What would put you off a house...?

YoungBlueEyes · 5 March 2018 at 1:10PM

Some fab replies, stuff I didn’t think about! Garden all on one level for eg. I’d not buy a house with stairs in the living room, or all open plan. Kitchen sounds and smells should stay in the kitchen, a kitchen/diner is ok if it’s big enough. These ‘dinette’ jobbies (shelves with a small stool in front of them) are not for me.
Also I need a wee bit of a front garden, even just a few feet.

Comms69 · 5 March 2018 at 1:14PM

As long as the house is what I'm looking for - ie 3 bed, flat, detached/semi etc.

The key things are: neighbours, parking and local amenities.

pinklady21 · 5 March 2018 at 1:15PM

Anything noisy or stinky or that spoils the view:
Flight Paths.
Near Neighbours.
Electricity pylons or Wind farm in next field.
Trunk Roads or main railways lines adjacent or very nearby.
Sewage farm.
Large farm with cattle court or lots of pigs. (I like livestock, just don't want to live right next door to it....)

PokerPlayer111 · 5 March 2018 at 1:21PM

Im only concerned about stuff i cant change or stuff that is hard to change. So im looking for space and type of structure each time. Privacy is also good. Obviously anything unhealthy is a no no.

moneyistooshorttomention · 5 March 2018 at 1:32PM

Pretty much all the things that would put me off a house are to do with the neighbourhood. That is THE No. 1 priority to me in all respects:

- no chavvy neighbours if I can possibly help it (unfortunately one can't do anything about neighbours one discovers are chavvy after moving in. Duh - the state of their house should have been a clue:o)
- no flightpaths (- I don't fly myself)
- added "dogs that are kept outside and allowed to bark" since moving here
- no neighbouring properties with "problem" weeds (eg Japanese Knotweed)
- got to be on a quiet road (- I don't have a car myself)
- level of facilities nearby to be at least adequate compared to what I'm used to (preferably high level of facilities and very preferably a really high level of facilities and all one needs for everyday purposes a walk away). Yep....that clashes head-on with the likelihood post Tony Bliar (sic) as PM of being able to keep nearby green spaces green - rather than "build/build/build ad infinitum").

Re the house itself:
- Huge huge preference for it actually being finished in the first place - and to 21st century standards/London tastes.

But I know that goes from unlikely to extremely unlikely indeed (dependant on whereabouts one is in the country) and so I'm prepared (if I must - and through gritted teeth) to rip out absolutely everything internally (except stairs sited within a room or external door sited within a room). The kitchen must be at least passable size (preferably big).

Re the garden:
- very very hopefully as private as it "should" be (ie totally private back garden)
- must be relatively level
- very very hopefully to be a proper garden. But am prepared in theory (waits for money in practice in current house:cool:) to rip up any concrete/tarmac/concrete paving stones and turn it into a proper garden.

System · 5 March 2018 at 1:37PM

i dont really have anything that would be a no no apart from damp or mould. including cold mouldy windows. it would be my do's that would sway me more
driveway (must)
hallway (ideally)
4 bedrooms or 3 and 2 livingrooms
back garden that gets at least a couple of hours a day sun (ideally)

Slinky · 5 March 2018 at 3:02PM

We've just bought, hopefully our last home, which has open tread stairs rising out of the dining room, no direct access to the back garden except through the house or garage, an extension which has been underpinned, and a wetroom.

None of these things were on our wish list, but location trumped everything else as it's in a pleasant market town, near the coast, with leisure centre/pool 5 mins walk away, shops restaurants 8 mins walk away, doctors 2 mins. Bus route about 100 yards away if we can no longer drive.

House is rented out at the moment, but we'll make the best of it to get it how we want it when we move.

Marvel1 · 5 March 2018 at 3:03PM

Open plan kitchen and living room
No driveway, ok, but I can park in the street with no issues
Close to a river
Main road
Leasehold

Becks12 · 5 March 2018 at 3:31PM

I'm house hunting at the moment so have a few!

No upstairs toilet
Bathroom too small for a bath
Living room too small to fit my sofa
Photos too messy to be able to make out if the room is in good condition. ie are there holes in the walls
Next to a prison
Under flight path
More than 25 mins walk to a station

I realise the first few could be fixed with some work but I have no skills, patience, or clue as to where to start!

cloo · 5 March 2018 at 3:40PM

We bought a house with the carpets the colour of 'a dairy milk bar' as the OP politely puts it (my dad just called them 'sh*t coloured) and haven't got rid of all of them yet!

Our house has small garden, no off-street parking, mid terrace with no back access from front, but that's pretty normal where we are, and transport, schools, overall size etc make it worth it.

The things that put us off when last looking were: tiny box for last bedroom and maybe not quite big enough overall but not extendable (these two often went together when the loft extension stairway had cut out part of the bedroom that was already smallest!). Also we looked at a few which had totally open plan downstairs, albeit sometimes with foldable partition, which my husband didn't mind so much, but I wasn't keen on. And kitchens that weren't family sized - we saw at least one place that was a family sized house with a 2-bed flat sized kitchen.

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What would put you off a house...?

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