What things would seriously put you off buying a property?

melanzana

breadlinebetty wrote: »

What a lovely happy post!

Thanks so much for that. I think we have to be so thankful for what we've got, and I am, although I really didn't realise how much until I read the thread so far.

Anyhow, what's the story about "shared driveways" Still don't understand the concept.

Thanks all.

puddy

either down the side of the houses there is one driveway which then enables the owners to drive down to a garage which is in their respective gardens. so individually owned garages on their own land but accessed by a shared driveway between the 2 houses.

the other one is a shared driveway that leads round the back of a row of houses which may or may not have garages in shared land or attached to the back of each respective garden, either way, the drive everyone uses will be shared among them

i wouldnt touch either of those options with a barge pole

scooterpig

Interesting thread. I think what people would/would not entertain differs depending on their situation at any given time. For example, I previously only wanted a south-facing garden. But in my current home, I wouldn't entertain anything that didn't have a north-facing garden. Why the difference? I moved overseas and a north-facing garden means a south-facing driveway, which makes life a lot easier in the winter as we get a lot of snow. My last house had a single garage which never had a car in it. My current house has a triple garage (at husband's insistence), as the climate means it's essential to keep cars inside so you're not endlessly clearing them of snow in the winter and cooking in the summer.

Number one deal breaker for me is location - nothing near schools, nurseries, playgroups, playparks or the like. Definitely no family-orientated estates. And maintenance - I can overlook decor, but poor maintenance would raise a question mark for me.

breadlinebetty

A couple of other things for me that would be a big NO-NO:


Very small windows in every room (lots of new builds seem to have those)

Unpleasant views: electricity pylons, industrial chimneys/factories etc

Fully decked garden (rats adore decking - they make homes underneath), it looks dated, it's noisy, it's dull (love GREEN) , and it costs money to remove and redo garden

Front door leading directly onto street

Dark narrow hallways

Living a stone's throw from an Indian/Chinese takeaway, KFC or Chippie (the smell!) and restaurant bins attract rats

Living anywhere that meant climbing 2, 3 or 4 flights of stairs that had no lift

Living next to a motorway/dual carriageway

Limana68

This is my list!

Shared driveways
Tall hedges ( pain to keep under control)in fact any hedges in the garden put me off!
No parking
Small garden
Small kitchen

Thats it really:D

JodyBPM

Assuming the house was the appropriate size for our family, ticked all the boxes etc

My list of absolute no nos
-on an estate (council or private)
-no offstreet parking
-no/small garden
-dodgy/questionable area
-on a main road
-newbuild
-crammed in/overlooked
- bedroom (s) on the ground floor in a 2 storey house
- structural problems (eg previously underpinned/damp/at risk of flooding)
-leasehold (except for flats)


Thing that I wouldn't like, but would probably view anyway and see if I could work around assuming the property ticked all the other boxes.
-open plan living
- small kitchen
- downstairs bathroom
- door opening into living room
- shared driveways
-bungalows (don't know why, just don't like them)
- loft bedrooms/converted loft
- no side access to the garden without going through the house
-flight path/motorway noise (we're fairly near to Gatwick plus M25 and M23, so on these it would be on an individual basis as to whether it was an acceptable noise level, or unacceptable which would be a total no-no)

There's obviously other stuff particular to us around the size of house we need, what rooms we want etc, but these would be general things that would bother me.

shegar

No gas central heating would be my top priority................

Brallaqueen

I can't afford to be picky - I would like' 'inhabitable' and 'safe'. Anything else is gravy

shirlgirl2004

jonewer wrote: »

Just about everything is subject to compromise.

We didnt want a house on a (moderately) busy road or a house with a north-east facing garden.

Thats what we got though, but what we also got was a very private rear garden, facing onto an aforested common and every other box ticked and then a whole lot more besides that we hadnt thought of.

I'm a bit bemused by people who say that they wouldnt even consider a place that, for example, had a front door opening into the living room. rly? Srsly? So you'd never even look at a place like this?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33365992.html

I wouldn't look at that place personally. I wouldn't want a property with a front door leading into a living area. I also don't like the high ceilings because heating would be a nightmare. I think there are nicer places on the market for the same money.

I would once have said I wouldn't like a busy road having once lived on a fairly busy one. However last time we moved we did look at fairly busy roads because we could afford to have a room at the front that would be primarily unused and therefore noise would not be an issue. As long as the noise could not be heard at the back of the house I'd be fine. If it was a small house then I wouldn't live on a busy road though.

I wouldn't like an overlooked garden, very near neighbours or shared driveway. However our house has a very small section of shared driveway. However it wouldn't impact us if the neighbour blocked it as we have an in/out drive so could use the exit. The neighbour would have no reason to block it though as their house is a lot further back down the driveway.

I would not consider pylons or sewage works nearby.

Cosmetic stuff and interior stuff doesn't really bother me because it can usually be changed.

breadlinebetty

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

I wouldn't look at that place personally. I wouldn't want a property with a front door leading into a living area. I also don't like the high ceilings because heating would be a nightmare. I think there are nicer places on the market for the same money.

I would once have said I wouldn't like a busy road having once lived on a fairly busy one. However last time we moved we did look at fairly busy roads because we could afford to have a room at the front that would be primarily unused and therefore noise would not be an issue. As long as the noise could not be heard at the back of the house I'd be fine. If it was a small house then I wouldn't live on a busy road though.

I wouldn't like an overlooked garden, very near neighbours or shared driveway. However our house has a very small section of shared driveway. However it wouldn't impact us if the neighbour blocked it as we have an in/out drive so could use the exit. The neighbour would have no reason to block it though as their house is a lot further back down the driveway.

I would not consider pylons or sewage works nearby.

Cosmetic stuff and interior stuff doesn't really bother me because it can usually be changed.

But doesn't sound travel though? I would think if you're on a main road you'd still hear the sound of passing traffic when you're in your back garden, and possibly in the back of the house too. I suppose double glazing would help to some degree, but it wouldn't drown it out totally I shouldn't think. Then you have the summer when you want to open your wondows.........

This shared driveway keeps popping up!:j I still don't quite know what one is? Is it a problem because you can get blocked in by other drivers? Or can you lose your parking space? What actually is it?

In fact, does anyone have an image of a shared driveway?:)