House hunting - things to avoid

lookstraightahead

The best thing you can do is keep an open mind. I always thought I wouldn't like to live open plan but when I saw my lovely house I was happy to accept it, thinking I could change it. But now I love it. It's area really that counts for me, not the size or layout of a property. 

lookstraightahead

maisie_cat said:

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.

I love this post. 

AFF8879

diystarter7 said:

Postik said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi

Apols if I got it wrong but I am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the security aspect.

We would never buy a house on the corner unless its in a gated area as this often attracts crims, ie easier accesss and youths hanging around. This is genrally speaking not always

I'd also avoid buy the best house o the road a house with a drive where others dont have it and looks great and noce cars as it attracts more crooks.

I'd buy away from shops due to smells and schools due to parking/noise etc.

I'd not buy on a narrow road where taking car in/out of drive is very hard if others parked close/opposite

I'd look at/consider views once tree has shed their leaves in winters

Thanks

But what if you found a house that you absolutely LOVED, but it was on a corner?  And there were other houses you didn't like as much, but they weren't on a corner?

For me, I would have quite strong red flags against being on a noisy, busy road.  Or a private road with a very expensive, uncapped maintenance charge.  But things like being on a corner, having shared access or the road being narrow may or may not end up being an issue in reality.

Hi

Its a no and a bigger no.
One of myfriends  bought a house on a corner, dated house, one of the few in the area with OSP, this was years ago but they did it up, took the front hedges trss down, new half walls, iron railings, new roof, new drives, eye catching door when most people were having white DG doors and new, newsi BM's and Mercedes - several attempts to break in, stealing from the garden as the the garden was easily accessed over a fence from the pavement -at times sat in the garden, one time a bottle came over the fence from the road side - the area was ok but my friends first language was not english a few youbs took offence to taht - after the 7th attempted break-in they moved

Corner house unless a mansion type with other mansions and no narrow roads

Corner houses are more likely to attact atention of  crims.

To be honest that seems way more to do with the area/neighbourhood being problematic than the house being on a corner plot…

user1977

AFF8879 said:

diystarter7 said:

Postik said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi

Apols if I got it wrong but I am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the security aspect.

We would never buy a house on the corner unless its in a gated area as this often attracts crims, ie easier accesss and youths hanging around. This is genrally speaking not always

I'd also avoid buy the best house o the road a house with a drive where others dont have it and looks great and noce cars as it attracts more crooks.

I'd buy away from shops due to smells and schools due to parking/noise etc.

I'd not buy on a narrow road where taking car in/out of drive is very hard if others parked close/opposite

I'd look at/consider views once tree has shed their leaves in winters

Thanks

But what if you found a house that you absolutely LOVED, but it was on a corner?  And there were other houses you didn't like as much, but they weren't on a corner?

For me, I would have quite strong red flags against being on a noisy, busy road.  Or a private road with a very expensive, uncapped maintenance charge.  But things like being on a corner, having shared access or the road being narrow may or may not end up being an issue in reality.

Hi

Its a no and a bigger no.
One of myfriends  bought a house on a corner, dated house, one of the few in the area with OSP, this was years ago but they did it up, took the front hedges trss down, new half walls, iron railings, new roof, new drives, eye catching door when most people were having white DG doors and new, newsi BM's and Mercedes - several attempts to break in, stealing from the garden as the the garden was easily accessed over a fence from the pavement -at times sat in the garden, one time a bottle came over the fence from the road side - the area was ok but my friends first language was not english a few youbs took offence to taht - after the 7th attempted break-in they moved

Corner house unless a mansion type with other mansions and no narrow roads

Corner houses are more likely to attact atention of  crims.

To be honest that seems way more to do with the area/neighbourhood being problematic than the house being on a corner plot…

Indeed, I've never previously heard of corner properties being generally problematic. Sounds like a localised issue.

jonnydeppiwish!

Op, I think this is a pointless discussion as you’ll have your list, yet still buy something that you wouldn’t have wanted initially.

Just view all the properties in your price range and write them off afterwards.

Emily_Joy

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Op, I think this is a pointless discussion as you’ll have your lust, yet still buy something that you wouldn’t have wanted initially. Just view all the properties in your price range and write them off afterwards.

I am well aware that I tend to like unusual things that often put others off. For instance my main concern it the amount of natural light the house gets, and  I am looking for an Edwardian (or a late Georgian) house with large windows and high ceilings. It is likely to have a rather odd layout by modern standards. At the same time I keep in mind that we will probably need to sell in about 10 years time. So we should try to choose something that will not put potential buyer off at least location-wise!

P.S. Especially for @mi-key: we made an offer which was accepted but while we were arranging a survey cash buyers came along with a lower offer and the vendor chosen them.

P.S.S. Another thing that I noticed is that the preferences are quite age-dependent. It seems to me that most audience here is about 20 years older than me, so their preferences, understandably, are very different to mine!

lookstraightahead

Emily_Joy said:

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Op, I think this is a pointless discussion as you’ll have your lust, yet still buy something that you wouldn’t have wanted initially. Just view all the properties in your price range and write them off afterwards.

I am well aware that I tend to like unusual things that often put others off. For instance my main concern it the amount of natural light the house gets, and  I am looking for an Edwardian (or a late Georgian) house with large windows and high ceilings. It is likely to have a rather odd layout by modern standards. At the same time I keep in mind account that we will probably need to sell in about 10 years time. So we should try to choose something that will not put potential buyer off at least location-wise!

P.S. Especially for @mi-key: we made an offer which was accepted but while we were arranging a survey cash buyers came along with a lower offer and the vendor chosen them.

P.S.S. Another thing that I noticed is that the preferences are quite age-dependent. It seems to me that most audience here is about 20 years older than me, so their preferences, understandably, are very different to mine!

Hi op
don't know how old everyone is on here, and certainly communities rarely reflect a defined age for a certain type of property. I live in a really old house and all the houses on my road are old. Ages of inhabitants range from 20 something to 80 something. 

You can keep an open mind at any age that would be my advice - don't rule things out.

mi-key

P.S. Especially for @mi-key: we made an offer which was accepted but while we were arranging a survey cash buyers came along with a lower offer and the vendor chosen them.

Sorry to hear that. That is the danger if you don't act quickly though sometimes. Even though the doom mongers on here say nobody is buying and sellers are desperate to sell to anyone, it only takes one other person to come along and you miss out. 

Maybe if you had made a higher initial offer then the seller would have turned down the cash buyer...

Bolt1234

Mi-key.  I so agree with this.  There are some professional renters who are desperate to get a bargain and boast they outwitted the house market.  I have never rented.  I love owning my own house, doing what I like to it inside and there is no landlord to upset.

The housing market was so overheated last year and it has calmed down but still desirable houses will sell quickly if they are priced sensibly.   The other houses - well maybe the seller waits until things become more stable.  Not everyone is desperate to sell at any price.  

lookstraightahead

mi-key said:

P.S. Especially for @mi-key: we made an offer which was accepted but while we were arranging a survey cash buyers came along with a lower offer and the vendor chosen them.

Sorry to hear that. That is the danger if you don't act quickly though sometimes. Even though the doom mongers on here say nobody is buying and sellers are desperate to sell to anyone, it only takes one other person to come along and you miss out. 

Maybe if you had made a higher initial offer then the seller would have turned down the cash buyer...

I'm not sure that those who think the market has slowed down or think prices are coming down are doom mongers. To many that's a good thing. Nothing wrong with things stabilising. 

I'm certainly not a doom monger - I have a lot of equity in my house but it was mayhem a few months ago and I think it's good to see it calming down.  That's a positive move as far as I'm concerned.