc ( scuffed paintwork / dirty windows )
What puts YOU off a potential house?

No bath.
Artificial turf.
Grey, or red and black slab kitchens.
Bedrooms presented with no wardrobe in - you know that's just to make it look big, cos it's not.
Small bedrooms to make room for multiple en suites.
Conservatories and esp ones which are open plan to the kitchen.
Nice large kitchens but laid out so there's no room for a table.
Sofa wedged into a kitchen even though it's really not big enough

All the other stuff that people have mentioned like drive, large garden etc. - sure I would like that stuff but you have to pay more for it. The above is things people can make different choices about if they're looking to sell.

Well assuming we’re talking about the viewing stage - if you know there’s non-starters e.g. I could never live with a spiral staircase, why would you view? So bad smells, shoddy repairs, lack of storage or at least the impression of it (tidy up!), lack of daylight and that hard to define “atmosphere”, some houses just feel depressing the moment you enter them.

As a seller I hate potential buyers that say “It hasn’t got xxx, I’d have to change xxx, it’d be better with xxx”. All details are available online, read the description, if it isn’t there, it doesn’t exist, as a buyer, I’ve learnt this, I wish others would as well. If it doesn’t mention a garden, garage or off street parking, there isn’t any, it’s that simple.

Location.

Almost everything else, eg layout, doors, windows, floors, kitchens, bathrooms can be changed.

Location can’t.

Big one for me is the artificial air fresheners/sticks/oils whatever. Makes my eyes water and my nose itch and I can’t stay long enough to properly view.

Most other stuff I can cope with. Although one thing that does put me off is cheap refurb, or badly thought out, hastily done to sell new bathrooms/kitchens/fitted wardrobes, as the price won’t allow for another refurb and you feel like you have to live with that crap.

1. Dark rooms- I love light and airy feel
2. Clutter- inc kids toys in the sitting room...
3. Lack of potential if the house isn't already finished to a high standard with the 'requirements' I'm looking for
4. No off road parking
5. Small kitchen - with no opportunity to knock though or expand
6. Busy road location
7. Poor location
8. A property thats at the top of my budget but needs new kitchen and bathrooms

Pylons practically in the garden or over the house. They freak me out and I don't know why.
I'm another that likes a hallway. No door into living room please.

When we were looking to buy last time, DH said at minimum a semi, preferably detached, must have off street parking, I said no downstairs bathroom and not on a particular street. Then we viewed this house. Terrace. On street parking only. Downstairs bathroom. On that street. And we knew it was the one immediately.
We love it. And we have plans to make it even better (including shifting the bathroom upstairs).

Houses that have been done up for sale - I'd be paying for work I'd rather choose myself. Also modern designs with no character on period properties. Grey carpets.

A house that smells of cigarette smoke

Dogs
Galley kitchens
One bathroom
No parking

Lack of garden,
lack of off-street parking,
Poor natural light
shared access,
thatch,
proximity to a busy road, a river, electricity pylon or substation
Leasehold
Structural problems

Cosmetic stuff doesn’t worry me.

A shared drive. My father in law told us never to buy a house with a shared drive but we were very young and fell in love with a house with one and didn’t listen.
It was okay at first but then the house next door, which we shared the drive with, was sold to a family and the man was a bully. He’d frequently block the drive in an afternoon, or allow his visitors to, and when asked would say the car would soon be moved despite the fact that he could see that I was waiting to get out, with a baby in a pram, to get my older son from nursery.

The neighbours being scruffy/unkempt/loud annoying Clampits.

This is what cost us our house sale, the buyer pulled out a few days before exchange.

Most of all, it would be neighbouring houses looking very messy, vehicles being worked on, furniture out the front, gardens full of weeds and rubbish, overgrown trees. Thankfully our NDNs have recently got their front garden clear of old sofas and general crap for the first time in the 18 years we've been here!

Much sympathy to@SingingSands!

@MadisonAvenue

A shared drive. My father in law told us never to buy a house with a shared drive but we were very young and fell in love with a house with one and didn’t listen. It was okay at first but then the house next door, which we shared the drive with, was sold to a family and the man was a bully. He’d frequently block the drive in an afternoon, or allow his visitors to, and when asked would say the car would soon be moved despite the fact that he could see that I was waiting to get out, with a baby in a pram, to get my older son from nursery.

Yep! Won't even view a house with any shared access.

I agree with smells. Also out dated bathrooms / toilets, I like old houses with character but I cannot stand old bathrooms.

Carpet in a bathroom, kitchen or dining room is a huge no from me.

I used to go look at open houses for fun and I always tried to picture where you'd put furniture. Sometimes there's no where to put a tv in a living room or the bedrooms are so small you'd only be able to fit a bed in.

Also there needs to be storage space! I don't have somewhere to store my vacuum and it drives me mad.

Rights of way. I wouldn't even view a house if, for example, the neighbours were allowed to cross over you garden with their bins, or if there was a footpath over your property.
Shared garden, or a garden where you are only allowed low fences.
Thatch.
Nowhere to park on the property.

*Also out dated bathrooms / toilets, I like old houses with character but I cannot stand old bathrooms.

Carpet in a bathroom, kitchen or dining room is a huge no from me*

Easily changed though. Would you dismiss a house for those reasons?

Yes, rights of way, shared access and covenants.

I hate anywhere with built in wardrobes. I don't want he faff of taking out furniture that someone else didn't want. And kitchen Islands which are too big for the space most are.

I don’t care about cosmetic things, our last two homes have both been cosmetic disasters. One was a beautifully proportioned flat with 17 cats living in it. That smell beats any plugin! Present house hadn’t been decorated for 30 years and had pretty much no kitchen but again had great proportions, lots of light and no overlooking neighbours. Both bargains because most people couldn’t see past the 1970s wallpaper or the herd of cats following them round.

I am put off by lack of storage; the last time we went house hunting so many houses that looked good on paper had been “modernised” by removing every inch of storage and converting it into “extra living space”. I’d rather have a walk in cupboard than a third toilet. I’m not buying a four bedroom house with nowhere to put the hoover. Same goes for garage conversions, we have a lot of bikes, sports gear and assorted junk in our garage and occasionally even a car!

Storage space makes small living spaces possible, I’ve also lived in a hi-rise apartment in the US, a fraction of the floor space we have here but generous closets which made it very practical (and floor to ceiling windows which nobody could see into). Lack of storage makes large spaces impractical. Some people showing houses with no storage obviously shipped out a lot of stuff, or they didn’t own a hoover or an ironing board, others had these things just in corners of rooms which I would hate.

I like light, so many fancy window dressings cut off light, which would give me a feeling of gloom I like windows to be unobstructed. Related to that I want privacy, primarily I don’t want anyone to be able to see into my bedroom window. Ideally it would look out on trees, the flat I mentioned had a glorious lilac tree outside the master bedroom window which was a joy. Current house has fields on two sides and shrubs outside my bedroom.

Open plan with the only living space and kitchen together is a no for me, kitchens are too noisy.

Almost anything about a house can be fixed and would be reflected in the offer we made. I would look very very carefully at the neighbours garden and front drive and would walk away if:

• there was a hot tub
• one of those huge outdoor bars
• huge barbeque
• trampoline if it was near a boundary
• artificial grass
• loads of cars on the front drive (possibly indicating they were dealing in cars)

I know I'm picky (apart from the car dealing) but I'm old and its allowed.

Oh yes shared access, an absolute no from me.

I always said I would never buy a terrace on a main road with no parking. I also wanted a downstairs toilet.

We bought a victorian terrace with on road parking only, on a main road, no downstairs loo (but a second on upstairs which is good).

We love it so so much. So glad I decided to view it.

We also only have. A yard, but we hate gardening, so it’s perfect for us. And an alley way at the back (on,y a little one) and backs onto a small primary school!

Guess I won’t be selling my house anytime soon! (Not that were planning to!)

I for one wouldn’t look at a new build. I hate their flimsiness and think he show home decor is always awful and it really puts me off (I know I’d have whatever I chose, but they’re all the same in terms of show home and I really hate it).

I’d also not buy from a smoker (who smokes inside) as it is just minging. Dogs (as someone earlier said) also a huge put off for me. But I don’t like dogs so I wouldn’t even feel comfortable viewing the house if the dogs are in.