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Original poster

Property you hate

28 replies

housethatbuiltme · 27/09/2024 09:17

Can I ask has anyone 'fallen in love' with a property they hated on the listing?

We have been looking forever and had 2 houses fall through now, we are getting pretty desperate but a house just hit the market that 'technically' ticks ALL our boxes and doesn't even 'need' any building work doing by the looks of it... except we just hate it.

Its in a cul-de-sac at the very bottom of one of those mass built 1960s maze estates (no other access than driving the connecting streets that look like they go on forever) and it feel quite brutalist with its square boxy design, weird floor length 60s window, orange brick work, surrounded by identical clone houses in a 'box' formation etc... vs. all the beautiful Victorian/Edwardian sandstone and red brick terraces, with their original features like corbels, roses and stained glass etc... on just normal roads we have looked at previous.

We are trying to book a viewing (its with the worst EA though so that alone is like pulling hens teeth) but whats the chance we will like it more in person that we do online as its currently the only option ticking necessary boxes.

OP posts:
OneDayIWillLearn · 27/09/2024 13:44

1960s houses can be lovely and very cool, to me they are the new Victorian/ Edwardian and are basically period houses waiting to be recognised as such. Look on The Modern House estate agent for some ideas of how great they can look when done sympathetically! I’d love a full length window.

To answer your actual question though the house we have just bought was a bit like that. I hadn’t actually seen a proper listing because it wasn’t on the market but we’d seen a few photos of the outside and both me and my OH thought we wouldn’t like it (but viewed because of a family connection to the house). But when we looked around we loved it.

I’m not sure if you’ll change your view on the estate but you might be able to change your view of 1960s houses - I know I’m
not the only one on here that loves houses from this era either so hunt around the threads and you might find more!

MissyB1 · 27/09/2024 13:47

I love 60s houses, my sister bought one last year, I'm jealous!

Uncooperativefingers · 27/09/2024 13:50

My dad refused to look at what ended up being my childhood home for months until my mum convinced him (and that was only because they'd exhausted all other available options: they were looking for a period house, which this was but Dad thought it was ugly)

38 years later, they're still in the house and it's my Dad's pride and joy. He absolutely loves the place.

RestlessDollyMaunder · 27/09/2024 13:51

I live in a Georgian house now but DH, DD and I spent a happy decade in a 1970s semi.

It was full of light and we made it beautiful inside.

BigDahliaFan · 27/09/2024 13:51

Those 60s houses can be unexpectedly light inside - focus on location and size - anything else you can make your own.

Isitanamelanchieroraplum · 27/09/2024 13:53

The house we bought last year we almost cancelled the viewing because we knew we wouldn't like it. But we did and put an offer in the same day. We are now really happy here.

We thought we didn't like it because the bathroom was downstairs and it looked like next door was a nursery. In reality the bathroom is fine and the nursery is just the garden of an adorable nine year old who has a whole section dedicated to her play!

SomewhereAround · 27/09/2024 13:57

Go and see it. I dismissed our current (Victorian) house because the feature in the local paper's property supplement did such a bad job of selling it, and the photos were monumentally ugly.

MiddleAgedDread · 27/09/2024 14:00

Do not under-estimate the benefits of living at the end of a cul-de-sac with no through traffic and 60's houses tend to have big boxy rooms which are great compared to older housing with alcoves and chimney breasts etc.

Saisong · 27/09/2024 14:02

We dropped in to an open house on a 30s property that was vaguely in the area we were looking. It was in serious need of renovation, was one of those worse houses on best street type places. We didn't bother making an appointment as we'd pretty much discounted it, but as we were passing decided to look. Ended up we loved the place and were seriously considering an offer, sadly it was snapped up immediately by someone who was cash proceedable. So we didn't buy it, but would have if given the chance.

Seaside3 · 27/09/2024 14:11

Our last house. We hadn't even considered it, but the estate agent who showed us around some others recommended we viewed it. And we really liked it. It was a 70s house, great sized rooms, light, average garden, parking.
So whilst we didn't hate it, we would never have looked if it weren't fir such a good agent.

Flubadubba · 27/09/2024 14:27

I would not have chosen the house we live in from the RightMove listing. It was one my husband insisted on seeing due to location. It needed more work than I wanted to do, but within 5 mins we both loved it and still.do.

Ftctvycdul · 27/09/2024 14:39

We’re in a similar position to you as we have been looking forever and had 2 houses fall through so we are desperate. We’ve just had an offer expected on a ‘it’ll do’ house. I’m able to make peace with it as our 5 year old has just started school and needs stability, plus the mortgage is significantly cheaper than renting.

Tupster · 27/09/2024 14:56

Honestly I think if you try and make yourself love something just because you are desperate (in any aspect of your life) it rarely ends well. Definitely go and see it because it'll help clarify how you feel, but surely one of your "boxes" you need ticking is that you actually like the house. If that box isn't ticked, then it's not for you.

Jessieshome · 27/09/2024 15:12

We recently moved house. The first couple we loved fell through and we were about to settle on a similar property to the ones we loved but on a much darker end of the street with lots of cosmetic work needed, and was filthy, it had been lived in by filthy hoarders but it was basically the same house as the ones we loved. However, our lovely estate agent told us about a house that had come on the market which I had dismissed as it looked really pokey and awkward online. We went to see it and the whole family fell in love instantly, it was our favourite of all the houses we'd seen and cheaper!

I'm now happier than I have been in a decade.

Don't trust online pictures or google maps alone, it could be lovely in reality.

I'm not sure if you have children with you, but cul-de-sacs are great for families and those 60's/70's housing estates often have a lovely feel to them and have wide pavements, and front and back gardens? Where as Victorian/Edwardian terraced houses are often on busy fast roads with no front garden or driveway (depending on budget and location of course)?

Original poster
housethatbuiltme · 27/09/2024 15:21

Ftctvycdul · 27/09/2024 14:39

We’re in a similar position to you as we have been looking forever and had 2 houses fall through so we are desperate. We’ve just had an offer expected on a ‘it’ll do’ house. I’m able to make peace with it as our 5 year old has just started school and needs stability, plus the mortgage is significantly cheaper than renting.

Yep, we where hoping to be in before the school year (well we hoped to be in by summer to use the garden but there was delays) but got told at the start of the 6 weeks holiday the seller was no longer able to proceed.

OP posts:
Original poster
housethatbuiltme · 27/09/2024 15:28

Thanks everyone.

The irony is both me and DH lived in these types of houses growing up and loved our childhoods so I don't know why its thrown us so much.

In theory I know its probably great for the kids, out the back is parking for all the people that live in the cul-de-sac so should be easy to park and as its the end out the front is woods and a cycle trail that lead to the park so no traffic.

We are going to see it this weekend so I guess we see if its different in person.

OP posts:
Speaka · 27/09/2024 15:32

We went to view a 1960s house, I could see the potential, but my DH hated the idea- he said anything in a 1960s style reminded him of his grandmother! However, we were both bowled over by the house, and were really upset when we ended up missing out on it. I think 1960s houses are currently a bit under valued, although people do seem to be gradually clocking on that they are generally well built, full of light, with big rooms, and with a layout more conducive to family living (not with the tiny kitchens and minuscule 3rd bedrooms of most 1930s houses for example). Tastes change- remember in the 1960s people hated Victorian houses and were desperate to pull them down! Good midcentury design is definitely having a renaissance, look at the premium added to asking prices for flats in the Barbican. If your aesthetic is more Victorian/Edwardian you'd probably end up having to rethink your style a bit, but that's not the end of the world, and generally the rooms are bigger in 1960s houses anyway. Have a look at the West Elm website, they specialise in furniture with a bit of a mid century feel, lots of clean lines and curves. I could happily have fun kitting out a 1960s house from West Elm, and I say this as someone whose dream home would be a Georgian townhouse!

Gotosleep91 · 27/09/2024 20:33

I had ruled out the house we are in now (and I love) - we only went to view it because we were viewing two others on the same street so I thought, why not?!

Definitely go and view. You never know!

PepsiMaxi · 27/09/2024 20:36

My sister lives in a fabulous 60s house.It's very light and airy. I do quite like brutalist architecture though. I'm not a fan of Victorian houses.

VoteLabour · 27/09/2024 20:39

I love 1960s architecture. I don't like the 1980s style or the current looks.

The Modern House | Selling the UK’s most inspiring living spaces

TemuSpecialBuy · 27/09/2024 20:50

I refused to view our house for 3 months because it looked like a total POS.

ill be honest when I viewed I thought it was less crap but still not amazing.

butttt when we went through the list of actual things we wanted
location
bedrooms
downstairs space
room sizes
utility
off road parking
garden

it ticked them all.

we bought it and by year 2 I loved it.

Original poster
housethatbuiltme · 28/09/2024 11:43

Well we viewed it and I still don't love it.

EA was giving the big sell of all the viewings they have had and that there already multiple offers, saying we should get an offer in straight away if we want to be in with a chance. Not sure if they are making it up though (they are the dodgiest EA around who use underhanded practices).

If anything viewing made it seem worse though. it is actually at the bottom of a VERY steep hill and as a maze estate with no through roads to anywhere no busses run down into the maze of house. So although it looks close on the map and I assumed it was flat like the town it is actually like 100+ really steep steps just to get up to the town.

OP posts:
MiddleAgedDread · 28/09/2024 15:47

Being at the bottom of a really steep hill would rule it out for me, it significantly increases your risk of flooding.

LittleGreenDuck · 28/09/2024 16:36

Ah well, at least you know.

We left the viewing of our last house looking at each other with a definite shake of our heads. Nope nope nope. It was a 1950s semi which had been beautifully decorated in about 1975 and not touched since. Once we got home we had a chat and thought about how it was a solid house, big rooms, great location and lovely south facing garden. We put in a stupidly low offer and it was accepted. We brought it kicking and screaming into the 21st century and were there for 12 happy years until we outgrew it.

Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/09/2024 18:38

Not me but my husband - our current home had been on the market for months, I'd sent him the link loads of times but he refused to see it.

The second house we had tried to buy fell through and I finally twisted his arm. I could tell by how quiet he went as soon as we got through the front door he liked it and then he was asking me what the highest amount we were prepared to offer when we are looking round the garden. After we moved he'd determined what had put him off - on the listing photo the hedge was really overgrown so made the house look much narrower than it is in person. Really need to see before you decide!