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?

Agree with most of what's already been said. It's hard, isn't it?

I saw this one house online and felt "yes this looks perfect". Then I went there and was sorely disappointed. It was damp, needed loads of renovation works and smaller than in the pictures too.

I hate it when I see a house that needs loads of work. I just think "money pit".

Neighbours matter, yes. But neighbours can and do change. So, it's a balance. Ultimately I'm looking at the property on its own first and foremost.

If buying detached, I want it to be a properly detached house, so no sharing of drives or anything like that. On my new build development lots of detached houses have separate garages that are semi-detached with neighbour and share drive too. I suspected that those detached houses may not be as attractive to sell on down the line compared to a similar house that was properly detached.

@romatheroamer

No bookshelves, no fitted cupboards in bedrooms. Wary if next door converted into flats.

This makes me curious. What is not about the lack of bookshelves that puts you off?

For me it's no off street parking, garden without sun, on a main road (or rat run).

Front doors at the side of the house.

Main road
Front door opening straight into the lounge
Stairs straight into the lounge
Having to walk through the lounge to get to another room, I like it to be separate.
Tiny kitchen.

@bluebluezoo

*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?

Outdated bathrooms often mean outdated plumbing, all of which is a nightmare and £££ to change. So yes, I'd nix a place with outdated bathrooms for that if I were looking for a place that was move-in ready.

Front door straight onto street/into living room
Damp/smell
Lack of parking
Location where I couldn't walk to places - school/shop/pub/friends (whatever is important to you)
Non-detached
No garden
On a main road
Carpets in bathrooms - although would rip out so not a dealbreaker
Pet poo

@uniglowooljumper Outdated bathrooms often mean outdated plumbing, all of which is a nightmare and £££ to change. So yes, I'd nix a place with outdated bathrooms for that if I were looking for a place that was move-in ready.

That is so true. Such a hassle too.

@GreyGardens88

Low or no divider between your garden and neighbours garden

Tacky Live laugh love crap around the house

Messy garden

Anything smoke stained or grubby

Built in wardrobes or shelves - just imagining the stress and cost of ripping it all out

Why would tacky 'live, laugh,love' bits put you off buying a house? They're ornaments/decorations . They might not be to your taste but they're not fixtures in the house.

In my case it would have been horrible neighbours, but of course we didn't find that out until we moved in

I hate it when I see a house that needs loads of work. I just think "money pit"

I see it and think “Opportunity”. The joy of having exactly the kitchen and bathroom(s) I really want.

Things we must have are:

Off road parking
Downstairs loo
Safe dog proof garden
Utility room
Lots of storage - built in wardrobes fill me with joy

I don’t want lots of road noise, noisy neighbours or to be anywhere near a school.

-non detatched
-loud neighbours (I dread trying to sell ours)
-door opening straight to living room
-dark living rooms (small windows)
-small kitchen
-main bathroom downstairs
-bad location

Small kitchen
Small garden
North facing garden
Gardens that are all paved
Decking
Lack of natural light
Untidy or unmaintained neighbouring houses
No bath

Dodgy looking neighbours - scruffy unkempt houses next door.

Front doors at the side of the house.

How funny. I always think this is a MUCH more sensible design. Usually means you can spread the living room across the full width of the house, rather than having to lose space to a hall, or to have every person that arrives tramping through your living room, and, as you bring in shopping from the car for example, you are usually nearer a kitchen door.

Just goes to show - as with the "opportunity" vs "money pit", it is all about horses for courses.

However, having building work done to sell makes no sense as you are getting the worst of both choices.

No downstairs loo or only a downstairs bathroom

Stairs in the living room - detest my own home due to this

Lounge diners

Mould or any damage internally

Neighbours with trampolines in front gardens

Any evidence at all of damp.

Everything else, I can deal with - and have (current house required re-plumbing, re-wiring, all new bathrooms, kitchen re-building and re-fitting.

I am not a fan of the kind of modern house that seems to have calculated how many rooms - especially bedrooms - it can possibly squeeze in, with every one being tiny. I also like having a garden. However, I would be OK with either of these if there is no damp.

Integral garages
Conservatories
North facing gardens
Coloured glass in upvc windows
Unkempt Gardens
Pets/litter trays/dog beds
Bad smells
Obvious air freshener smells
Non symmetrical houses
Semis or terraces

Having said all that ^ my current house has a conservatory and I fucking hate it

Ah, conservatories. Hadn't thought of those....shudders.

We went to view our first potential house about 25 years ago. An end of terrace, cheap and cheerful. It was a two up two down, needed some work but would have suited us fine.

We really wanted it.

Until, the second time we went to view it we again noticed the neighbours garden, strewn with rubbish, broken ride on toys, cat poo and three used disposable nappies just left on top of the wheelie bin which was about a metre from our front door. As we left the kids in the neighbouring house were at their front door, dirty, foul mouthed and throwing small stones over their fence into the next house the other side. Their dad then appeared in one of those noisy exhaust cars with blaring music and shouted and swore at them.

Loved that house but knew I’d hate the neighbours.

We didn’t buy it.

@FTMF30 I was going to say the exact same thing! It’s not like “live laugh love” signs come with the house and it’s written into the deeds that you must keep them up if you buy it?!

Being overlooked
galley kitchen
noisy neighbours
unkempt road
lack of parking
lack of light internally
no downstairs toilet
downstairs bathroom
crime stats

Concrete instead of a front garden
Grey kitchen
Tiny box showers
Flooring which looks nothing like natural wood
Dark paint or wallpaper - time and expensive to sort out
Calling a single bedroom a double
Stuff everywhere
Electric/gas fires

@yoikes - forgot about the coloured glass in pvc windows - not good!

All interesting thoughts. But what about a house that's been lived in for 20 years by elderly people? We're just putting DMIL's house on the market as she now needs full on care and will never be able to live independently again. The ILs refurbed 25 years ago for their tastes and expectations, and it's now tired decoratively. But it's clean and tidy, everything works, and it's in a very sought after area, close to a beach, a station and shopping centre. There's tennis and golf within a few minutes walk. We live a long way away so are not planning to do more than clear it out.