What are top ten things that turn you off when looking for a new house? (Bath: hardwood floors, real estate)

[Skipstone]

When you drive up to a house you're considering buying with your realtor, what are the top ten things that you really look at closely?

And what grosses you out?

I'll start:

I look for the following:

1. Location of community in terms of conveniences
2. Curb appeal and neatness of the neighborhood
3. Warm and cozy inside
4. Nice big kitchen
5. A home that looks like a homemaker takes pride in the interior
6. Bathroom tile and grout clean
7. Oven and stove burners clean
8. A beautiful setting
9. Mixture of trees with some open sky areas
10. Quiet, far from a noisy freeway or airport

The following things gross me out:

A house with cats everywhere and dirty carpets. I don't like entering a house with the blinds closed and that smells off. If all those things are present I don't even look through the whole house.

What about you?

What are the top ten things you look for that you want?

And what are some things that positively gross you out?

[Need_affordable_home]

High crime, high prices, messy house, tiny house, bugs, snakes, damaged house, etc

[Skipstone]

ROFLOL!!! I see you're in Florida obviously enjoying the palmetto bugs! I feel your pain as I once endured that too. Thankfully, they only came in occasionally when it rained, but getting rid of them was like killing a large animal.

And the crocodiles in the backyard pool.....now THAT was fun.

[MoMark]

I found all kinds of issues in houses when I went searching last year. I don't mind an empty house when I'm looking. Most real estate "experts" say stage the home and put some furniture in it and remove personal items. I prefer a house that's bare and empty, or....lightly furnished so I can see everything.
What turns me on:
- Good construction where it's clear the builder built the house with high standards.
-Brick homes.
-wood-burning fireplaces.
-hardwood floors or new clean carpets.
-nicely done windows with architectural details.
-large bedrooms.
-wide hallways.
-Spacious bathrooms with tile floors.
-Walk-in closets.
-Acreage if possible.
-Paved blacktop and sealed driveways.
-Water wells instead of city water that's flouridated.
-Open landscaping that's cleanly arranged and designed.
-Immaculate kitchens, washrooms, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.
-Tile roofs or recently redone asphalt shingle roofs.
What turns me off:
-Pet smells
-Dirty clothes and personal belongings lying around.
-Dark homes with heavy window treatments.
-Basements or basement living areas.
-Sheets used as curtains.
-Wallpaper and those border paper strips people put up near the perimeters of the ceilings.
-Wood paneling or wooden interiors for that "rustic" look. I hate rustic houses or log homes, etc.
-Wood siding on houses.
-Weird colors.
-Stairwells with acrylic or glass panels instead of banisters.
-Fake ivy and flowers/plants everywhere or weaving along light fixtures, shelving, etc. That Laura Ashley crap makes me ill.
-Dirty carpets.
-Musty smells and clear water damage in the past.
-Junky yards or ungroomed yards.
-Owners who are rude and "weird".
-Carports instead of garages.
-Old rotting wooden fences.
-1960's or 1970's construction.
-Wooden shingles.

I like immaculate houses when I'm looking that are well built, bright, welcoming, large, efficiently arranged, and where I could see my things would fit and I think I'd be happy.
So far I've had nearly perfect houses in the three I've purchased over the years.

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by Skipstone

ROFLOL!!! I see you're in Florida obviously enjoying the palmetto bugs! I feel your pain as I once endured that too. Thankfully, they only came in occasionally when it rained, but getting rid of them was like killing a large animal.

And the crocodiles in the backyard pool.....now THAT was fun.

There are no crocodiles in Florida...they are alligators!

[ducter]

1. Quality construction, not just a pretty exterior and lots of interior molding.
2. Bad neighbors that have dog **** all over their yard and the smell travels
3. People who walk their dogs on others lawns
4. Modern floorplans are nice
5. Roads that are or will be built very close to a house
6. Hate when a house has nothing updated at all
7. "Boxy" looking developments where the houses look like boxes from the outside.
8. I hate landscaping that looks like it came straight from Home Depot.

[Adream]

Originally Posted by MoMark

I found all kinds of issues in houses when I went searching last year. ...I like immaculate houses when I'm looking that are well built, bright, welcoming, large, efficiently arranged, and where I could see my things would fit and I think I'd be happy.
So far I've had nearly perfect houses in the three I've purchased over the years.

MoMark, you have literally created a check list for people who will be putting their home on the market. If someone were to follow what you listed, everyone's home would show beautifully! Well done!!!

[Grass Is Greener]

what turns me off? OWNERS! it wasn't an issue when i did house hunt in NC but in another state i looked, most homes had their owners IN the house when I looked. Awful.

A second close would be car noise, airport noise, train noise, neighboors/neighborhood.

As far as smell, needed repairs, poor landscaping, etc. I think it is all relative to price and how much I am willing to fix-it-up if the price is right.

[RaleighRob]

Originally Posted by Grass Is Greener

what turns me off? OWNERS!

Heh...at least with them you know they'll be gone once you get the house.
Try looking at a place with nosey neighbors eyeing you thru their curtains! lol That'll turn me off from buying/leasing a place instantly. (Cuz it's probably just a taste of what life there would be like.)

Another turnoff for me is false advertising....anyone who's skimmed craigslist knows what I'm talking about.

[fromcenFL]

You people's complaints sound awfully picky to myself, since I was in a whole 'nother price range when I went shopping for a house. Heres my list:

Love to see:
3 bedrooms that are actually bedrooms, not a closed in back or front porch (saw this mostly in FL though), or bonus roon additions impossible for use as a bedroom (alot in older NC homes)

A modern bathroom. Its unbelieveable that this is 2007 and some people still use a clawfoot tub and must never take showers, only baths. Unbelieveable.


Things I hate to see:
Wood paneling. I'm not talking cool Craftsmen bungalow solid raised paneling, but rather late 60's and 70's plywood paneling with dark depressing (and fake)wood grain. The home I ended up buying had it and I must have used 10 gallons of Kilz primer before I could even paint.

"engineered hardwoods" that are glued down. This is the most retarded thing someone ever thought of. "hey these floors will look terrible in 20 years and the top layer is too thin to be refinished- lets GLUE them down!!" Geez, at least most of the older homes I looked at had real hardwoods and could have been refinished and looked great. All you can do is carpet or refloor over a lot of engineered wood floors. Thats when I did.

Evidence of smoking. It gets in the HVAC, it stains walls and popcorn ceilings which are a devil to paint, and leaves residue on cabinetry.

Wallpaper. Of any kind. Its evil. Your walls will never be the same after wallpaper if you don't do it properly, which most people who resort to wallpaper seem incapable of anyway. I have wallpaper borders that refused to come off, so a portion of them are still there, only now under 2 coats of oil-based primer adequately sanded down so they are invisible.


I realize this is a diatribe relating to mostly older homes. I think if I was in the market for new construction, my check list would go like this:

OSB sheathing? Good. Blackboard or green foamboard? Run away!

2x8 lumber for floor joists? Good. Those new OSB and lumber hydrid joists? Run, RUN away.

High crawlspace foundation? Good. Slab on even a slight grade? Run RUN away.