Would you buy a house with brown upvc windows?

[Give0fecks]

As the title asks really - would you scroll straight past on Rightmove? Would it put you off buying? House has been renovated inside so not being sold as a doer upper.

I actually don’t mind them and vastly prefer it to the horrid on trend grey that everyone has but I’m interested in whether it would affect others viewing or buying.

@Heyhoherewegoagain have you heard bad things about spray painting?

@Stormydayagain very intelligent reply. They are old for sure but we can’t afford to replace.

I would leave them. If people don’t like them they will think about getting them changed.

I don’t think people are as picky in real life. You need a house in the right area for the right price. Brown windows are irrelevant.

I’m seriously considering an 80s house with brown pvc windows and even those criss cross bits to the front 😆
they are white inside which is key for me.
and it’s in keeping with the style of the house and the cul de sac so it would look weird to change it.
doesn’t really put my off as has loads of things going for it in terms of layout, garden, location etc.

I would consider getting them painted grey (professionally, unless you are very competent yourself). Sometimes small things can make a big difference to the overall impression, which really matters when you are selling a house.

What is wrong with brown UPVC?

I actually paid for the wood looking brown windows, I loved them, we had a previous problem with wood ones rotting and the plastic ones were great, no more worries and looked good

My parents have these, with leaded windows. House is red brick. Brown UPVC front and back doors. All of the internal doors, architraves, skirting boards etc are stained deep brown.

It is in keeping with the other houses on their late 1980s cul de sac, they’re all very well maimed and are very presentable.

But I don’t like them at all and wouldn’t buy a house with them. They’re just too dark for me. I don’t think the leading helps. To each their own, I’m sure my taste isn’t to many others’ too.

@ThinkingAgainAndAgain absolutely each to their own and I understand why people wouldn’t like them. But I’m really curious as to the mindset that you wouldn’t buy a house with them- if it was the right house couldn’t you just change them or have them painted?

I see on MN (which I assume is indicative of the wider population) a surprising attitude where people wouldn’t buy a house because of small changeable things and it really surprises me.

I would overlook a lot more than brown window frames for a house in the right place with the right amount of space for the right price. I think the people who say they wouldn't even view a house if the drive hadn't been jet washed are either unhinged or very wealthy (or want us to think they are, this is MN after all) - but then I think washing the external place where you store your car, is a bit nuts anyway so perhaps I am not the target market.

Don't get disheartened Op, I've never heard anyone in real life say they wouldn't view a house that hadn't had the drive jet washed, it's only on Mumsnet, that I read stuff like that and it's bonkers. Why would anyone pass up on a potentially great property just because the driveway looks a bit grubby, it's something that's so easy to fix. The things that most people agree that make a property sellable, is a tidy, uncluttered and clean house and of course a realistic price.

I’ve never liked brown windows but if most/all other boxes ticked it wouldn’t put me off. I would be wondering how old they were and if they were getting ready to be replaced though

Actually I think you have to be a little bit careful extrapolating MN to rest of population. For a start, most of the Rightmove slatings on here are really "fantasy house buys". These people may not even be in your target demographic/ budget band/location and it's also really easy to sit behind a computer screen and say "oh no I hate those windows" but in reality those people would probably just accept it if it meant being in a great school catchment, close to family, close to transport or other amenities, great garden etc. Every purchase is a compromise.

Like, say I can afford a 2 million pound house with an 8 metre square kitchen diner then it's really easy for me to say "kitchen way too small" on a 300k house but that's the reality of the 300k house and the 2 million pound house person is not your buyer. In RL they'd never even offer an opinion.

Mine are brown inside and out. Don't love them but the rest of the house is great so it doesn't bother me too much.

Happy to expand on my opinion given that you’ve asked! Of course things about a house can be changed. But I think (from those houses with brown upvc windows and leaded glass that I’ve seen) they’re part of a whole picture - my parents’ house is part of a small cul de sac where all the houses are in this style. If they changed them, their house would stick out like a sore thumb, and more attention would be drawn to it as it would look so different to the rest. So if that was a house I was considering buying, I wouldn’t buy and then change it. I would just look for a different house.

Ours are brown inside and out. I hate them, and the front door but they were already a bit old when we moved in eight years ago.
We are planning a loft conversion next year and we'll get the dormer in grey and a new front door and we'll get the rest of the windows and garage door painted to match, until either they fall apart or we can save up enough to replace them. We've already replaced the kitchen windows with french doors in anthracite grey (I love grey and always have done).

Depends on the house. My old house had brown windows and any other colour would have looked dreadful on it.

Similar to this - white versus brown - I think the brown looks better on that type of house than the white.

The inside of the brown upvc windows is often white, which would be more offputting, but the outside? No, not really. I might factor in the costs of changing it to something more appealing if it didn't look right though.

You could change the glass panes to plain ones quite easily and cheaply compared to replacing the entire window. DH had to get a small window replaced in his old house because the seal had blown and it cost less than £100.

The diamond pattern is what is most bothersome in your scenario - not the brown IMO!

I would buy a house with brown windows but my offer would factor in the cost of having them swapped for white ones. Paint wouldn’t change this, it’s crap and the house still needs new windows.

The colour wouldnt put me off but it would flag to me that there are possibly very old and might need replacing.

I don't like brown windows but it wouldn't put me off buying a house with them.

I could live with them for a while and then easily have them changed for something nicer.

No: with all the compromises one must make when buying a house, this is low down my list of priorities

It's a bit old fashioned but not a deal breaker for me

Wouldn't bother me at all.

If they were grey I'd have to factor in the price of getting them sprayed a different colour.

I hate brown windows, and if they're brown inside as well, that would be a dealbreaker for me, unless the price was such that I could have the windows changed straight away. I'm sorry, but brown frames inside is grim, to me. I can't live with that darkness.

Grey windows are tomorrow's brown windows, I reckon. I don't mind them, as long as they are not brown inside. That can make rooms look a bit dark.

I did. We are just about to have them spray painted. No big deal.

@Famfirst rustoluem upcoming paint. You need a dry day to do it though as it can't get wait between coats.