Being invited into a friend’s home can feel like a huge honor. They’re opening up their humble abode to you, and you have the opportunity to get an intimate peek into their life. They might have family photos on the walls, artwork from childhood on the fridge and dozens of books that mean the world to them lining the shelves.
But visiting someone else’s house can backfire when you start to notice things that terrify you. Redditors have recently been discussing some of the worst things that you could possibly find in someone else’s home, so we’ve gathered the biggest red flags below. Enjoy reading through, and be sure to upvote the things that would send you running for the hills!
#1
If they have children, but you see no sign of a child in the home outside of their bedroom.
Edit: I do not mean the home is trashed. I mean you see no photos, no coats, shoes, toys anything indicating a child lives there too. For example I tidy up every night, but you’ll still see my toddlers shoes by the door and his little paw patrol table in the living room. & photos around the house of him of course
Another edit: I am not going back and fourth with you sad beige parents that live for aesthetics. If you don’t get it I’m not explaining it.
Edit: I do not mean the home is trashed. I mean you see no photos, no coats, shoes, toys anything indicating a child lives there too. For example I tidy up every night, but you’ll still see my toddlers shoes by the door and his little paw patrol table in the living room. & photos around the house of him of course
Another edit: I am not going back and fourth with you sad beige parents that live for aesthetics. If you don’t get it I’m not explaining it.
117points
#2
House made of sweets and gingerbread. Boiling cauldron over chimney fire.
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107points
#3
Large political flags on the wall. I don't care what your political affiliations are, if you are that obsessed with it that you feel the need to hang a huge flag in your living room to announce them, that's a no from me.
103points
#4
I did some real estate photography on a home.
It was a Mass State Trooper. It was disturbing: A nice neighborhood, a nice home, clean and well maintained. Kids and wife photos decorating the walls and end tables. But I started noticing holes punched into walls (some of them plastered and repaired, some of them "fresh". Doors that had been splintered at the bottom from being kicked in. A couple doors that had padlocks on them that had been ripped out. There were just signs of rage everywhere I looked. It was disturbing and I felt bad for the family.
It was a Mass State Trooper. It was disturbing: A nice neighborhood, a nice home, clean and well maintained. Kids and wife photos decorating the walls and end tables. But I started noticing holes punched into walls (some of them plastered and repaired, some of them "fresh". Doors that had been splintered at the bottom from being kicked in. A couple doors that had padlocks on them that had been ripped out. There were just signs of rage everywhere I looked. It was disturbing and I felt bad for the family.
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99points
#6
I change the bathroom towels in our guest bathroom every Friday. One Friday I told my son to go wipe up the urine he left on the seat & floor and then watched this imposter of my DNA, wipe the urine with a hand towel and hang it back up, in front of me. I've never wanted to disown a relative more in my life.
91points
#8
This extreme beigeness. Especially if there are kids. I saw videos of parents painting colorful toys beige. It's just sad.
91points
#9
I don’t know if I’d go as far as “red flag”, but people who have zero books in their home give me pause.
88points
#13
Really gnarly aquarium. If you’re gonna trap fish in a box for your personal pleasure, keep that s**t pristine.
79points
#14
I was looking at an apartment to rent in a very liberal part of the USA. Place was great! I’d have a huge windowed area and lots of nice amenities like a fireplace. I went to the other part of the place where the landlord lived. Above *his* fireplace was a portrait. A portrait of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Founder of the KKK. I noped right the f**k out of there.
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76points
#15
Trashy neighbor's dog died in a kennel, probably from starvation.
They ignored the body until well after rigor set in, and then they couldn't get it out of the cage because the limbs wouldn't bend. So they just left it in there, in the house, surrounded by piles of garbage
Their 10-year-old eventually asked other neighborhood adults for help because the parents wouldn't do anything about it.
So... dead dog rotting in a cage is my red flag.
They ignored the body until well after rigor set in, and then they couldn't get it out of the cage because the limbs wouldn't bend. So they just left it in there, in the house, surrounded by piles of garbage
Their 10-year-old eventually asked other neighborhood adults for help because the parents wouldn't do anything about it.
So... dead dog rotting in a cage is my red flag.
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70points
#16
When they let their pets poop and pee in the house. Bonus if they let their kid sleep in a room that is essentially a massive litter box.
65points
#17
When they don't do basic preparation for a preplanned guest coming over. For example, there's no toilet paper, they don't offer you anything to drink, house is really messy.
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63points
#18
No sheets on their bed but clearly they sleep on it.
62points
#20
Growing up my mom always told me if I saw a gun in someone's home to politely leave and call her and that she'd pick me up. How to tell in one quick story that someone was raised outside of the United States. I still get a jolt when I see a rifle in someone's house, I understand that there is responsible gun owners but I am not fond of being near weapons even when properly stored.
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54points