Did you know that even Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner couldn’t sell his house. He’s renting it instead.
I’m sure his house is beautiful, but just didn’t happen to meet with the right buyer. However, as someone who’s looked at houses as a potential buyer in the not so distant past, I can say there are some very real turnoffs out there. And I keep seeing them over and over again.
Things I hate seeing in a house that’s for sale:
• Wallpaper. I spent my fair share of time removing horrid elephant wallpaper from a room with vaulted ceilings. I’ll never make that mistake again. I may be able to overlook a small amount of wallpaper, but if I see it in more than one room, I’m out of there.
• Nurseries. Eek. Don’t assume someone wants to re-do a blue teddy-bear room.
• Old dishwashers and ovens. Even if these things are covered by a homeowner’s warranty, that doesn’t mean it won’t be annoying when they break down. In my experience, warranty folks want to patch something to death before they’ll replace it. And you end up paying a deductible each time the service guys come out.
• Too many flower beds. I naively thought I could handle the seven long flower beds left behind by the gardening fanatic who owned my old house before me. Apparently, she was willing to spend much more time outside than I was.
• Window units instead of central air. In some climates this doesn’t matter, but in the South you need AC. In my former house, one window unit after another broke down, and some were difficult to replace in the heat of the summer. Read: Stores sell out of these. We had to finally give it up and install central air before anyone would buy our house.
• Small closets. I love old houses, but I also love big closets. Unfortunately, the two don’t usually come together. Next time, I’m hoping for a big closet or two.
I could go on, but these are some of the things that bug me most. Practically speaking, there are far greater concerns, like termites and foundations!
What makes you walk out of a home that’s for sale?
(Image by Peggy Rowland)
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Marina, I’m talking about excessive wallpaper. I’ve had a bad experience with it, so it’s just one of my turn-offs. I don’t want to spend hours peeling off someone else’s faded paper flowers — often with mildew underneath because some folks just use too much water! : )
I wanted an older ranch with knotty pine. The more knotty pine, the better! Our agent took us into one ranch after another and ALL the knotty pine had always been painted over. You can’t “unpaint” knotty pine – it’s just ruined.
Another thing I hated was seeing the brick and stone fireplaces painted. White, cream, tan – yuck. People think it’s updating the look of the fireplace. I think it’s just ugly.
I agree on your later points, but wallpaper or a nursery? Seriously? You don’t walk away from a home for things that small and inconsequential.
It’s like watching House Hunters on HGTV; half the people either turn down otherwise-great houses because they dislike the paint colors, or they pick a house based on the crown molding. With a little elbow grease and a few bucks, you can get a great house and then make changes so it suits you.
CARPET! Unless the price is low enough for me to be willing to redo all the floors myself. And I agree with the “clutter” comment above, too.
Water pressure. I would flush the toilet – we don’t have enough in the master bedroom to do the job. I would think about the layout. Our bathroom on the main level is in the centre of the house. The dining room is quite far from the kitchen. If we have a big dinner I am exhausted running back and forth. I don’t want an attached house ever again. We have nice neighbours but you have to include them in every decision on the outside. I could go on,,,,
Caffeine, I agree. I look at those old “before” photos of my last house and can’t believe I bought it. At least I learned a lot.
Ryan, Yes, and sad thing is inspectors even miss this stuff. I also had some plumbing issues, ended up gutting an entire bathroom, in fact.
Foundation cracks and rainwater intrusion. Also I look hard at the area under toilets and sinks for any sign of water damage. If any I will run, last time it cost me $30k to fix.
Clutter, it is hard to look past someone else’s clutter and picture your own style.