I thought I couldn't afford it. In hindsight, I COULD, but at the time the number seemed so outrageous and I thought I would end up bankrupt.

Cigarette smell.
Master bath had the sink in the bedroom area with no separation, and no easy way to wall it off.
A leaky oil tank underground (not in this area).
A backyard that seemed a bit too wet considering it hadn't rained in days.
Oddly sloped/difficult to maintain or use yard.

Basically, things that wouldn't be easy to repair or change.

1. Divorcing couple (owners, moving out due to the divorce) could not agree on accepting our initial offer (wife was willing, husband was not), so we did a couple rounds of negotiation and then walked because it didn't look like they were likely to agree and we didn't want to deal with the drama any more.
2. Creepy basement where the walls of a room had been lined with dozens of mismatched closet-size mirrors (budget "mirrored walls, lol), with handcuffs dangling from a pipe in the ceiling.
3. Suspicious roof. Had it inspected and was told that it was "fine", but there was so much water wear/staining that we still passed because we weren't convinced.
4. Had a main staircase that was very steep and narrow, it felt like we/our little kids/elderly dogs would constantly be in danger of falling down the stairs.
5. Between an unfinished basement and a finished one, we chose the house with a finished basement so we could use the space immediately.

1. The house was near a planned major road extension - like the state/county had already purchased/taken out houses nearby. The ongoing construction plus the unknown of what things would be like after the road was in - it would have taken a lot to overcome that. Not only that but there was a small completely patio backyard (no backyard grass area for kids at the SFH) and our realtor told us the seller would be insulated if we offered lower than asking price.

2. House was a pocket listing/the realtor owner passed away and the house had not been updated in 40 years - avocado stove and not the vintage kind. The sellers were not willing to entertain anything less than asking and gave the impression they could hold out for the price they wanted. I might have still considered it because it did have the space BUT the house was maybe two or three houses in from the corner of the main road that led to the neighborhood. I love that current house is tucked into the neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Squeaky floor noises.

Tell me you're joking

No,
If I walk around a house and the floor makes squeaking noises in a lot of places I am not buying it.
Not easy to fix.

Totally agree. We also passed on a house with squeaky floors because we were moving from a house with squeaky floors that we HATED (and always woke up our newborn)_

The issue (or not issue, from my perspective) of squeaky floors has been a big point of discussion in my marriage.

Then again, I’d be delighted in a stone house from the 1700s in the country while my husband would like a super sleek, modern condo in the city. We compromise by always seeming to build new homes in suburbia, lol.

Busy road (N Quincy in Arlington)

Damp smell in the basement, too much work to update, floor plan issues.

Several different houses:
1- husband was out of town, I tried to put an offer without him seeing the house but he wouldn’t budge (which I understand but because you think I am crazy: there were very few housesMeeting our criteria and that one almost did). Happy we didn’t get it in the end, it was too small and no possibility of expansion
2- buried oil tanks. DH was afraid of environmental hazard so left contingency on removal of tanks. and it was for sure not going to work as it was already a time when contingencies were a no go (2016…). That one I regretted for a while but in the end it was good, too much maintenance and too far from metro
3- taxes were too high. House had just been reassessed, we thought the taxes would kill our budget and I didn’t understand fully how reassessment worked. So we didn’t bid high enough, taking into account the taxes. It was a beautiful house priced low. In the end we would have been outbid anyway as it went 200k over asking, but if it it had gotten on,y 75/100k over asking I think I would have felt very stupid
4- we ended up getting our house after 6 failed bids total. And it was the right one: right location, wonderful neighbors, charming etc,,

No regrets

Distance from the metro was further than I was willing to drive daily. I was tempted but that was the ultimate reason I bailed. I'm glad I did because I wound up building a house within walking distance of a train station.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Squeaky floor noises.

Tell me you're joking

No,
If I walk around a house and the floor makes squeaking noises in a lot of places I am not buying it.
Not easy to fix.

Totally agree. We also passed on a house with squeaky floors because we were moving from a house with squeaky floors that we HATED (and always woke up our newborn)_

ghosts

Spiders.

Road noise.

Scary 1920s basement

Asbestos