What's your number 1 top pet hate?

[HildaHosmede]

Just curious.

If you're house-hunting, what's the top thing that will make you stop looking at a listing and move on straight away?

For me, it's unequal bedroom sizes. We're looking at 4-beds and there are SO many that have one absolutely massive room, two decent sized doubles and one tiny box room. ARRGHH.

We have 3 dc and don't want to put one in a 7x6 box whilst the other two enjoy large double rooms. It's an absolute deal breaker for us and as soon as I see huge disparity in bedroom sizes it's 'FFS next' no matter how good the rest of the house is (unless the walls upstairs could be easily reconfigured which they usually can't).

Busy main road, railway line, shops or pub adjacent
Kitchens at the front of the house
Massive rear extension leaving only a tiny garden
Communal parking areas or shared driveway
Advertised as a 4 bed but one bedroom.is a garage conversion meaning there is limited storage or reception space

Bathrooms without windows
Houses without a corridor
House without a drive
Dont like too many en-suites
open plan

Oh dear. I have a door into my living room, downstairs only bathroom with no window, shared path with neighbour, no drive...

but it's an adorable cottage in a tiny village and I couldn't afford a bigger house! I never thought I could live with a downstairs bathroom and two bedroom so small that I can't move the bed around, but - here I am, I just fell for the place.

For me my pet hate is little narrow rooms, box room or study, and gardens that have been so 'built over' with extensions and conservatories that there's almost no garden left at all. I love my garden.

I find most houses for that last (I was going to say 20 years but the 80s were much longer ago than I remember) 30/40 years have essentially been one less room than mentioned. My mum has a 3 bed 30s semi and even the box room is adequate. Mine is a 3 bed detached from 89 and has a good size living room but god forbid you want to swing a cat anywhere else. Really pisses me off as this should be a big enough house but it simply isn't.

Pet hates
Driveway not at the front of the house or long and thin so inconvenient.

No downstairs toilet.

Not able to put a decorative table and mirror in the hallway due to size.

Kitchen long and thin so you have to turn or not stand opposite each other - no joyous cooking sessions.

I have all of these.

I’m guilty of some of these, but still don’t like them:

North facing garden
PVC front door
Laminate flooring. I prefer solid wood, carpet or tiles
Dark wood - kitchen, skirting
Huge islands in kitchen
Black/dark worktop
No bath
No parking/driveway

Astroturf.

No parking.
Driveways where your car is practically next to the neighbours car (this is the case with a lot of new builds). I like a fence or hedge between my house and the next.

Overlooked gardens.
Astroturf / paved gardens with no established plants.
On a busy main road.
Houses marketed as 3 or 4 beds but that extra bedroom is in fact a storage cupboard at best.
Artex ceilings / walls.

Houses so close they overlook the garden
Shared driveway
Having to walk through the lounge to get to the kitchen as no hallway
No drive, on street parking only

When the only bathroom is downstairs.

Tiny shower cubicles.
Bifold doors.
Open plan downstairs.
And a very niche one: terraced houses where the neighbours have a Ring doorbell. I'm fucking sick of the sound of the thing.

Tiny kitchens as opposed to kitchen diners.

Master bedrooms without enough space for multiple wardrobes.

Astro turf.

very tall trees very close to the property.
Pylons near the property.
Old kitchens. I don’t feel the need (or have the money) to buy a new one.
Stairs into the living room.
Open plan downstairs.

No entrance hallway so coming straight into the living room...... and normally that means stairs in the living area too.
Not only is it totally impractical as a family but also you lose so much heat.

When the only bathroom is downstairs.

Cold, damp, rarely used conservatories.

Open plan kitchen and living room.

Only one bathroom and no ability to add any more
overlooked
busy road
no off street parking
no garden
septic tank, no mains sewage
listed
thatched

I would scroll past any of the above

Conservatories
Hate them. Wouldn't even view a house with one.