House Hunting: What Are Your Turnoffs? (square foot, duplexes, sale, comparables)

[Jedi5]

What are some of the things that turn you away about a house before you even enter and see the inside?

For me it would be the location of the house. I don't mean so much neighborhood but where on the block the house is located.
I don't care how nice the house is, if it is a corner lot I cross it off my list.

A train track in your backyard... gone.

I'm torn on having a highway pretty close to your home. We went to go see a house that backs up to the highway... about 1500ft away maybe? There is a sound wall up and the house backs to ramp leading to the highway. We couldn't hear any traffic but then again it was a Saturday afternoon.

What about others?

[FlightAttendant]

High tension/power lines

Too many kids playing in the neighborhood

Barking dogs

not enough electrical outlets

old wiring

too close to a school

those are starters....

[springbean]

corner lot

home is on a street that enters the subdivision (the street is busy)

Back to a road, of ANY kind. We had the worst time selling our last house because it backed to a road. We will NEVER do that again.

Train nearby

Barking dogs

Unkempt lawns

house smells like animals

[wileynj]

Out dated kitchens and bath!
Piles of Laundry lying on top of the washing machine
I actually like corner lots... you typically get more property
Sloppy neighbors! Multiple broken down cars in the driveway.. piles of debris... real turnoff!

[High_Plains_Retired]

As one who has owned several homes in different states and is now in the home buying mode again, the things that turn me off when buying a single family home in a residential area include, in order of importance:

1. High property taxes keep me from even looking in a county.
2. High price per square foot based on comparables keep me from looking at a house.
3. Apartments, duplexes, government or multi-family units close by.
4. An area of an interstate or other areas where vehicle noise can be easily heard.
5. A bad roof.
6. A postage stamp-sized lot
7. A neighborhood with 15 to 20 year old cars parked on the streets.
8. A neighbor with an auto engine hoist sitting on the front driveway.
9. Outdated kitchen and baths.
10. No rear patio.
11. Purple, mauve, pink or other personal colors in rooms.
12. Carpet throughout. (Shag sends me running.)

[tamitrail]

All of the outside deterents could have been checked out even before a showing. If I see a house I am interested in, I map it out...satellite it if possible. I check to see where it is on the street, if it's by tracks or highways, where it backs to, etc. If those means of investigation are not available or do not reveal what I need, I drive by, before I ask a realtor to show it to me. That rules out 50% of the things that might turn me off. Then I read the listing quite carefully and ask questions to see if it matches my "must haves" list. For example, I must have a basement. If it doesn't have one, I'm not looking at it.

Now, if a house were to meet all of my needs after the above has been exhausted and I actually went to see the house, the things that would be a turnoff are dirty bathrooms, anything that smells, and animals in the house.

[scuba steve]

Back to a road, of ANY kind. We had the worst time selling our last house because it backed to a road. We will NEVER do that again.

The way people around here drive (and drive through fences and walls), I felt the same way and ruled out several candidates that backed up to a road.

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by scuba steve

The way people around here drive (and drive through fences and walls), I felt the same way and ruled out several candidates that backed up to a road.

And here I thought NJ has the worst drivers

[suki03]

Back in to any road is not a big deal to me personally because I used to live in center of a big city growing up, however, the resell value of a house that backs up to a road is horrible. 4/5 people won't even come look at it.

Neighbors - If I see a bunch of trucks and trailers around the neighborhood or people that just sit around the yard and stare, it's probably not a good sign.

Any sign of old exterior is a turn-off - old roof shingles etc...

Loud dogs

Lots of for sale signs

High Crime Rates

Far from grocery stores, hospitals

Dead trees, trees really near the house (may affect the foundation later on) or trees that blocks the views

I can deal with ugly paint color, outdated things around the house etc., because I like to renovate anyways.

But at the right price, any problems will become no problem

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by wileynj

And here I thought NJ has the worst drivers

It's unreal... almost like someone drives into a wall or building every day. Like a day or two ago an 18-wheeler ran into a Chilis. At least nobody was hurt.