The hardest thing to wrap your head around when buying a home: It's not what you think.

There will be stuff you don't like about every house/condo/townhome/cottage/etc. that you look at.

In other words, you won't find a house that requires nothing be changed.

The homebuying process is like dating. At first, you'll treat it like you treated the dating scene; turning away perfectly viable suitors simply because of cosmetic or other aesthetic reasons. The hard part is turning that part of your brain off and realizing that it's smoke and mirrors.

• That ugly shag carpet from the 80s (which we think has more style than hardwood throughout)? You can change it. Yes, it costs money - way less than it would to find a house that already has the carpet ripped out. Especially if you do it yourself. And if you don't have the money now, you can live with it after vacuum and shampooing until you're ready to swap it out.
• Paint that looks like the previous owners were colorblind? Get you some base white paint and neutralize it, then you'll get all sorts of ideas for what you want it to be. Again, likely cheaper than it would be for a flipped house.
• Doors that could barely fit a Hobbit much less a human? Could get quite expensive to redo these. This might be a good reason to bypass a home. Unless you're roughly the same size as Samwise Gangee.
• HVAC unit left to disrepair in a climate where it gets blistering hot? You could replace it, or just get cheaper room A/C units if it's just bothering certain people.
• Cracked foundation? Run...unless the seller is willing to pay to get it corrected.

The point is, consider the reason you might be turning down homes. If you anticipate spending more to fix the home than the down payment you put up for it, it's probably not a good investment, but if you can justify some "sweat equity" (i.e. do some of the work yourself), you might find a good project home that you can make yours without breaking the bank AND dramatically increase its value when you go to sell it.