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?

see I just don't get this. That is like being put off by someone's choice of curtains. They are going, you put your own stuff in. Same with garden, really?

This. I'm only wary of dubious title issues (a beautiful house we almost bought last year in a Georgian terrace of four which had a shared parking area in front, turned out to be a legal nightmare, so we discounted another house we saw recently because the vendors haven't established legal title to a carport area outside their front gate which they've used for years -- no other parking).

Also access issues. I fell in love with a gorgeous Victorian house up a steep, single-track lane from the main road, but it needed a lot of work, and it wouldn't have been possible to get any machines up the lane (which even has a special rubbish collection lorry), so builders would have had to ferry materials up and down from the main road in a wheelbarrow!

As regards the house itself, I can look past decor, but things like small windows, lack of light, being very overlooked, or oddities of layout like the kitchen being on a different floor to the sitting room are problematic for me.

I also prefer a house to be inhabitable for at least several months while I decide what I'd like to change in it, even if I then move out while those changes are carried out.

I think you may regret that. When my MIL died, we cleared her house out and put it on the market. It was in a pretty good condition, new central heating, pretty good windows/doors, pretty good kitchen, etc, but carpets and decoration were looking tired. We just got a couple of cheeky low offers. So we decided to "do it up", and ended up spending £17.5k on it for new carpets throughout, decorated throughout (in and out), cheap new kitchen - we basically "beiged-it". Got £50k more than the initial cheeky offers when we put it back on the market, so we made a £32.5k extra profit just by freshening it up and making it a blank canvas.

It might depend on the local market. I'd be fine with walls painted and new carpets (although I wouldn't pay a premium for them) but I wouldn't want to pay for a cheap new kitchen installed by someone else, unless it was previously unmortgageable.

We've been to view two properties a couple of doors away from each other. One has been done to sell and is a sea of grey; cheap carpets and kitchen. I've no idea about the electrics and plumbing but I would worry that it was a cosmetic update only based on the poor finish etc and I reckon that's why it hasn't sold. It's priced highly but doesn't warrant the price. The one a few doors down is completely unrenovated, utterly fugly but honest. I know what I'm buying. I'd rather that.

Driveway or good parking.
Decent size and nice garden wouldn't want to move in and have to give the garden a big overhaul.
Modern kitchen
Nice bathroom
Not bothered about the rest

I think how you feel about it depends entirely at what stage you are in your life @tentative3. I’m like you which is why I see opportunity, not money pit. We’re downsizing so there should be plenty of money to sort out a doer upper.

If we were a young family and the house was at the top of the budget I’d want something that didn’t need work. Partly for financial reasons and partly because I wouldn’t want all the upheaval of replacing a kitchen with small children around.

It’s horses for courses.

Yes I think you're probably right. Stage of life and possibly also personality - OH and I bought our current house thinking we'd enjoy not doing anything to it but turns out we've hated it and can't wait to get our hands on something else!

Pet smells being dogs or indoor cats with litter trays

I don't find faux scents too bad unless it clearly is to mask something rather than a family who have a viewing in an hour and it's a quick light of a low scent candle, if that makes sense

I can see past awful colours or decor choices unless it'd cost an arm and a leg to change (kitchens etc over paint jobs) but poor light, musty smells, obvious need of a lot of work doing if at high end of our budget etc. Would put me off.

Also bad smells nearby like down the road or close of sewage or bins overflowing, rough looking gangs near the house etc.

Large trees in neighbouring properties which shed leaves and sap all year round.

Houses with difficult, sloping drives, hilly gardens on several levels. No pavements or street lights in the road. No local shops or facilities, meaning you have to drive everywhere.

Houses that are very close to pubs, schools, motorways, busy roads

I'll also add: If it's on a main or busy road, if theres no pavements and if the surrounding houses aren't well kept.

Some things have changed over the years: ie, this house had one bathroom when we moved in and wanting a second didn't even cross my mind. Now we have a family bathroom, an en-suite and a wc downstairs and the next house will need the same. I've never liked the idea of the bathroom being off the kitchen though, especially if it's the only one.
Other things that have always been important: sunny garden, not overlooked (as much as possible).
Any unfinished projects - an unfinished job to me is the same as something that hasn't been touched for 40 years, because I'll likely get someone in to start again, but whoever has put the work in/spent money so far will probably not see it like that.
I like older houses so damp has never been a 'no go' for me. I would just get a survey and factor in costs accordingly.