What things would seriously put you off buying a property?

Kirri

On street parking, or communal car parks/garages (can't stand it, never again!!)
Hate places done up to sell... usually done on the cheap
Hate gardens covered in decking or shingle with no grass or tiny gardens or fences
Next door neighbours gardens full of junk or loads of kids toys
New builds crowded in with tiny gardens
Over a mile or two max from a station
Looks rough from the outside
Anything needing structural work
Age restricted estates
Tiny kitchens where they have crammed in units in a u-shape
Rough areas of London (shame as they have the more suitable sized housing for what I want)
Somewhere with a run down town centre/shops

Tippytoes

We once bought our dream home. Ticked all the boxes. No negatives. Then the neighbours from hell moved in and we found ourselves subjected to trampolines, rusty cars parked inconsiderately, noise from stereos, bonfires...I think you've got the picture.

It was surprising how one family could impact so badly on one street. One long-standing neighbour moved out, then another. Replaced with BTL tenants. Some English, majority foreign and on benefits.

Long-established communities can disappear quickly. It only takes one to move in and the rot's set in.

So, with the best will in the world, a full tick list means diddly. Your south facing garden will pale into insignifigance if a NFH moves in.

shegar

monkeyboy72 wrote: »

I dont understand why people have issues with storage heaters?, I have lived in my flat with storage heaters for 10 years and guess how much I have spent on maintaining them.....zilch!!
Friends of mine who have gas central heating have literally spent thousands in the same period of time on boilers, breakdown cover, extremely high gas bills and water leaks etc.
Storage heaters give just as good heat, are 100% efficient, can be cheap to run if used with correct off peak tariff and look smarter than those white radiators, in my opinion.
Beat that gas lovers!!

Ive had storage heaters in the past over several years and I hate the dam things,never heat the home up after 2 pm,expensive, not very flexible at all,heat never there when you want it..........I had a new boiler put in here when we moved in, its reliable, flexible, if its cold turn it on and if its warm turn it off, I can air my house without worrying about losing the electric heat thats been stored up, cheaper than electricity, have the boiler serviced once a year at £70, no water leaks,the radiators for GCH yes they are white but storage heaters also are not attractive..........GCH heating anytime for me...............

Waterlily24

New builds
Small Gardens
Small rooms
Neighbours
No Garage or room for garage
No parking spaces
Flat roofs
Not bothered about decoration

Nenen

We've been searching for a house for some time and recently thought we had found THE one that ticked all our boxes. Dh and I kept exchanging meaningful glances as we went round and I could tell he was as keen as I was. All was looking good as we went out into the beautiful back garden until the vendor explained that, as it was end of terrace, the neighbours had right of access through the garden in order to bring bikes etc into their garden without going through their house. there was a gate in the fence about 3 metres from the back of the vendor's house so potential to be sitting quietly in your living room and have neighbour's children coming and going a few feet away. This put me right off and I assume it has put others off too as it has been on the Market for 4 months now.

Privacy in my back garden is really important to me so we have, very reluctantly, decided not to put in an offer.

Jue_xx

playaz wrote: »

Wow - I am a FTB and this is such a good thread! I feel like I know nothing about buying a house but you guys are really helping me understand things! Thank you!!

Yes this thread might be useful, but don't take it too literally. People's priorities change as they get older and their circumstances and budgets change. Your requirements from your first home will be different to subsequent homes, when perhaps you have a had children and are earning more.

When I was buying my first home at 22 I couldn't think of anything worse than having a 100ft back garden to look after, and having to do work inside, but now, 3rd house and 2 children later, the fact that the whole house and the 100ft garden needed lots of work (complete renovation project in fact) sold it to us! :rotfl:

Proximity to good schools wasn't important at the beginning, but proximity to a good pub WAS!

Jue_xx

Better_Days wrote: »

Went to see a house last week which has become 'The House of No Redeeming Features'. (Overpriced, dirty, dark, woodchip wallpaper in bright colours, boiler in the loft, dirty stained carpet in one room, smelly insects in fish tanks) What put the lid on it was EA was showing us round but vendor and 9yo son were in the living room. Son got a giggling fit then went and used the bathroom for us all to hear. So we got a good idea of the sound insulation (or rather lack of) in the house!:rotfl::rotfl:

Ooh, please post it on the Have A Look At This Thread! :rotfl:

londonlydia

Looking for my first house now (although sorting out a mortgage first!). Already these are what will stop me 'saving' a property on rightmove at just the browsing stage (there are probably more when we go there!):

-Poor road links. I don't want to have to drive through lots of little roads, through lots of traffic lights and past lots of school runs to get onto major roads. I commute now and it takes me 15mins to go 3miles onto the A-road and it drives me nuts.
-Fully decked, or worse, paved/conreted rear gardens. Looks naff, and IMO a garden is there to lighten your mood, so I need flowers!
-Stairs into the living room.
-Very overlooked back gardens
-Overgrown bushes and large trees making the garden dark and boggy (and very large trees you have to declare on your house insurance if theyre near your home).
-Too much open plan, especially if noisy white goods end up being in your living space.
-Poor parking availability. I wouldnt look at a place that didnt have space for 2 cars, and I would be put off if there was nowhere within reason for guests to park (causes bad relations with neighbours as well if people nick each other spaces etc).
-Beams, brick fireplaces etc in 20th century homes. Looks naff and whilst I dont mind decorating I suspect it will take getting in some labourers/plasteres etc getting it changed.
-Magnolia walls and cream carpets. Whilst I would still consider it, I would need to double check its the theme that the currents owners have had, because to me this screams 'quick job'/developer to me, and I would be worried they'd done it in a hurry, probably covering up issues with the house like damp etc.

bmar71n

i would never buy a leasehold property, even though you can extend the lease or buy the freehold.

in some cases this can be costly, and depending who the freeholder is some are willing to spend huge legal fees to set legal president through the courts on menial valuation methodology to increase the value of their entire portfolio.

Also with apartments, you do not have control of maintenance costs of the fabric of the building or communal areas

londonlydia

Oh I should also say Ive only gone to look at one house so far because we're doing this mortgage sorting thing (but saw a nice one on right move and wanted to see it to get a taste).

There were a few things with it that would put people off- a flat roof, flying freehold and a shared drive. But I was willing to overlook these faults if the house was right. We went in, and the internal was wonderful- until we started looking at the extension. The master bedroom was included in this, and was half sub-terrainean. I found a patch of damp. Then we saw the door in the dining room above wouldnt shut properly and hacked at to make it work (alarm bells definitely ringing). Then my OH's dad went and looked at the house from the back. Talk about a bodge job. He went up a wooden ladder and almost fell as the rungs were rotten! EA was hopeless, didnt know about certificates etc. However, OH's dad is a gas man, and said to her that the house cant do, because the boiler has an illegal flue. At this point she said 'well I'm the one that has to try and sell this property!' Just to add an extra nail, the entire sloped back garden had bad decking on it, a lane full of rubbish at the back, and there was evidence of rats!

Shame because the location was perfect, but it was too much work with the existing faults to even go for a 2nd look....