Things you wish you'd checked before buying your property

Arfa__

SonnyLumiere said:

Hannimal said:

Why is the trampoline a deal-breaker? I've never lived next to one, I don't get it

Because the first day that next door's seven year old starts using their trampoline while you're sitting in the garden, you get a glimpse of a child's face appearing above the high fence accompanied by cheerful yell of "hello!". Child repeats this endlessly. You say "hello" back a few times. You pretend not to notice. But by the fifty-first "hello!" it wears a bit thin, and you reach for the hosepipe ...

So, so true... Have exactly this with our new neighbours, a lovely family, but we can't enter our garden now without a smiley little kids face popping up over the fence endlessly shouting "hello neighbour". Very sweet the first few times, but soon grows a bit tedious.

That said, our kids had a trampoline in years past, but they soon bored of it, it just became a very effective grass killer and so I ended up giving it away.  So if you spot a trampoline when searching, the kids may already be bored with it anyway!

MaMoneyMaMoney

I'm 3 terraced houses away from a family which has it and can't stand the noise of the springs after a couple of times already. I feel for those living right next to them.

Scotbot

First house I bought the kitchen cupboards were not a standard width, narrow to make the kitchen look bigger. I now open cupboards to see what the joinery is like.  Same with fitted wardrobes. I do ask first and I never touch stuff just look 

Current house kitchen  work surface had big hole which had been hidden under a fruit bowl. As I planned to replace not such a big issue but would have been fuming if it had been newer.Beware of strategically placed bowls and cookbooks.

MaryNB

Scotbot said:

First house I bought the kitchen cupboards were not a standard width, narrow to make the kitchen look bigger. I now open cupboards to see what the joinery is like.  Same with fitted wardrobes. I do ask first and I never touch stuff just look 

Current house kitchen  work surface had big hole which had been hidden under a fruit bowl. As I planned to replace not such a big issue but would have been fuming if it had been newer.Beware of strategically placed bowls and cookbooks.

I wish I had looked in the kitchen cupboards. Going by previous listings for the house I presumed the kitchen was less than 7 years old and all I needed to do was paint or replace the doors. When I moved in the carcasses were a state! They were in a much worse condition than the kitchen in the rented flat where I lived previously - a HMO that had very little work done to it in at least 12 years. I still would have bought the house but I hadn't budgeted for a kitchen refit. 

In terms of the strategic placing of household items, they managed to cover up several sections of missing skirting board and a badly cut and fitted carpet. 

Titus_Wadd

My first house had a tiny kitchen; really tiny, but it had a large pantry under the stairs.  All we did was clean up the belfast sink (very old) and a cheap free-standing cooker on one side.  On the opposite wall we had a small fridge and a washer with a cheap off-cut of worktop resting on top.  Our buyers wanted to know whether we were taking the kitchen units? (What kitchen units?) We said we'd be taking the 3 appliances.  I did wonder what they thought when they found a bit of work top leaning against the wall on moving day. 

It made me double-check things were actually how I remembered them from the first viewing!

lucypilates

bramptonbrew said:

Hannimal said:

Why is the trampoline a deal-breaker? I've never lived next to one, I don't get it

Neighbours both sides of our current house have trampolines. When both sets of kids are on them, there's no let up from the squeak of the side springs. I don't mind the yelps and screams of enjoyment from the kids, but those flippin' springs are a pain!

Can’t you gift them some WD40??