What are/were your dealbreakers when looking for a house to buy?

[YaffleYaffle]

We are would-be FTBs and after a few viewings are getting a better idea of what we need and want to avoid, but still figuring it out. So would love to know what you did/didn’t want in particular.

So far ours are:
Garage
Space for a dishwasher
Bath not just a shower
Must be able to sit opposite the TV in the living room and not have to position it at a weird angle due to doors/stairs/etc
Not too close to a busy road

What are/were yours?

I'm surprised so many want garages, I would dearly love ours to be razed from the ground but unfortunately DH won't hear of it

Storage
Kitchen size incl storage / cupboard space/worktop space for cooking and prep
Garden

I compromised on:
Steel frame construction
No third bedroom/home office
North-facing garden (it gets a surprising amount of sun, considering)

It’s also in the catchment area for a good primary school and an excellent secondary school.

A driveway in front of house for off street parking and no issues with street parking for visitors.
South facing garden.
Garage or similar to put gym in.
Downstairs toilet.
Not on main road.
Within 30 min walk of station

Within walking distance of public transport into the city
close to family
good sized garden
proper hall - don’t want to have to walk though living room to get to kitchen
downstairs loo
not on main road
aesthetically pleasing

Would never buy a house with a north facing garden but that's my only absolute dealbreaker.

Strong preferences: quiet road, kitchen/diner, not open plan, no stupid bodged loft conversion, no cheapo conservatory.

Oh also I forgot living room backing on to garden rather than kitchen.

Safe, quiet location (visited the street in rush hour and on Saturday night)
Garden south or west facing
Not too overlooked
Parking bays or driveways/garage
Walking distance to decent public transport
Amenities (shops, bars, GP etc) within a 15 minute walk
2nd toilet or bathroom

We weren't as concerned about layout etc inside as long as it had right number of rooms. But the things on our criteria list were mainly things we wouldn't have any ability to change.

I really need the storage space. I can’t create a storage wall in any room due to the doors and or windows being in the way. No understairs space either - it’s a bungalow.

One day, I hope to convert the garage into an extra room. I have no car, but several ideas for the garage - extra bedroom, home office, hobby room, play room, home gym…

I meant to quote the post asking why people want a garage.

To charge my EV.

Detached
South facing garden (have north facing now and HATE it - especially at this time of year)
Min 4 bedrooms
Walking distance to pub, school, shop & train/tram station
Cull de sac/quiet road
Not overlooked

En suite and downstairs toilet
A double drive that fits cars next to each other rather than behind each other
utility room
not directly onto a main road
hallway off the front door
garage attached to house with a door in between
main bedroom must fit a super king bed
downstairs must not be open plan (burnt before with the washing machine ruining a good movie and everything smelling of dinner!)

Detached / semi
Garage
Drive
En suite
Lots of kitchen cupboards
Near good schools
4 bed
Downstairs toilet

We like having half the garage as a gym and the other half DH likes to use to arrange tools and workbenches that he will never use.

I didn't have a huge budget so had to be flexible with my criteria.
3 bedrooms
A hallway
Side access to garden
Walking distance to shops
Parking of some description

Nice to haves
2 loos
Utility room
Plumbing for dishwasher.

I managed to get them all.

A double drive that fits cars next to each other rather than behind each other

I wish we had one like this, ours is very long and easily fits the caravan and two cars but I always park out the front or else it is a pain to be the car parked behind, we can't use either car for a lot of things as DH uses a large car for fishing and stuff like that and I just use a small car for shopping and there is generally a boot full of crap in his car

4 double bedrooms
Space for an office
Flat garden big enough for kids to play
Kitchen big enough for an island
Area for dining table
A room for a toy free lounge
A playroom
A utility room
Detached
Bath and shower in family bathroom (or at least the space for both)
Ensuite off master bedroom
Downstairs toilet
No new build, high ceilings.

what we wanted has varied a lot over the years. It has also varied according to what we could realistically afford. For this house:

quiet road
walking distance decent primary school
space to make a proper home office (dh works from home with occasional anti-social hours) so needs a room with closed door.
enough rooms for kids to have one each
decent sized garden
parking
ensuite for master bed
bath and shower
garage (bike mainly, plus dh tools - serious DIY man)
living room not long and thin but decent sized squarish (we often have people here/meetings)
extra reception room (eg dining room/den) as well as home office and lounge

and most important -
*table in the kitchen (not breakfast bar) Happy to have kitchen-diner if there is a big separate lounge.
*utility room where you can hang washing to dry
*downstairs loo (we often have people here)

We need to house a motorbike, the bikes and a number of small vehicles of DC.

Garden facing South or South West
No flooding
Off road parking
Amenities within walking distance

Garage (for DPs bike and tools)
4 bedrooms
Downstairs/2nd loo
Not open plan living (fine with small kids, increasingly annoying as they get bigger)
No new(ish) builds (everything near us has small rooms and insufficient storage space)
No townhouses with living areas on separate floors (been there, done that, never again)
Good school catchment
Walking distance to a shop (lifesaver when our car was written off and during lockdowns)
Good access to public transport

Not ftb but needed 3 double bedrooms, 2 reception rooms and a bath, or room for one. Close to good public transport.

Absolute noes were open plan, stairs in the living room and anything carrying a premium for being cheaply tarted up.

We also ruled out townhouses - they tended not to meet the reception room requirement, anyhow.

Space for a dishwasher
Bath not just a shower

Scratch those; both can be changed.

The important dealbreakers are issues which no owner of that property can ever change or control.

Location, aspect, views and outlook, parking have to be right.

Distance to source of smells (kitchens, brewery, chemicals, fumes, smoke ), noise (pub, bar, school, emergency services base, livestock, busy junction, bottle bank, commercial premises which operate 24/7, busy bus stop/ road junction/ traffic lights.
Proximity of waterways, (flood risk) neighbours large trees, higher buildings (shade, lack of privacy, threat to foundations).
Hill ? ( think ice, gritting /snow clearance in winter heavy trucks changing gear,)
Valley? (think storm drainage/flood)

Local Plan. What's in the pipeline that would affect the property?