What part of a house's exterior totally turns you off?

Question

If you are just looking at a picture of a house from the front, or driving by, what single factor really really turns you off?

For me, it is when the garage sticks out in front of the house. I just really hate that. It seems so backwards to me! I don't care how nice the inside is, I just absolutely can not buy a house with a garage that sticks out!

How about you? What turns you off?

Answer 1

When the house does not have a front porch

Answer 2

I completely agree with you about the garage in front.  We bought a house 1.5 years ago that is a nice comtemporary arts and crafts style single story with a nice large porch.  It's beauty, I feel is marred by a horrible two car garage that juts out in front of the set back of the house.  It would have been just as easy to put the garage behind the set back.  With better planning the garages entry could have been placed to the side of the house with two windows facing the street.  It would have required less of a set back from the street but in my opinion that would have been a huge improvement for the entire neighborhood and since people sitting on their front porches could more easily engage the neighbors strolling on the sidewalk.  An even better improvement would have been to put all the garages to the rear of house with access through a service alley.  That's how things were set up in my old neighborhood in another state and it was much more attractive.  Unfortunately in my town you can't find a house that doesn't have a big gaping mouth of a garage in the front.  I don't understand how so many architects and developers can have such a poor understanding of good design.

Answer 3

ugly front door

Answer 4

What really turns me off is when there is no landscaping. Seeing a bare foundation is awful. Then, the next "turn off" is when families allow their children to leave those plastic toys in their front yard... it looks like a perpetual garage sale.

Answer 5

I'm with you; it seems like many homes have the garage as the focal point of the house.  And then, rather than paint the garage door to match the paint on the house, people leave it white, so it detracts from the main entrance.  Really, what's the very worst for me, is when every single house on the block looks exactly the same.

Answer 6

Just the overall appearnce of the house. For example the paint, does it look like it needs to be painted or is it just an off the wall color for the outside of a house. The yard, is it mowed or is there a whole bunch of junk in the yard. Just some things like that.

Answer 7

Rain Gutters falling off the house or painted the wrong non matching color.