What would attract you to a house

Clean and tidy with a fresh smell. Nothing worse than going into a smelly house. I once looked at a house where the wife had left and the man didnt want to sell the house. It was filthy, dirty kitchen and unmade beds. I tried to look beyond it all but the location was the deciding factor. Too near a very busy main road and not much in the way of parking. Good luck.

Ive also listened for ten years to my NDN clumping up wooden stairs(next to my bedroom wall) in her traditional chinese wooden block shoes....?I'm at end of my tether with the stairs & the lack of sun.(& a few other things!) Desperately trying to get a new rental property.☹

lixy- did they think you were leaving them the bed??

Clean, cosy and in good nick. Storage space and a garden which is neither too big or small, not overlooked.

A nice sun-filled front lounge or 'main reception room' for me- ive spent last 10 years shivering in a stupidly designed house that gets NO SUN at all in my only living room- and its often warmer outside than in! I have poor circulation as well so when everyone else saves a bit on gas/electric on our sunnyier days- i have to still have the heating on!?

I am not a house proud person, so things like decor, clutter or pets do not bother me. More concern with the location, has to be quiet and peaceful away from the main road.

Must have - ample space for parking, a garage, garden which is private and not overlooked, good room sizes and I like big windows.

I will never buy a cottage with small windows and dark beams. I will be depressed in winter without much natural light.

So far, we have moved twice years ago but we have always moved into our new home, let out our existing house for a year or two and then put it on the market for sale. So no buyers had seen how messy and untidy we are.

whoops other way around, E/SE at the back, with the 2 sets of patio doors

I did take a compass with me, I wanted west/east orientation and I now have the best of orientations ie s /sw at the back, which means sun on the back wall first, then on the front but the garden is sunny almost the whole day

I used to live in an eco house with very large windows on the s side but with solar shading ie balconies and overhangs. That was a very good situation, the north windows were normal size. No way did I ever want a s facing house, not without solar shading. My neighbours at an angle to me get the sun from the s all day in the front, very hot in summer and their back is shady.

Location is so important, besides the facilities needed as we age, personally I am detached and have gorgeous old long gardens to 2 sides, garage s facing and my house on the last side. Not overlooked by anyone

Another two I turned down had air source heat pumps, noisy ugly things, especially the one below the main bedroom window

Doodledog

Something I would love to check is whether the neighbours in an adjoining house have wooden floors - particularly upstairs.

My NDNs have knocked through the hall, sitting room and dining room to one huge space, and have wooden floors throughout. It may look lovely and modern, but I don't think they realise how noisy it can be for us.

Agree, our NDN even have wooden stairs and obviously never remove their shoes. They also have a noisy ceiling fan in upstairs hall. Grr.
Neighbours are very important.

Anything that makes me think the house isn't well maintained would put me off, as it could indicate I might find problems after buying..

NotSpaghetti

I would also be put off by an "unkempt" looking close neighbour.
It may be thst they are simply infirm but lovely people or they may be people with truly chaotic lives.

I'm very glad I didn't follow this rule. My neighbour is scruffy (well, so are we now DD and DGS live with me) but is the loveliest lady and her adult DD who lives with her is too.

I'd much rather have her and her scruffy garden and haphazardly painted fence than the neat, tidy but grumpy and judgemental old man on the other side.

I had a photographer yesterday taking pics for the possible sale of my house. It took me 3 days to prepare ?. Cupboards , shed & garage stuffed with well, ‘stuff’. All surfaces especially in the kitchen & bathrooms cleared. I’m exhausted but it does look wonderful. Maybe I won’t sell ?. My No 1 bugbear are photos of messy bathrooms with the loo seat up/lid not down. It’s amazing how many properties are advertised like this

Location is everything to me. Unfortunately better location higher prices.
I don’t bother about decor but look for cracks, damp and strong smells, plus general maintenance.
Most other things are cosmetic or fixable.

Clean, tidy, bright, well cared for.
We cleaned patio, gutters and facias when selling last year, and just kept everything tidy. Made beds even in rooms that aren't currently in use.

Be prepared for people to open cupboards - even the drawers under my bed were inspected once! - and to ask unexpected questions such as 'Would my motorbike fit in the greenhouse?' We didn't have a green house so were a bit nonplussed!

We kept out of the way while the estate agent showed people around but made ourselves available to answer questions when they ended up in the garden.

When selling our house recently I bought a huge vase from a charity shop and asked our local florist to fill it with bright silk flowers. It gave our rather dull lounge the wow factor. I also kept freshly ironed bedding for the viewings. I took everything off the worktops and put it in cupboards. Also - my pet hate - I can’t stand bathrooms where everything is on show - toothpaste, shampoo etc. A bathroom should look like a hotel bathroom does with clean towels neatly folded. Look at how the big building companies present their properties and emulate them. We’ve moved several times using these methods and it has paid off every time. Also ask your estate agent if you can do anything different. They often have good ideas.

Something I would love to check is whether the neighbours in an adjoining house have wooden floors - particularly upstairs.

My NDNs have knocked through the hall, sitting room and dining room to one huge space, and have wooden floors throughout. It may look lovely and modern, but I don't think they realise how noisy it can be for us.

I don't really know to be honest because every house I've bought has definitely been a dooer upper and never been fazed by anything but that said these days I couldn't do it all myself due to disability. Yes I have two very capable and willing sons but I don't like relying on them because it takes so long due to work commitments. Room sizes are the main thing for me as my current rooms are very spacious. which way the house faces is no biggie, my current house faces south but the lounge faces north as it's at the back overlooking the garden. My garden isn't a problem either due to the design of the house, there is no shading in the garden apart from trees planted by me. I guess it all comes down to gut feeling for me.

I agree with the tidying, kerb appeal and freshening up.
Not so sure about choosing an agent who has lots of boards up in the area. They will be so busy they may not have the time to devote to selling them all properly.
I deliberately avoided the popular local choice when I put my house on the market, and went for one that was still very good but not so many boards, they had time to really help and did an excellent job. They all advertise on rightmove etc these days anyway, so all have the same "shopfront"

The price would be my first attraction. Most other things can be changed over time. Our current home was on the market for 4 years before we bought it, but we could afford it mortgage free, but my goodness it was in a state!

Things that would put me off

*evidence of pets
*evidence of smells like damp, cigarettes - or plug ins or candles to cover the smell
*untidy garden, both the potential house and the neighbours
*grime or dirt
*dated kitchens or bathrooms that need replacing
*prefer for a property to have no wallpaper or spackling or textures on the ceilings or walls, nuisance to remove to get back to plain walls.
*neighbours, do their houses and cars look tidy, you can often tell troublesome neighbours just by looking at the house and the state it’s kept in

For me it is the feel/vibe of the house when i walk through the front door.
A big off- put is no drive at the front.
And a must is to drive past at the weekend and evenings,just to see how busy it may get.

Spacious rooms ,so even if the room isn't huge place furniture closer to walls to make it look as if theres a lot of floor space .I'm quite minimalist anyway but I'd still take thinks out before viewings .
We have bought a lot of houses to refurb, we've had several that have been bought on the condition we left all the furnishings and even accessories .Its very important to some folk that they can see it at its full potential.I'm sure your house will fly ,the market is in your favour ,Good luck hope it doesn't take too long

I would also be put off by an "unkempt" looking close neighbour.
It may be thst they are simply infirm but lovely people or they may be people with truly chaotic lives.

The one thing you can’t change is the orientation of the house and our last three houses have had the main rooms facing south or south west. Couldn’t cope with north facing now.

Clutter wouldn’t put me off, nor dated decor, nor would beautifully made beds etc. entice me.

What would put me off are
A north facing garden, or anything but a very tiny one one that’s been paved or concreted over
No bath, though ours is used mainly for visiting Gdcs now
A new kitchen that wouldn’t be my choice at all
Ditto bathroom
No downstairs loo
A freestanding, claw foot type bath - style over substance IMO.
Being on a busy road