Has the presentation of a house ever influenced your decision to buy?

[OneDayIWillLearn]

Like do you reflect on the way a house you bought was presented and think: ‘yes that detail really made me know I wanted it when we viewed’

Or conversely, can you think of something about how a house was presented that you thought you’d like from the particulars that just totally turned you off/ gave you the ick to the extent you didn’t offer?

I’m talking about presentation rather than things fundamental to the house or location itself.

no because both our properties have been 'doer uppers' so we didn't care what it looked like.

@Billydavey yes I’ve been on a few of those threads!! Maybe that’s partly why I’m in such a tizz about this, I keep imagining the comments I’d get 😂. My husband (who is blissfully unaware of such threads) is much more blase and ‘no one’s not going to buy a house because of the duvet cover’ about it all.

but it’s interesting isn’t it as the balance on those threads is often towards ‘you’re presenting it all wrong’ (plus price of course!) whereas most people see themselves as not influenced by presentation. I guess that’s why I was asking if people had particular examples of where the presentation had influenced them one way or another, rather than whether they think of themselves as being a certain way.

But then I guess it is hard to pin down how your subconscious is working and many of us must be more influenced than we like to think by things we believe we are not influenced by…

I have to say I have found all these comments fascinating though, especially the examples of why certain things clinched house for people!

This is hilarious 😂

I am enormously affected by it, and have to work quite hard to look past it. We nearly bought an immaculate house last year, and now looking back it was largely because of their lovely furniture and artwork 😳

There is also a rational side to this - someone that loves their house and cares for it will normally be more likely to have looked after it properly. A ratty unkempt house is more likely to have horrors that previous owners either couldn't be bothered to fix, or could afford to. I do appreciate of course this isn't always the case before everyone shouts at me, but it is more likely!

This is so touching. It does sound lovely! Did you buy it?

Its location location location for a reason: that's the one unchangeable thing.

We've bought and sold several times and it doesn't bother me a bit if things aren't presented exactly how I'd like them, I am interested in the potential. In fact it's actively put me off a few properties which are done up to the nines and dressed for viewings... I'm not interested in whether the current owners have gone overboard trying to make it all look 'perfect' or whether the decor is a bit tired or whether their spare bedroom is full of boxes. Those things can all be changed.

I walked away from two that were good houses but the presentation was too bad: one stank of dog wee and the other was just filthy.

I think we’re all influenced by presentation, by advertising, by all the things that deep down we think we’re somehow “better” than being influenced by.

it can be subconscious. And it can be hard to admit to being susceptible to.

when house hunting of course I was influenced by the presentation to some degree. If a house looked like I could see myself living there it made me less critical of things compared to those houses that didn’t.

we looked at a lot of houses when house hunting. Dirty and messy houses did put me off, as there was a suspicion of them being not cared for. However the colour of the walls, amount of things on work surfaces in the kitchen, smell of coffee, strategically placed flowers, plants and cushions never did it for me. Tbh staging would rather get me suspicious- what are they hiding? Because I want to see size of rooms, height of ceilings, how old and big are windows, boiler certificate, electrics certificates etc etc I don’t care about pictures and vases.
My favourite houses are empty or nearly empty. All 3 houses we put and offer for were not staged: one was just tidy, one was empty, and one was needing a lot of work.

We were in area where house would get 10 bids after open weekend, so it isn't like we could easily walk out of the house because we didn't like the look of duvet cover.

The layout of the house affected decision more massively. We turned down some houses that estate agents showed before making sale public - including spacious house with dreamy kitchen and range cooker with no loft conversion potential.

I rejected a house that was too perfect. It looked like an article from Country Living but I thought it was over-priced, and it was just too perfect. The thought of having to live up to it made me tired 😀

I couldn't imagine living there.

We made an offer than afternoon. It was irresistible. Like stepping into a memory.

We made an offer than afternoon. It was irresistible. Like stepping into a memory.

No but I’ve sold a house that was well presented and dressed and got 45 viewings over one weekend and 6 offers so it definitely does work.

We seem to be ridiculously practical - price,location and amenities inc school catchments, bedrooms two toilets - ideally a kitchen dinner then tend to have a list of only a few houses and once looking round only one option.

When we were selling people did citric the furniture that was clearly coming with us or wall colours which they were planning to paint immediately.

I think decor being clean and neat suggest no underlying maintenance issues and rooms and garden can be made to feel bigger with less clutter - so there may be subconscious stuff going on.

I would prefer to buy a house with tired, dated kitchen or bathroom over one that had been recently done and was really not to my taste.

It would feel like such a waste to remove a bright red gloss newly done kitchen for example, but I probably couldn't live with it.

I don't mind painting or digging out weedy gardens. I don't care about your clutter or mismatched furniture. I'm after decent room proportions, reasonable kitchen workspaces, a hallway and a bath. I will go round and add up the little jobs. Replastering in one room or refixing one skirting board is fine, doing it in every room is not. Refixing one paving slab fine, whole driveway is not. But what really puts me off is cleanliness.

One house recently was ticking all the boxes but the dirty grime up the banisters, doors and light switches was making me rethink but what really tipped me over the edge were two diarrhoea brown handprints on the loft hatch. I asked if it was insulated up there to be told they had never been in the loft since they bought it 8 years ago. WHOSE FECKING HANDPRINTS WERE THEY?? Just grim vomit

Yes, that’s exactly my feeling too. Plus people often put a fresh coat of paint to cover mould (often advised on here) or borrowing garden gnomes and plants in pots from friends and relatives and then put up the price on the basis that the house looks so nice and cosy.
And my main pet hate is when they put a close photo of flowers in a vase on RM but none of the back garden or bathroom.

Our first house. We knocked on the door to express our interest after having seen it appear on rightmove the night before. The owners, rightfully so, refused to give us a viewing but informed the EAs of our interest. Whilst my MIL had a chat with them, I glimpse into the house and the owner's little boy was doing crafts at the dining table in the distance. At the point, I wanted the same for my future family and I had to buy that house. We hadn't even viewed the rest of it yet I wanted it. We did have many happy hours at our table in the same spot for years.

We looked at one house that was a creepy man cave. The bedroom had a built in bar, a mirror on the ceiling and polar bear shag rugs, I kid you not. It was a decent price in an amazing location and I just couldn't.

@pizzaHeart same here, I don't want to see a close up shot of a vase of flowers that frankly doesn't mean a shiny shit! I'm interested a) in whether the house is in a great location and b) whether it's the right size, has the potential to extend if wanted. Pretty much everything else in a house can be changed.

With our current home, we knew we couldn't afford a done up house on the nicer roads so we were viewing a lot of project houses and probate houses. Having viewed a few bungalows, when we got to ours, they had the loft ladders down ready for anyone to go up when they came to view. Plenty of room in the hallway round the ladder so you knew stairs weren't an issue and would eat too much into the space. It was sending out a not so subtle message that it was ripe for a loft conversion. When we went up the loft, my 6ft+ husband had a good clearance of height for himself and didn't duck whilst up in the loft. We offered the same day.

@BloodyAdultDC

if I liked the house, I could have bought it, then I'd have washed/tidied/sorted her things & put them in the loft. Done what I wanted to the house (with some tears for her) and if possible put one of her chairs and a couple of bits around as a nod to her (but I'm a very sentimental twat! )

@Bgfe

that's lovely. Maybe when I sell I can rent a child? 🤣

Ha - we’ve often bought smelly houses! It puts lots of people off, but its always been stinking old carpets, curtains, from pets and smoking.
As we’ve always been ripping everything out and often knocking down walls etc its worked in our favour. Have bought some real bargains over the years!