House hunting - things to avoid

maisie_cat

Bobinyorkshire said:

We have a north facing garden and would look for a house with another should we move. It provided shade when the children were playing, means the conservatory can be used all year (easy to heat as well insulated and solid roof) and has somewhere to enjoy a cuppa out of the sun between gardening tasks. Any moss on the lawn is treated and removed each year and the patio is no more slippy than the drive at the front. We have had south facing before and found them too hot at times, especially if working in them. Just my opinion 😀

Our house is in the middle of the plot so we have four "gardens". Last summer the south & unshaded east side were unbearable but at least there was relief on the north and tree laden west side.

maisie_cat

There are many articles claiming to identify "top 10 buyer requirements" and similar if your concern is resale. I have no idea how extensive the research was but it might give you an idea. 
Everything else is down to individuals, we have no mains gas or drains, live near a busy road in a tourist area, in a national park. Our nearest shop/pub/school is 2 miles and supermarket 5 miles, the doctor is 12. We had no central heating when we moved in and the only bathroom with no bath is on the ground floor. 
We do live in an acre plot though with a massive garage and outbuildings and space to park at least 10 cars. We look at fields and the sea so each to their own.
We intend to live our lives out here, so if it's difficult to sell it won't be our problem.

MrsStepford

Shared access is a no for me. Lived in two houses with a shared private land and neighbours were a pain. 

I wouldn't want opening clear windows,,looking into our garden, in ground floor.
I don't like ground floor bathrooms either but they are probably useful in retirement for some. 

Utility rooms which are basically a flat-roofed shack are a no as they often leak. 

UvPc conservatories are a complete deal breaker for me. I'd go for a decent sized greenhouse though. 

I'm not keen on garages unless they could be converted to provide an extra room.  

I'd go for solar panels and photo- voltaic windows but I'm a bit iffy about ground source pumps and underfloor heating. Storage heaters are a big NO. 

We''re all different ! 

caprikid1

"I'm not keen on garages unless they could be converted to provide an extra room. "

Garaging for at least 4 cars, don't really care about the rest... they are just additional benefits.

Ideally rooms that could be converted into more garage space (-;

FreeBear

caprikid1 said: Garaging for at least 4 cars, don't really care about the rest...

Used to know a guy that had four stacked in what most people would consider a single garage. But I suppose if you own two or more Ford Capris, that might not be an option.

caprikid1

"if you own two or more Ford Capris, that might no be an option."

Yes stacking is not really an option (-;

fackers_2

After doing more research recently, I’d 100% get clued up with the area, join the local facebook group, pick up a very local news paper. We were all over one property in December and then found out there was a lot of trouble spilling over from down the road, thanks to the facebook group. So don’t be naive and believe what the EA say - Every house is in a desirable area.

Ask as many questions as possible. If a seller isn’t forthcoming my instinct would say there’s something to hide.

Parking - Both busy street parking houses I’ve lived in were a royal pain in the evenings to find parking on, often would be parking 100 meters down the road with bags of shopping. Find a house on a quiet street or that has a drive.

Martico

caprikid1 said:

"if you own two or more Ford Capris, that might no be an option."

Yes stacking is not really an option (-;

Where and when I grew up, you'd often see stacked Ford Capris

Bonniepurple

Our criteria for this house was pretty simple:
Off road parking for 3 cars
A downstairs toilet 
No steps to get into the house 

Only one flight of stairs (which ruled townhouses out)
No further to school than our old house (actually about 5 minutes further walking)
A minimum of 3 double bedrooms.

SandyN21

If viewing during the day and the lights have been switched on...ask for them to be switched off to see how dark the rooms are during daytime hours.