House hunting sucks

[Neia]

It's all very well to do it online, alone on the couch, just flicking through photos.

But then you have to go visit the place, smell it, walk through it even if there are dead bugs and cobwebs, make nice with the realtor.

Then they ask you to describe your impressions of the house honestly... evaluate it... while telling you that the place isn't that bad. It's an investment opportunity.

I hate it all.

I wish the online house adds would have true descriptions of the places.
Like: walls crumbling from saltpeter infiltration, exiguous bathroom, fiercely uneven floors, crumbling ceiling, smells like rats...

But no... they take misleading photos, describe the place as habitable or in good condition.
Do they think that people will be stupid enough to buy a place looking like that, when they are looking for move in ready needing a makeover?

What part of rat infested is charming? What part of move in ready is an exterior wall that is half finished?

Did I already say that I hate this process? I just want to be done already.

 

[tree]

Dead pigeon in the bathtub made a big impression
on me, when I was looking at houses.

 

[Neia]

Dead pigeon in the bathtub made a big impression
on me, when I was looking at houses.

I'm sure I could have found some dead rats, or at least, dead mice, if I had tried. My nose can still smell them

 

[Metalhead]

Looking at the wild condominium tracks and pulling out a rifle to shoot it through its kitchen window right into its water heater heart - now that is house hunting.

 

[jsilver256]

Yeah, pictures are worthless unless you're specifically looking for a view. They cover up far too much. I don't know how it works where you are, but in the USA, you can get a buyer's agent and they will drive you anywhere. It'd be good to determine neighborhoods etc to get a taste.

 

[damoisellepeachy]

I remember a time years ago where me and my mom lived in an apartment that turned out to have mouse traps in random sections of the place and there was probably a mice problem in those apartments. While we never came across any mice, I still didn’t like living there. And then we had an unlucky problem with cockroaches there (first and hopefully only time)

 

[Neia]

Yeah, pictures are worthless unless you're specifically looking for a view. They cover up far too much. I don't know how it works where you are, but in the USA, you can get a buyer's agent and they will drive you anywhere. It'd be good to determine neighborhoods etc to get a taste.

I don't think that buyers agents exist here.
The most I got was a realtor who agreed to drive me to the place being sold.

 

[Neia]

I remember a time years ago where me and my mom lived in an apartment that turned out to have mouse traps in random sections of the place and there was probably a mice problem in those apartments. While we never came across any mice, I still didn’t like living there. And then we had an unlucky problem with cockroaches there (first and hopefully only time)

I didn't see any mice, only smelled them. It's an unmistakable smell.
I could never live with that

Cockroaches are very hard to get rid off, and in some areas they seem to be endemic. Dreadful things

 

[Aspychata]

It seems fitting that they would have good pictures, then the pictures clearly showing the issues. We will have to go house hunting 3 months, l need cooler weather. l hate different floors, when the kitchen is one type of flooring, the living room is something else, along with the hallway and bedrooms something else. l walked into a house for sale in MN state, and couldn't wait to get out of there due to 7 different floors. l also get creeped out by tons of storage cabinets, l am not a hoarder, l just want pretty streamlined rooms. l have OCD tendencies when it comes to houses

 

[Neia]

. l hate different floors, when the kitchen is one type of flooring, the living room is something else, along with the hallway and bedrooms something else. l walked into a house for sale in MN state, and couldn't wait to get out of there due to 7 different floors.

Good thing you weren't visiting the place I visited today then different colours of carpet, different types of floors, different levels of floors, clutter everywhere...
At least this one didn't smell of rats, only damp
But the worst part is that the smells stick to you, even after you are back home your clothes, hair, even your backpack is stinky

I'll have 4 more houses to visit in the next few days.

 

[Cryptid]

My last house-hunt involved a realtor who seemed more interested in getting work for his father (a contractor) than in showing us the kind of house we wanted. Every structural or cosmetic fault we addressed was met with something like, "My father can fix that for you". Also . . .

• We wanted a quiet neighborhood. He showed us houses across busy roads from shopping centers and malls.

• We did NOT want to live under the auspices of an HOA, but then he started showing us houses where HOAs controlled everything (I know because I checked online and with the neighbors).

• We wanted 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a separate kitchen-dining room arrangement. Instead, he showed us houses with 4-5 bedrooms, 3 or more baths, and huge, cavernous, kitchen/dining/living room arrangements.

Sorry, kid. That's 3 strikes. You're out!

 

[Shevek]

I just lived in my car for two months, driving around looking for empty houses. Ordinary people I met gave me some tips, and I wound up with a great deal that was not advertised or listed.