To celebrate Halloween this year we conducted a completely off the cuff and non-scientific poll of what really scares people when buying a property!

Halloween LanternsHeavily weighted by personal taste and humour the results, in no particular order, were:

Carpet in the bathroom

Tiles belong in the bathroom and carpets belong in the bedroom, right? Definitely more cons than pros on this one. Hygiene and damp carpet smells - urgh!

Wood chip wallpaper

Yes, we know it is an inexpensive quick fix when it comes to decorating but have you ever tried to get the stuff off? A magic spell is definitely needed here.

Changing rooms

Anything related to this TV show is definitely cursed.

A coloured bathroom suite

Seems a coloured suite can easily turn the bathroom into a chamber of horrors. Avocado, pink pearl, even worse, chocolate - they all had our panel screaming.

Paint effects

Sponging, stippling, rag-rolling, marbling - the one thing these broken colour effects have in common is that they make people think you missed lots of bits.

Black ash furniture

Reminds you of Ron Weasley's first wand - an ash hand-me-down from brother Charlie. Our panel felt that this style of furniture becoming ash was the way ahead!

Wood panelling

Great hiding place for spiders and secret passageways but other than the fun of disappearing whenever you want, it's really not got a lot going for it these days.

Squeaky floorboards

The spooks may be able to fly over them but they are the bane of every teenager who tries to sneak in after their curfew. On second thoughts maybe they are not such a bad thing after all!

Mirrored ceilings

Won't bother you if you're a vampire but otherwise definitely a niche market.

Garden gnomes

We have yet to find the garden gnome that sorts out the weeds, mows the lawn or rakes the leaves. Until then they should remain invisible.

Got some suggestions of your own? Send them to us on Twitter @espc or share on our Facebook page.