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homebuying poll: what were your must haves?
we are going to start looking this summer, so i am trying to put together a list
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Re: homebuying poll: what were your must haves?
Layout layout layout! You can change almost anything else.
I think the size of the living area + the size of the backyard were our only two truly nonnegotiables besides price, area, and 3 br, 2 bath.
We are still house hunting, but here are my thoughts... Im sure Im leaving off things I dont know enough about or terminology for, but this is off the top of my head.
We see that there are great houses with good enough prices, where if they dont have what is on our list, we can do it ourselves/have it done it and it still be in our budget...if that makes sense. So that part of my list has become very flexible.
There are a few things, though that the home has to have that we can't or won't want to do ourself. Well we could but it would mean adding on/majoe renovations or things like that, and we aren't looking to add on rooms or convert anything.
So things it has to have that we aren't looking to do/change ourselves:
two car garage, not at the front of the home (so either a swing garage, or back garage with alley access, or one the side...something like that, but not facing the front--not sure the terminology of that, hopefully it makes sense).
2 living areas
2 dining areas (like a breakfast nook, and a formal dining room for example)
location (we arent going to comprimising on that one unless it was a unbelievable home or deal)
one story
NO inground pool (above ground would be ok because we could remove it)
large backyard
not within an HOA
shower and tub (together or seperate) in both baths
seperate utility room (the main thing here is that I dont want it in the garage)
Location, layout (flow), size of living room and master bedroom/bath (including the closet - it's not huge, but some we looked at were unreasonably too small and I knew I'd end up unhappy in the end), layout of kitchen, mature trees, LOTS of windows (my happiness thrives on natural light!), 3 bedrooms/study or 4 bedrooms (so 1 could be used as an office) and I wanted a dining room (wasn't something I would give in on). While, I didn't factor cosmetic things into our decision since the things I listed were priority and I knew we could change everything else, we have spent way more than I would have imagined to get it closer to how we want it....so while cosmetic things can be changed, also know what it will cost to get it to a comfortable living state.
Good luck! Where are you looking?
We were looking at older homes (1910s-1960s), so some of the things we were looking for are pretty much a given in newer homes.
- closed off washer/dryer area -- not just out in the kitchen and not in the garage.
- attached garage
- good "bones" but still room for us to make cosmetic improvements
- at least 2 bathrooms
- adequate storage -- plenty of kitchen cabinets, pantry, plenty of closets
- formal dining room
- a proper entryway - in some of the houses we looked at, the front door opened right up into the living room
- safe neighborhood
- it wasn't an absolute must, but we really wanted a gas stove
This was a big one for me too. I don't like when the front-view of a house is halfway taken up by the garage door.
Man....we may have to move to Coppell!
For us it was all about the location. Than after that:
Layout/flow
Square footage - I wanted at least 2,000
Good structure, no major problems!
At least 2 full bathrooms and a half bath
Good sized kitchen
Dinning Room
At least some backyard
2 car garage
3 bedrooms
Preferred a study or office
Curb appeal
No pool
Master bedroom downstairs (but we didn't wind up getting this)
At the end of the day a lot of it was a feel. It either felt right or it didn't when we walked in.
We've been watching a lot of home buying shows lately and have started making our little "must have" list and "deal breaker" list for when we start looking at the end of the summer. I've found a lot of homes that are older that have had a lot of remodeling done and new upgrades added, so I'm hoping to find a "worn in" home, that's had things updated since it was built. While I like the "new builds", I feel like the older homes have more character (quiet neighborhoods, mature trees, big back yards, they aren't built on top of each other, etc.) and I just see myself raising my kids in an older home.
Must have:
3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage
Mid-way from both jobs, or not too far from one job (if extremely close to another) and also in a good/decent neighborhood where I'll feel safe if I decide to go take Anna on a run in the evenings or mornings.
Living room big enough for our couch. It's pretty huge.
Open Kitchen with plenty of counter space and storage
Mostly wood floors and new (ish) carpeting
Deal breakers:
Pool in the backyard (we don't want to deal with the up keep and want to have a yard for our dog to play in)
No storage space in the kitchen. I've already dealt with having a tiny kitchen, I can't and won't do it again, especially since I cook almost every night.
Bad neighborhood
I'm also trying to think about the future and when we have kids, so I'd like to live in a decent school district, by reputable schools...but I realize that we might not have children for 4-5 years and then they won't be starting school for another 5 years after that-so we may move if we aren't in a desired location for their education.
When we bought this house our must haves were:
-4 bedroom/3 + study
-min. 2000 sq. ft.
-open kitchen: Galley style kitchens are a big fat NO
-an entryway. Not an entrace where you're in a room or along the side of one.
-The front couldn't be overwhelmed by the garage or as I refer to them "garage and door" houses.
Our wants for house #2 are much longer hehe! I can't wait to move to get more space.
We're in the process of putting our list together as well. So far:
non-negotiable:
min 3000 sq ft
4BR/3BA
big kitchen with an island in it
enough kitchen counter space for all my appliances I use all the time
master bedroom upstairs
big yard
no pool
walking distance to walking trail/parks
lots of storage space
I'd prefer a gas stove, but Hubster assures me that it's not a dealbreaker; if we find one with everything else we like we'll replace the electric or ceramic stove w/ gas.
The list for when we bought this house:
ISD most important and we don't even have kids lol
Neighborhood, Neighborhood, Neighborhood
Large formal dining to fit our huge table and breakfast nook open to the family room.
A nice spot for the piano
Fireplace
3/2 min and 2000 sq ft min
no 10x10 bedrooms, must be at least 11x11
No 2 story houses overlooking the backyard, and best case (what we found) no houses behind.
List for the next house:
Everything above plus
larger than 2 car garage. 2.5 or tandom would be fine, just need more space
4/2 min with 2500 sq ft min
Gameroom
large pantry and lots of cabinet space
we now have a big laundry room so I can't go back to a small
Will not buy a house with a smaller master closet than we have now, I'm to use to a bigger closet.
would like to have a pool so we don't have to pay a lot to put it in (but not a deal breaker yet)
James Sawyer 12.3.10
Leo Richard 9.20.12
Our house is great, but these are list of the things I would change if I could..
I so wish we had a double oven.
Our stair case in in the front of the house and I wish it were in the middle. It seems homier and it will be easier to call kids down, when we have them
Enough space in the utility room for a wash basin or an upright freezer. Our room is pretty small!
If there is a jack and jill bathroom, a door between the bathroom and the bedroom that locks from inside the bedroom. Ours has a doorway (no door) into where the sink is and then a door into the bathroom. There is no way to lock the person on the other side out of your room. I might be a weirdo, but it was important to me as a child to have a space of my own that no one could come into.
Wood floors. Ours came with carpet and I think wood is much easier on the upkeep.
Driveway in the front. It keeps the neighborhood more social and gives you a bigger back yard!
We were looking for a house to gut but to us:
- school district, there are only two school districts I would consider living in and then within those school districts very few schools
- close to our church
- we really wanted to be in an older neighborhood with lots of families, the kind of neighborhood where everyone knows each other. We now live in that neighborhood and love it. I love driving down the street and everyone is outside.
When we gutted, we put most of our money into our kitchen and master bath. It was important to me to have a gas stove, double ovens, and a big open island. In the bathroom, I had to have a bath and shower. To my husband, it was important to have a double head shower with a bench.
What we wanted/got in our first house:
If we move again:
Of course, location & schools are always important
We really didn't have much of a list for our first (and current) home: 3 bed/2 bath was a must, laundry not off kitchen (saw that in one house and HATED it), large kitchen, garden tub, large master closet, double sink in master bath. Oh, and one story since we have dachsunds babies. We did did not care about number of living spaces or dining spaces (ended up with 1 living space and 2 dining spaces).
For our next house:
*1 story
*2 living spaces--one big enough to be used as a game room (mostly for the poker table)/workout room
*2 dining rooms--this was not a big deal with current house, but now that we have it, I won't go back
*designated office; or at least room in the game room for an office area (right now our office area is in our bedroom)
*two bedrooms in addition to master (one would be child's room, one guest)'
*large master bedroom (our current is huge)
*larger master closet and master bath (still with two sinks, but separate shower/tub)
*Kitchen: double oven, island, lots of counter space, lots of cabinets, large pantry (my current is the biggest pantry in the free world), must be good for entertaining
*overall layout must be open for entertaining
*covered patio, non-sloping backyard
*school district
I'm sure I'm leaving stuff off, but that's most of it.
3 to 4 bedrooms
study
big enough closet, but not obscene
all bedrooms upstairs, living areas downstairs
some yard but not too big
location
big open kitchen
nice flow to the house
when we move:
larger laundry room
somewhat bigger yard for when we do have kids (ours is good right now)
1 story (I know I'm going to bust my ass on those stairs one of these days)
besides what everyone else has mentioned......the backyard was one of the biggest must have's for us. in fact, it was a deal breaker. we looked at some really nice houses that we both really liked, but eliminated them from our search b/c the backyards were so tiny. with kids, we wanted a yard that they had room to play, throw the baseball, play football, etc.
something else that was important to us, was a neighboorhood with sidewalks. i think most newer neighborhoods have them, but some older neighborhoods don't have them.
Most haves:
3 bedrooms/ Dining Room / Large Kitchen
2 car garage
Seperate shower/bath for master room
Fireplace
Big back yard
Nice curb appeal
Good Neighborhood
Must Haves:
Location: Safe and convienient for work/school
3 Bedroom/2 Bath/2 Garage
Good "Bones"
Decent sized back yard
Good amount of storage
Good Value - Best bang for your buck
Would be nice:
Fire Place
Master "suite"
Deal Breakers:
Pool (upkeep cost and pugs are not good swimmers)
Bad Neighborhood
Funky floorplan
TONS of updating/repairs - Especially Kitchen/Bath updates (cost more)
Must Haves:
New construction
Open floorplan
4 bedrooms
Excellent schools
Safe neighborhood
Honestly, we didn't have a list of must-haves because we weren't really looking to buy when we did. We impulsively bought our new construction when my parent's decided to buy in the neigborhood as well. Looking back, we wish we would have been more selective in our wants. We think our house is great, I just wonder if we will still think so years down the road. Love the neighborhood though! Will probably stay within the general area if we ever do move.
Some things that we were looking for and surprised that were missing were:
linen closets
a "coat" closet
kitchen cabinet space, kitchen counter space
master closet that didnt feel like a shoebox
decent yard..you dont want to spend tons of money completely redoing a yard to make it look decent
Yeah pier and beam would be great Sars. The soil does suck in Coppell and we saw a lot of houses with foundation problems.
I would DEFINITELY recommend you get a separate foundation inspection when you're in your option period.
I recommend this as well!!!
Must haves:
- tile/hardwoods everywhere but bedrooms (mostly b/c it's so sandy here)
- large living room to accommodate furniture
- plenty of closets...large bedroom closets, linen and coat closets
- tub and shower (combo or separate) in all full baths...our condo only had a shower in the master and I hated it
- formal dining room (I only sort of got this in this house -- there's no kitchen nook, it's almost like a formal, but it's actually in the same room as the kitchen)
- one story
- split floorplan with master and guest bedrooms in separate areas
Nice to haves:
- garage (they have them here, but they're not a standard -- only a few homes in our neighborhood have them)
- in-ground pool
- 2" blinds, plantation shutters, or hurricane shutters already in or on home
- established neighborhood and mature trees
- in the county of Mobile and not the city of -- lower tax rates
- laundry closet or room -- next time a laundry ROOM will be a must have
- 4 bedrooms, next time this will be a must have -- this house only has 3