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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife had these deal breakers.

Must have two walk in closets master bedroom
Must have two vanities master bedroom
Must have flat backyard
Must have finished basement
Must have five bedrooms
Must have two car garage

Only must haves

This feels like a lot of must haves. Are there really houses with two walk in closets in the master?

5 bedrooms!
I think a house like that needs 3 acres of land

[Anonymous]

I want a large, non-floodable, arable piece of land walkable to shops with a compact, solidly-built, well-insulated house with passive solar features sitting in the middle of it. No basement. Two storeys with a large, safe staircase (landings instead of steps in staircase turns). Luminous with a smart layout, no wasted space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife had these deal breakers.

Must have two walk in closets master bedroom
Must have two vanities master bedroom
Must have flat backyard
Must have finished basement
Must have five bedrooms
Must have two car garage

Only must haves

This feels like a lot of must haves. Are there really houses with two walk in closets in the master?

5 bedrooms!
I think a house like that needs 3 acres of land

That's what I have minus the flat backyard. My house is a 4 bedroom that the previous owners blew out the attic to make a master suite - with a huge bathroom and two walk-ins and now it's a 5 bedroom house. It's pretty big for the four of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The fireplace is in our family room, and is a central gathering area for our family. I happen to really enjoy TV and so does DH, so we have no issue with putting a TV above the mantle. Also there's no other place in the house that will accommodate our 65inch. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I just find it hard to believe this is an actual deal-breaker for anyone. The rest of the house is perfect, location and schools work. But OH NO only place for a TV is above the mantle...sorry it's off our list. That is just crazy talk and nonsensical.

That's great that you and your husband don't mind but it really isn't that crazy or nonsensical. I don't know that it would have a total deal breaker when we were looking but it was definitely a minus. It speaks to general poor layout and design in the house as well.

No it doesn’t “speak” to poor layout. It likely means your home isn’t a new McMansion.

Different poster (the one who has a TV over the fireplace and is happy about it).

I also do not think it "speaks" to a poor layout, though of course a good or bad layout can all be in the eye of the beholder. But it is super common to put the TV over the fireplace in new McMansions (though think going out of style now), so not sure what you're thinking here. We have a (not McMansion) new build, but the TV is right plop over the fireplace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The fireplace is in our family room, and is a central gathering area for our family. I happen to really enjoy TV and so does DH, so we have no issue with putting a TV above the mantle. Also there's no other place in the house that will accommodate our 65inch. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I just find it hard to believe this is an actual deal-breaker for anyone. The rest of the house is perfect, location and schools work. But OH NO only place for a TV is above the mantle...sorry it's off our list. That is just crazy talk and nonsensical.

That's great that you and your husband don't mind but it really isn't that crazy or nonsensical. I don't know that it would have a total deal breaker when we were looking but it was definitely a minus. It speaks to general poor layout and design in the house as well.

No it doesn’t “speak” to poor layout. It likely means your home isn’t a new McMansion.

Different poster (the one who has a TV over the fireplace and is happy about it).

I also do not think it "speaks" to a poor layout, though of course a good or bad layout can all be in the eye of the beholder. But it is super common to put the TV over the fireplace in new McMansions (though think going out of style now), so not sure what you're thinking here. We have a (not McMansion) new build, but the TV is right plop over the fireplace.

It’s a matter of taste — I (and my neck) like a tv to be hung low. Clearly a lot of people don’t mind, which is why this issue is a turn off for some people and not others. Those of us who dislike high TVs really dislike them though!

https://www.reddit.com/r/TVTooHigh/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The fireplace is in our family room, and is a central gathering area for our family. I happen to really enjoy TV and so does DH, so we have no issue with putting a TV above the mantle. Also there's no other place in the house that will accommodate our 65inch. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I just find it hard to believe this is an actual deal-breaker for anyone. The rest of the house is perfect, location and schools work. But OH NO only place for a TV is above the mantle...sorry it's off our list. That is just crazy talk and nonsensical.

That's great that you and your husband don't mind but it really isn't that crazy or nonsensical. I don't know that it would have a total deal breaker when we were looking but it was definitely a minus. It speaks to general poor layout and design in the house as well.

No it doesn’t “speak” to poor layout. It likely means your home isn’t a new McMansion.

Different poster (the one who has a TV over the fireplace and is happy about it).

I also do not think it "speaks" to a poor layout, though of course a good or bad layout can all be in the eye of the beholder. But it is super common to put the TV over the fireplace in new McMansions (though think going out of style now), so not sure what you're thinking here. We have a (not McMansion) new build, but the TV is right plop over the fireplace.

It’s a matter of taste — I (and my neck) like a tv to be hung low. Clearly a lot of people don’t mind, which is why this issue is a turn off for some people and not others. Those of us who dislike high TVs really dislike them though!

https://www.reddit.com/r/TVTooHigh/

I don’t think you understood that I was defending folks who don’t like having the TV over the fireplace (though the set-up suits us great). I was responding to the TV/Fireplace stan who thinks it’s banana pants anyone would consider that layout a dealbreaker. But yes, all just a matter of personal preferences.

[Anonymous]

Bad/ mediocre school District
Lack of charm and curb appeal
Busy street
No nearby parks to walk dogs
Outside the beltway

I seem to be in the minority but I would prefer to be able to walk to shops and restaurants than to have a garage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, it's a pipestem. I'm not living on a shared driveway. Give me a house on a street like a normal person, where my house isn't hidden off the street behind two other houses where it's difficult to find and you risk getting blocked in by your neighbors when they throw parties. My friends who live on them love them and I just don't get it.

Also, sunken living rooms. There's no benefit to a step down into a room and it just means you can't expand furniture from an adjacent room into that room. When I've gone to open houses that I didn't realize had sunken living rooms, I've turned right back around and walked out. Hard pass.

I think a pipestem could provide lots of privacy. It’s like you could get the benefit of urban area but hidden and private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it's a pipestem. I'm not living on a shared driveway. Give me a house on a street like a normal person, where my house isn't hidden off the street behind two other houses where it's difficult to find and you risk getting blocked in by your neighbors when they throw parties. My friends who live on them love them and I just don't get it.

Also, sunken living rooms. There's no benefit to a step down into a room and it just means you can't expand furniture from an adjacent room into that room. When I've gone to open houses that I didn't realize had sunken living rooms, I've turned right back around and walked out. Hard pass.

I think a pipestem could provide lots of privacy. It’s like you could get the benefit of urban area but hidden and private.

I've never seen a pipestem in an urban area. I've seen them in typical suburbia (with sidewalks and curbs where the pipestem just looks like a driveway, but then there are more houses behind the first one) and I've seen them in rural-ish areas (no sidewalks or curbs where the pipestem is at the end of a cul de sac).

[Anonymous]

A flip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Hold on - THAT ^^^ is a deal breaker for you?

PP isn't the only one! I HATE TVs over the fireplace. And we watch enough TV that not having someplace else to put it would make this if not a dealbreaker, a real downside.

Lack of sidewalks and/or not walkable would be an actual dealbreaker for me. Walking is my main form of exercise and it's how I decompress, and not being able to step out my door and walk would make me miserable.

+1 hate it! You have to look up so high, it’s uncomfortable. And the TV has to be really small. Plus it looks so tacky.

No it doesn’t. It’s 2021. Ppl watch TV. Big deal

That's the point - I like watching TV and I want the TV to have a good place to go, where it'll be enjoyable to watch. I don't want it to feel like I just stuck it in the only available spot and who cares if it's uncomfortable and ugly there.

We actually live on a busy street - yeah I know - but have a nice quiet room in the back where we have some comfortable couches, and the TV at eye level for when we're sitting on them. I enjoy the privacy of not watching TV in a room in the front of the house - I don't like feeling on display when we're vegging out - and I like that we can look straight ahead, not up, to watch.

I'm sure you get used to staring above the fireplace! I just don't like it, and a house would have to be pretty fantastic for me to get that setup.

I hate it too. And I hate that our recently purchased house has an HDMI port above it. We were able to hide it with a mirror but it was tough to find.

I love a good fireplace and I want the mantle to be seasonally decorated and cozy. A TV does not do that

I think a tv above the fireplace is just about the most god-awful thing ever. Who wants a television to be the focal point of the room? We have a fireplace in our family room and in our living room. They are beautiful. And I keep the mantle decorated as well. Our television is in the family room inside a built in cabinet that closes when we aren’t watching television.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Hold on - THAT ^^^ is a deal breaker for you?

PP isn't the only one! I HATE TVs over the fireplace. And we watch enough TV that not having someplace else to put it would make this if not a dealbreaker, a real downside.

Lack of sidewalks and/or not walkable would be an actual dealbreaker for me. Walking is my main form of exercise and it's how I decompress, and not being able to step out my door and walk would make me miserable.

+1 hate it! You have to look up so high, it’s uncomfortable. And the TV has to be really small. Plus it looks so tacky.

No it doesn’t. It’s 2021. Ppl watch TV. Big deal

That's the point - I like watching TV and I want the TV to have a good place to go, where it'll be enjoyable to watch. I don't want it to feel like I just stuck it in the only available spot and who cares if it's uncomfortable and ugly there.

We actually live on a busy street - yeah I know - but have a nice quiet room in the back where we have some comfortable couches, and the TV at eye level for when we're sitting on them. I enjoy the privacy of not watching TV in a room in the front of the house - I don't like feeling on display when we're vegging out - and I like that we can look straight ahead, not up, to watch.

I'm sure you get used to staring above the fireplace! I just don't like it, and a house would have to be pretty fantastic for me to get that setup.

I hate it too. And I hate that our recently purchased house has an HDMI port above it. We were able to hide it with a mirror but it was tough to find.

I love a good fireplace and I want the mantle to be seasonally decorated and cozy. A TV does not do that

I think a tv above the fireplace is just about the most god-awful thing ever. Who wants a television to be the focal point of the room? We have a fireplace in our family room and in our living room. They are beautiful. And I keep the mantle decorated as well. Our television is in the family room inside a built in cabinet that closes when we aren’t watching television.

The only people I know who have TV’s over their mantle either a) grew up on TV and truly can’t live without it, therefore it really is the centerpiece of their house or B) don’t care for interior design. There are so many more interesting ways to stage your home but it’s convenient and some people just don’t care.

[Anonymous]

I dunno, I think it’s a little precious to tuck it into a cabinet so you can pretend you don’t watch television.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bamboo

We are twins. Also busy street, two story foyer, and master bedroom on the first floor. My husband has a major issue with faux columns in the entryway, like these.

[Anonymous]

Busy street. Bad (crime) neighborhood.