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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I believe the PP is talking about steps on a stairway.

[Anonymous]

No Central AC is a dealbreaker.

[Anonymous]

Family room where the only place to put a TV is over the fireplace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Nah, you are the one who hasn't thought this through. A suitable setup would include a circle drive. The driver can let Miss Daisy out 3-4 steps from the front door, then park the vehicle in the carriage house. I mean, WHO would accept anything lesser? Trashy.

[Anonymous]

My dealbreakers:

Busy street or being close enough to a busy street where you hear constant car noise when out in the yard. No thanks.

No en suite bathroom within the master bedroom.

Cigarette smell.

No powder room on main level.

Lack of natural light.

[Anonymous]

No sidewalks.
No easy access to Metro or a bus line.
Carpet that has to be ripped out.
Steps or front porch in poor repair.

[Anonymous]

Our dealbreakers were yards that couldn't be fenced, houses without garages, and split-levels/split-foyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What are you talking about? What an odd thing to say. Forgive me for not wanting to live on a street named after someone who wanted to keep the institution of slavery alive.

[Anonymous]

yard that slopes toward the house or neighborhood that is prone to flooding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Open first floor. I need rooms to retreat to, and I want my kitchen apart from the living room. I know I'm in the minority here.

You’re actually not. Open concept was cool in the late 20th century. Walls are being built all over the “old” new builds.

[Anonymous]

For me:
No central air
No driveway or some sort of garage / carport / parking
More than a couple stairs to get into the kitchen
Yard sloping toward house
Mold

[Anonymous]

Visible signs of termite damage, old original windows and doors, water and mold in basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Open first floor. I need rooms to retreat to, and I want my kitchen apart from the living room. I know I'm in the minority here.

You’re actually not. Open concept was cool in the late 20th century. Walls are being built all over the “old” new builds.

Yeah, this isn't happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Thanks. I am smart.

[Anonymous]

Rats. I don’t care if it can eventually be fixed with an exterminator. Rats are a deal breaker.

When I first moved here in the late 90s I lived in DuPont and there were so many rats & mice in my building it gave me PTSD.

My roommates and I used to sleep with all the lights on every single night. The only way we lasted an entire year was we were drunk or stoned most of the time.