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Original poster

Your deal-breakers

58 replies

RunningThrough · 30/10/2020 07:56

I wondered if everyone has similar deal breakers when it comes to buying property?

DH says I'm pretty fussy, and hardly any property would ever sell if they were as picky as me but I think they're standard!

My deal breakers (as in, I wouldn't offer or I would pull out if any of these were found):

  • Flood risk
  • Leasehold
  • Neighbour dispute
  • Listed
  • Management Company
  • Any 'shared' aspect like shared drive
  • Damp
  • Unadoped road
  • Subsidence

Probably more I can't think of!

What are your red flags?

OP posts:
HappyDinosaur · 30/10/2020 08:04

For me subsidence and flood risk are the major ones. This time we also really wanted to feel the whole house was ours so only considered anything detached.

movingagain20 · 30/10/2020 08:26

Yes everything you list. Also if a house only had one toilet, absolutely no go for me.

ChocoTrio · 30/10/2020 08:29

There’s always trade offs and compromises.

@RunningThrough is house orientation a thing for you? Some people can be picky about specifying south or west facing gardens, which are rarer on the market and generally snapped up quickest too.

SocialBees · 30/10/2020 08:32

I don't think your list is unreasonable at all, especially in a buyer's market. When we were house hunting DH's main requirement was 'quiet' which is quite a challenge in London!

MrsJamin · 30/10/2020 08:36

I don't understand that one @movingagain20, you can always put another loo in but you can't change anything in the OP's list.

ChocoTrio · 30/10/2020 08:38

@RunningThrough

Regarding ‘Neighbour Dispute’ I’ve never been in the position of anything coming to light.

Just curious as a devil’s advocate. What if the cause of the Neighbour Dispute was the vendor themselves? Say if the vendor had noise complaints against them. Surely that would matter less because the vendor would be leaving by way of the house sale... no?

Original poster
RunningThrough · 30/10/2020 08:39

It hadn't occured to me before lurking these boards but now I always check orientation, but it wouldn't be a dealbreaker if everything else was perfect though!

Yes detatched and more than one toilet is a must for me too, as well as parking for at least 2 cars and a garage but some of my 'musts' like toilets etc. could be added after purchasing.

OP posts:
Original poster
RunningThrough · 30/10/2020 08:41

[quote ChocoTrio]@RunningThrough

Regarding ‘Neighbour Dispute’ I’ve never been in the position of anything coming to light.

Just curious as a devil’s advocate. What if the cause of the Neighbour Dispute was the vendor themselves? Say if the vendor had noise complaints against them. Surely that would matter less because the vendor would be leaving by way of the house sale... no?[/quote]
I'm thinking of the property information form, I don't know of you would have to declare complaints against yourself there, only complaints you've made against another?

OP posts:
SilenceOfThePrams · 30/10/2020 08:45

Flood risk, subsidence, and recent neighbour dispute (ie with the same neighbours currently living there) would be my no most.

Leasehold fine personally as long as it’s a decent length and not one of the dodgy ones with doubling ground rent.

Damp is fixable, but I’d want that reflected in the price.

The rest wouldn’t bother me particularly. Oh, but one thing that would is restrictive covenants stopping me doing quite ordinary things like parking a caravan on the drive, putting a shed in the garden, having a decent fence/wall on the boundary. Also, public footpath running through my garden would be a no no.

Persipan · 30/10/2020 08:55

My list of deal-breakers is probably wildly different to most people's. I would (and have) happily buy a property with no central heating, for example (and not with any desperate need to fit it instantly). I don't have a car so I don't care about parking, at all. I don't care about gardens; I would almost rather not have one so I don't have to bother about it.

I would really struggle, though, to buy somewhere that had very small rooms; I've got used to having a whacking great bedroom and don't particularly want to go back. Generally I much prefer older properties to modern ones. There are definitely some properties where I wouldn't be able to get over the beautiful old original windows being replaced with horrible uPVC.

Because of not having a car, I need to be near transport links and shops - and to be honest, I find suburbs a bit creepy anyway. I like to be right in the middle of things, as far as possible.

And overall lots of homes are... fine, I guess, but I find them boring. The weird ones do it for me. I am the person who would buy that place you look at the listing for and think 'Who on earth would want that?' Well, I would. It's me!

catwithflowers · 30/10/2020 08:55

Most of those apart from the listed property. I would also add a small garden would be a no for me and also a north facing garden, regardless of size. Also anywhere where there is a noticeable amount of road noise.

movingagain20 · 30/10/2020 08:55

@MrsJamin I agree with everything on the OP's list, its just I add this too, it's not always possible to put in an additional toilet and as buyers very early on on the ladder we've never had the cash to do work on a property at the start, we'd need to live in it a while first and save and I wouldn't live in a house with 1 toilet, so as I say, no go for me.

VictoriaBun · 30/10/2020 08:57

I live in Cumbria and in the past years there has been some major flooding , so I'd always check that out.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 30/10/2020 09:03

Arsehole neighbours.
Many other things can be fixed, or easily managed with sensible, pleasant neighbours, but arsehole neighbours are a total no.

We pulled out of a purchase once because the neighbours were such utter twats (there was an unresolved issue and they were being 100% unreasonable). We had an arsehole neighbour move in at one point and he caused us massive stress. Friends have an arsehole neighbour who goes out of her way to cause hassle.

I'll do damp, listed, right on the street, north-facing garden, no central heating, flying freehold, only one habitable room, but will not knowingly move in next door to an arsehole.

Obviously if one moves in once you're settled you have to suck it up, but I never want to deal with arseholes next door again.

I'd also avoid like the plague anything with dodgy consents, because that is basically unlimited liability and nobody in their right mind signs up for that.

nnnnumpty · 30/10/2020 09:22

Flood risk
Leasehold
Neighbour dispute / boundary issues
Shared anything
Right of access by 3rd party
Rights of way
Awkward covenants ( some are fine some are not)
Really trashy neighbouring property ( junk / poorly maintained house / garden )
Power cables overhead
Close proximity to railway line / motorway / airport
Under busy flight path
Very busy road / loud immediate area
Very close proximity to school, pub, local shop, etc because of people parking
Listed building
Beams that could not be covered up
Not a loo on every floor / No room to put in extra loos
Bathroom without a bath/ no room to put in a bath
Lack of privacy
Business within a close proximity that had multiple vehicle movement per day

A property that is "finished" but not to my taste yet I'm paying for that finish ie large ugly but newish brick drive that would be expensive to replace , but I would hate to live with
( I prefer unfinished that I can finish myself )

Probably left some off !

UnconsideredTrifles · 30/10/2020 09:48

I vetoed the perfect house earlier this year because it was next to a disreputable chicken farm and within sight of a power station. My DH still hasn't forgiven me!

MrsTWH · 30/10/2020 09:53

My red flags are subsidence, flood risk, damp. Anything majorly structural. Also we would now only ever buy a detached freehold house.

The rest of your list wouldn’t bother me too much, OP. It would depend what the neighbour dispute is.

Our current house is on an unadopted road and the estate has a management company. It doesn’t bother me at all, and it’s been a great place to live. So possibly you might be cutting down your options unnecessarily?

ChocoTrio · 30/10/2020 10:07

@nnnnumpty

“Close proximity to railway line / motorway / airport”

How close is too close proximity? We chose our new build development because of good transport links into the city; station is within walking distance from the estate but far enough away that it’s not on our doorstep either.

Close but not too close proximity is not only convenient, it also helps your property hold its value and the economic health of your area.

www.struttandparker.com/knowledge-and-research/how-new-transport-infrastructure-affects-property-prices-and-saleability

“Improvements in local transport infrastructure are generally seen as a good thing, both for the economic prosperity of an area and property prices. But having great access to a train station with a quick connection into the city is very different from having a new railway, road or airport built at the end of your garden.”

Everyone is different. There are some points on your list that others would consider a ‘desirable’ or ‘essential’ aspect of a house.

LooseMooseHoose · 30/10/2020 10:20

I think your list is a very good starter for avoiding potential financial screw ups in the future. Although listed wouldn't necessarily bother me, depending on the situation. It would be a downside, but not necessarily a deal breaker.

In fact, I think management companies should be on more people's deal breaker list. They are dressed up as "oh it's only to keep the area nice where the council won't adopt the play park / green bits", but the powers they often have hidden in the contracts are potentially very damaging to homeowners (who often think because they bought a freehold house that they are safe)

ramblingsonthego · 30/10/2020 10:22

@RunningThrough

We have had to declare a neighbour dispute even though the tenant that caused it no longer lives there. It was a noise issue. They moved out in June and its been fine since. Why would that still make you pull out?

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 30/10/2020 10:34

I quite like being near a pub... It's noisy sometimes, but very convenient Wink

nnnnumpty · 30/10/2020 11:19

@ChocoTrio
Sorry I meant very close proximity , where the traffic and parking would make it an issue , currently about 1/4 of a mile to a station and that's great but wouldn't want to be 2 or 3 properties away .
The local pub is very close and can be noisy and cause extra traffic and subsequent parking problems , when we move it would be something that we would not want again

Yes I agree that one persons wish list would be another persons deal breaker

ChocoTrio · 30/10/2020 11:20

@nnnnumpty

And out wish lists and deal breakers are all informed by our experiences (or, for the naive, inexperiences).

woodlandwalker · 30/10/2020 11:23

I find it amazing that detached, a garage and a driveway for at least 2 cars is considered essential. Where I live that would cost well over 1M and where I moved from is virtually non-existent, despite it being a more expensive area.
I was viewing flats with a first time buyer friend and her priorities were own garden (hence limited number of possible places), near station for commuting, high ceilings (hence period properties only), preferably not living room and kitchen in one (which is very common now).
I think people's priorities must vary a lot depending on whether they have an average or very high income and mostly by whereabouts in the country they are.

nnnnumpty · 30/10/2020 11:27

@ChocoTrio

When I wrote my list I was actually thinking of a property I know well that has a motorway at the end of the garden together with a mainline railway ,HS1 and under a major flight path , the actual railway station, motorway junction and airport are all quite distant so do not benefit the property, it's constant noise 24/7 even through triple glazing , you couldn't pay me to live there