What's an absolute "No" in your house search?

[Anonymous]

Bamboo, streets or neighborhoods with the word plantation, streets named after confederate soldiers, no garage, no backyard (doesn't have to be big), no basement, average to below average school cluster, unattractive neighborhood. Basically, things that you can't easily change.

[Anonymous]

No tree canopy on the block.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cul de sacs are all the rage amoung families I know. It's a lot safer and kids can play easier. The other streets are thoroughfares of traffic and it can be dangerous. There's usually a social island, too. Farther away from everything? No. I have no idea what that means. What does that even mean. I get out just as easy as on any street.

A lot of city families became suburban families in these last 2 years. And suburbia is great. I can PARK, lots of kids, sense of
community, amenities like parks, playgrounds, pools, sports fields, paths for walking and riding, dogs, and there's shopping where I need it.

Yep, you definitely sound like a cul-de-sac kinda person.

[Anonymous]

Popcorn ceilings.

I know, you're going to say it's cosmetic and I could just get them sanded down, but if a house still has popcorn ceilings, it probably has lots of other little projects that I'm going to need/want to take care of first and then I'll never get around to sanding the ceiling.

[Anonymous]

Deal breakers -
Pipe stem driveway
No driveway
Busy street
No sidewalk
More than 3-4 steps to enter the main door
Yards or driveways with retaining walls, terraced back yards
Neighbors with dilapidated homes, messy unkempt landscaping- either it’s a have for rodents and wildlife or it’s a target for a tear down and I’ll have to live in a construction zone.

[Anonymous]

Funny thing about most (not all) of these answers is that if all of you really disregarded houses for all the items you listed, you wouldn't be living in anything at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cul-de-sac. Anyplace with an HOA.

Why no cul-de-sac?

NP and cul-de-sacs are not exactly a deal breaker for me, but I also prefer not to live on one. I don't like to look out at that much pavement and I can't stand the way people park on it sort of all over the place sometimes parallel to the curb (like you should park on a street) and sometimes pulled straight in. It looks disorganized and like you live in an unmarked parking lot.

Interesting. I like cul de sacs but usually the ones that have circular beds in the middle, exactly for that reason. It discourages parking there.

Our cul de sac has a utility pole and small grassy area in the middle - we put a basketball hoop there. Lots of kids on bikes and playing with various balls encourages most people to park in their driveway or on the straight part of the street. A neighboring cul de sac doesn’t have a center obstruction or driveways and they all park pointed at their house. It looks like a group or frat house with too many cars. I agree it’s ugly. Based on old listing photos, my neighbors used to park like that, but we’ve had a lot of turnover in the last few years and I’m glad it changed so the kids have lots of space to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny thing about most (not all) of these answers is that if all of you really disregarded houses for all the items you listed, you wouldn't be living in anything at all.

Except no one objects to ALL of these things. Some people obviously don’t mind some of them or agree that the cost/benefit analysis was in favor of the house. A friend of mine lives on a busy road and admits that they could not afford the same house on a side street. For her the house was more important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bamboo, streets or neighborhoods with the word plantation, streets named after confederate soldiers, no garage, no backyard (doesn't have to be big), no basement, average to below average school cluster, unattractive neighborhood. Basically, things that you can't easily change.

Your McMansion on MLK Jr. Street isn't fooling anyone about your privilege.

[Anonymous]

Galley kitchen
no first floor bathroom
front facing garage
shared walls

[Anonymous]

Bamboo seems to be a big no-no for a lot of folks. Is that an aesthetics judgement or are there problems inherent with bamboo? I'm unfamiliar

My $.02:

No garden apartments, i.e. sub-grade condos
No pool for a SFH (too much maintenance)
No bad neighborhoods (been there)

Actually I think I should start a new thread regarding condos as this thread is more SFH oriented

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bamboo seems to be a big no-no for a lot of folks. Is that an aesthetics judgement or are there problems inherent with bamboo? I'm unfamiliar

My $.02:

No garden apartments, i.e. sub-grade condos
No pool for a SFH (too much maintenance)
No bad neighborhoods (been there)

Actually I think I should start a new thread regarding condos as this thread is more SFH oriented

Bamboo is invasive and can creep into your yard and take over if there isn't remediation in place (concrete barriers, etc). It's difficult (or extremely annoying) to cut down and it will keep growing back. The only way to clear it completely is to have it all dug out by the roots (often you have to get a company to come in and dig up most of your yard) and then concrete barriers poured and new soil laid.

[Anonymous]

Black fixtures, quartz waterfall countertop.

[Anonymous]

A street name with C-O-C-K in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deal breakers -
Pipe stem driveway
No driveway
Busy street
No sidewalk
More than 3-4 steps to enter the main door
Yards or driveways with retaining walls, terraced back yards
Neighbors with dilapidated homes, messy unkempt landscaping- either it’s a have for rodents and wildlife or it’s a target for a tear down and I’ll have to live in a construction zone.

If it's no more than 3-4 steps to get to a houses front door, the driveway would be of similar length, rendering it useless as a driveway. The car would be sticking out into the street, or at a minimum blocking the sidewalk.

I don't think you've thought this through.