People looking for a new home or neighborhood are often advised that no place is perfect. You might move to a quiet, rural location and find yourself missing the easy access to the grocery store and other amenities. Or you might love your home but can't stand a particularly aggravating neighbor.

In a recent survey by the mortgage resource site HSH, speeding vehicles were the top neighborhood annoyance identified by respondents. The most common annoyance related to a neighbor was noise, while respondents were most likely to identify a lack of storage when asked about the shortcomings of their own home.

The Northeast region, stretching from Maine to Maryland, differed from the rest of the nation on certain issues. Respondents in this area were most likely to be bothered by how close a neighbor's home is to their own as well as the size of their home.

The survey collected responses from 1,001 American adults. Respondents were asked to choose five items from a list of possible annoyances and rank them in order from most annoying to least annoying.

Noisy neighbors

Sixty-three percent of respondents said the amount of noise generated by their neighbors was among the biggest annoyances related to other people in the area. This was the most common answer among both homeowners and renters.

The next most common annoyance was the proximity of a neighbor's home, with 61 percent including this issue among the five most aggravating factors related to a neighbor. Forty-six percent said they were bothered by a neighbor's messy yard.

"Your neighbors want you to know a secret: since you can't move your house farther away, you can at least keep the noise down to a respectful level – and that includes your kids, your vehicles, and your pets, too," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.

There were some notable differences among different categories in the survey. Those who said they have lived in their homes for one to seven years were most likely to be bothered by a neighbor's noise, while those who had lived in their home for eight years or longer were more annoyed if they considered a neighbor's home to be too close to theirs. Gumbinger suggested that residents may learn to live with a neighbor's noise over time and be more annoyed by a home being too close.

While noise was the top complaint among men, women were more bothered by the proximity of a neighbor's home. Respondents were also more likely to be bothered by a neighbor's home being too close as they got older, with this issue being the top complaint among those ages 60 and older.

The Northeast was the only region where the proximity of a neighbor's home was a larger issue than noise. Les Masterson, summarizing the survey results for HSH, suggests that this result stems from high population densities in the region.

Speed demons

When asked about their top annoyances with a neighborhood, more than three out of four respondents were bothered by busy streets or speeding drivers in the area. Seventy-six percent included this reason among their top five annoyances.

The issue of homes being too close together again came up, with 71 percent saying this was one of the things they considered most aggravating about the neighborhood. A much smaller share—56 percent—considered it annoying that there were not enough local options for retail stores or grocery shopping.

Speeding vehicles was the top complaint among homeowners as well as those who had lived in a residence for eight years or more. Renters and respondents who had owned their home for less than eight year were more likely to be bothered by the proximity of other residences.

Speeders were also the top concern among both men and women, as well as in all regions of the United States. It was a leading annoyance among all age groups with the exception of those between the ages of 40 and 49, who were more irritated by how close homes in their neighborhood were located to one another.

Masterson suggests that homeowners may be more concerned with the safety of the roads in their neighborhood after they have lived in a home for several years and gotten used to the proximity of other residences. It is also more likely that a resident will have children when they have stayed in a home this long, and as such they will be more annoyed by unsafe drivers on nearby streets.

Not enough storage

A lack of storage was the biggest annoyance respondents cited with their own home, with 67 percent including this problem among the top five issues they had with their property. A similar share—66 percent—was annoyed with the level of maintenance required for their home, while 52 percent considered their home to be too small.

The issues related to the home varied widely among age groups. The youngest respondents, between the ages of 24 and 29, were most likely to be disappointed by the size of their home. Those in the 30-39 and 50-59 age groups were most concerned about a lack of storage, while respondents in the 40-49 age group and those above the age of 60 were most annoyed by the amount of maintenance required for the home.

Maintenance was also the top annoyance in the Northeast region, while storage topped the list in all other regions. Masterson says the housing stock in this region is older, and that residents face more maintenance difficulties due to weather extremes that include hot summers and snowy winters.

Homeowners were also most likely to cite maintenance among the top annoyances they had with their property. Renters were more likely to be upset at the size of their home.

A lack of storage was the most common annoyance listed by both men and women, as well as respondents who had lived in their home for less than eight years. Those who had lived in their home for a longer period of time were more annoyed by the required maintenance.