What features would you not want to live without? What would be on your "nice to have" wish list?
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@periwinklebee: we built a home last year and when choosing a plan the biggest thing was an open plan home with high ceilings, and large windows for good light.
A nice to have would be a wood burning fireplace but our builder only offered gas so we went without it -
We're in the process now.
Must haves
-open kitchen into living area
-4 bedrooms
-bonus room upstairs
-laundry on bedroom level
-actual office
-storage
-walk in pantry
-gas stove
-2 car garage
-enough flat yard to put a playsetNice to have:
-deck
-covered porch
-large yard (flattish)
-on cul de sac
-close to amenities (clubhouse/pool/walking trails)
-mudroom -
Assuming all the health and safety considerations are handled (roof, HVAC in good shape, no pests, proper insulation, etc):
1. Everyone gets their own room.
2. Kids have a separate bathroom.
3. Kitchen island or a lot of counter space.
4. Layout is such that I can watch my children from the kitchen.
5. Landscaping is done and easy to just continue and maintain.
6. Quiet street away from busy traffic.
7. Easy access to highways for commuting.
8. Attached garage.
9. Laundry room.Nice to have:
1. Third stall garage
2. Walk in pantry.
3. Separate play space for the kids.
4. Hard flooring.
5. Owned solar panels.
6. Mudroom. -
Near some kind of public transit (DH hates driving).
With some land for gardening (unpaved and with decent light).
Enough bedrooms for everyone, though sharing is OK.
A big kitchen.
Ideally, a spare bedroom in case we have guests, or a family member needs to live with us.
Efficient construction - doesn't require a fortune to keep it warm or cool. We almost bought a house once, but DH's friend lives two houses over, and warned him she's spending about $800 a month on utilities because the place overheats in the summer and leaks heat in winter. I didn't even know that kind of number is possible. -
Mine would vary - if we were staying in the city I would want:
A true master bedroom w/ attached bathroom
Good closet space for everyone
Storage - whether it is a garage, basement or attic
New kitchen with an island and high end finishes/ appliances
4 bedrooms
Outdoor space
A garage
No slanted floors or radiators or baseboard heating
Central airWould be nice:
Walk in/large pantry
Roof deckIf we went to the suburbs, I would want all of that plus a large fenced in backyard, a quiet street or cul-de-sac, an easy commute where I would be able to walk to public transportation, a true laundry room and an area to have a gym and playroom (like in a basement).
Now I just need a few million dollars and I can have all of that
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This will probably vary a lot based on location and how expensive houses are. Our top priority was being as close to the city as possible, and being in an expensive, competitive market, we couldn't be super choosy in terms of things like square footage, etc. Because of that, we only had a couple must-haves and then a bunch of nice-to-haves but not dealbreakers.
Musts:
At least three bedrooms
At least two bathroomsIdeals:
One of the bathrooms located in the master bedroom
1500+ square feet
Big master closet
Garage or covered parking
Space in the driveway for two cars to park next to each other (vs. one behind the other)
Good-sized yard
Not a tiny or galley kitchen
Not located on a busy road -
Must have:
Short commute
Fully fenced yard
No carpeting (maybe in bedrooms)
Nice layout even if fixtures are outdated
Finished basement with storage area
Garage
Nice/newish windowsNice to have:
Fireplace
Landscaping that’s nice
Main floor play room (actual room separate from living room) -
Must haves:
Quiet street away from traffic, in a neighborhood (this was huge for me)
4 bedrooms, possibly 3 plus office or den.
2.5 bathrooms including one in main/ first floor
Good schools
2 car garage
Not too far from train into cityNice to haves:
Walking distance to something- a store, cafe, park, anything (didn’t get this)
Cul de sac (got it!)
Decent sized flat ish yard
Outdoor space like a deck or patio -
Must Haves:
At least 3 bedrooms, + office space
outdoor space
high ceilings
In one of 2 neighborhoodsNice to have:
upper floor laundry
foyer
powder room on first floor
4th bedroom -
Must haves
3-4 bedrooms
2 full baths one of which is a true master
Driveway for 2 cars side by side
Ideal
Yard with deck
Big kitchen
2 car garage -
Ha! Just bought one...
Must have:
No carpet (except bedroom)
No or very few stairs (we have a child who can't manage them)
3 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
Acreage (6+ acres)
Barn
Large kitchen and pantry
High enough ceilings for fans in all bedrooms and living roomWe ended up with all of our must haves and several wants...and some major reno that needs to be done.
Wants that we got:
Higher ceilings (not vaulted, though)
A walk-in laundry room
An office space with built in shelf
All brick
An extra half-bath
A professional kitchen
Granite counter tops throughout
Separate dining room
Separate his/her closets in masterWe did want a more open-concept floor plan, but this house works well for us without it. There is a room that connects the kitchen and living room that we are using for a play area, so I can see the kids from both places. The cons of this house were basically several reno projects before we moved in (and a couple we still need to do) and the walls are painted paneling in almost every room. We did get more acreage than we thought we would, but we are having to repair/replace a lot of fencing....and destroy lots of poison ivy. Our barn is a complete gut job, too. In other words...lots of sweat equity to be had, but worth it in the long run. Very happy with it overall, and though I do miss my vaulted ceiling in the old house, I hope the old one sells soon!
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I have no idea when we will be in a position to buy since we move internationally every few years. But it's fun to dream.
Musts:
4 bedrooms (1 to be used as an office/guest bed)
At least 2 full baths
No carpet anywhere
Lots of natural light
A kitchen that I love or the budget to redo it
Good feng shui
Walking distance to shops/restaurants/public transit
As energy efficient as possible
Outdoor space; either a little garden or a balcony/terrace large enough for outdoor eating. We don't need a big lawn.Would be nice:
A mud room with footwashing area
Fireplace
Lots of storage -
I love these, so many things I wouldn't have ever thought of...
@Mrsbells: Out of curiosity, why did you prefer wood burning to gas?
@Ajsmommy: I would *love* a deck and covered porch, but not sure I'd convince my husband it's important. Will you use the bonus room as a playroom?
@gingerbebe: good point on being able to watch the kids from different points in the house, since my LO isn't mobile yet I hadn't even thought of this...
@Mama Bird: $800
@psw27: hah, yeah, I feel like your stay in the city list is everything our current tiny condo doesn't have (including the non-slanted flooring
)@muffinsmuffins: good point on windows, I've heard those are super pricey to replace...
@Foodnerd81: Did you get the deck or patio? I feel like this is one of the biggest things for me... I want to be able to relax outside in summer and an urban park bench doesn't cut it
@lioneyes: I've been so focused on fantasizing about in unit laundry that I hadn't even thought about it being more convenient if it wasn't in the basement!
@tlynne: Wow, that sounds like a huge project but like an amazing place!
@snarkybiochemist: I definitely fantasize about the master bath... really I think it's part of fantasizing about want to relax, which isn't happening lately
@lamariniere: Yes to outdoor eating, and fantasizing
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Oh one more must/ really really want: an entrance that isn’t directly into a living area/ kitchen. So a place to stop and take off shoes, hang up coats, which isn’t in the living room or kitchen. We lucked out and got a mudroom AND a foyer big enough for a bench, depending which door you come in. Of course we come in through the garage into the basement anyway...
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We bought on a relo trip so tried to be flexible knowing we couldn’t have it all in our price range in the closer in suburbs (with old small houses) we wanted.
- at least 3/2 (but you can be flexible to a degree ... our house is a 3/2 if you use the formal living room as a bedroom. It works fine except there’s only a small coat closet, but had room for a small ikea wardrobe)
- little to no projects needed, updated including wiring etc (super important if houses are older in the area) - we are so not handy and were happier to pay more upfront than invest in projects while we lived there
- nice kitchen because I spend a lot of time there, and nice kitchen storage because I have a lot of stuff
- decent storage built in because there are no basements in our area of Texas. I think they did well when our house was redone given the space but it’s still an issue. We have a walk in in the master, a decent pantry, a linen closet, etc. we moved here from a city apartment but we filled up all the space fast and I am constantly reworking the storage
- it wasn’t a must at the time but I LOVE our mudroom (which was added during the last Update to connect house/kitchen to garage). It has our laundry, great cabinets over the machines, I installed a foldable drying rack that fits in between, and it has a nice closet for coats and other seasonal stuff. Also was room for me to hang hooks for coats and bags for kids and a small shoe tower. Oh and my dyson stick hangs on the wall in there. So my point is ... in a small house, a setup where you can be creative and make the space work for you.
- also not a must (and not a given in our area) but I love our attached garage. I feel like garages are attached more in the north anyway so maybe not an issue for you
- details can make or break a place for me - I love our mouldings but not everyone cares about that stuff. Be realistic about what things you actually would change if you don’t like them. Even if you can afford them often the money goes elsewhere first
- a screened back patio is awesome, we did this after moving in (and since it’s outside the house that kind of reno is less invasive)
- a master bath with two sinks for sure, and I love a seated vanity
- I agree about the idea of being able to watch kids while you do stuff. Our house is pretty open plan and it’s small (and a ranch) so it’s easy here. A big house would stress me out unless it was all gated off.
When we run out space (we are already looking at room sharing, but what I really can’t see working is teenagers here given its size) - I basically want the same house with another bed and bath, a Rec room for kids to hang out and more storage
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We closed on our first house a little over a year ago. We live in a higher cost of living area so we were looking at townhomes. A single family home was out of our budget.
Our must have list was:
3 bedrooms
2.5 bathrooms
2-car front-load garage
Deck and a backyard
Short commute
Finished basement -
Our list from when we bought our place a few years ago:
Must have:
- At least 3 bedrooms
- Fully fenced (or fully fenceable) yard
- Garage
- Full basement
- Not on a busy street
- Freehold ownershipNice to have:
- Walking distance to transit
- Ensuite bathroom in master bedroom
- Walk-in closet(s)
- Double garage
- Space for 2 cars on driveway
- Close to greenspace/walking/bike trailsMust not have:
- Basement apartment
- Pool -
The biggest thing for me is that I didn't want an HOA.
We were looking for something that was relatively turnkey, but given the area and the age of the homes in our price range, we ended up with something that ticks a lot of boxes on the "don't want list," things like style of home, location of garages in relation to bedrooms. Nothing that affects the utility, just my personal peeves.
In the end, when it comes time to sell this house, I won't be sad, but something in my next phase of life will need to be more on my "want" list.
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@periwinklebee: are you guys getting serious?!! That’s so exciting
Our must haves were pretty different than most of the above, but to us the character of the house was much more important than the amenities. Because of that we were looking mostly at homes built in the 1920s which were more vertical than I’d want ideally—but I hate mid-century builds and those were our two options, so that’s life. Our house has a lot of annoying flaws, like no bathroom or storage closets at ALL on the ground floor. If we stay long term, once we’re through baby-baby years we will renovate and build a family room/mud room/powder room behind our kitchen, which I think would make it pretty perfect.
Must have:
Really beautiful inside and out
High ceilings (we have 9’, I strongly dislike 8’ and anything less feels terribly claustrophobic)
Sturdy, solid construction (thick walls, heavy doors)
In good shape (newer good quality windows, kitchen/bathrooms dont urgently need reno, plaster in good shape, no popcorn ceilings, decent wiring, etc)
Charm and character (lots of molding, nice aesthetic details, nice hardwood floors, etc)
On a quiet street away from traffic
Tons of sunlightThings I thought were non-negotiable that we compromised on in the end:
Close walk to train (wanted .5 miles or less, we bought .9 miles away, this sucks but I’m getting used to it.)
Decent sized yard that is already fenced (check on size, we are fencing it ourselves though)Don’t care at all:
Attached garage
Finished basement (although we do have this)
Guest room (we ended up with a really nice guest room, but I hate family visiting and our friends are mostly local, so this was not something I wanted/needed). -
@bhbee: sounds like we have similar priorities! FWIW I have never seen a basement on any house anywhere in Texas, I don’t think it’s just your area
I guess they’re nice for storing kid shit but I’d never want to head down there to actually spend time.
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Our must haves were:
3 bedrooms
At least 1.5 bathrooms
Garage
Closets (a lot of older homes here don’t have anywhere to put shoes and coats when you walk in and have very few closets other than in bedrooms)
Not built in the 70s (most houses in our area are much older or newer than that anyway)
Ability to easily add dishwasher if there wasn’t one
No foundation issues
Somewhere to put larger kids toys (play tent, ball pit, mini trampoline) and the treadmill
Yard (didn’t have to be huge, 1/4 acre would be fine)
Location! This was the most important factor. We wouldn’t have looked outside a specific area even if the house was better or cheaper—we would have waited.
We also didn’t want to do a lot of work because we have no timeOur house is great and we will stay there forever but the onething I wish we had known about was the plumbing. We have issues with our septic and if we bought in town would have had town sewer.
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@LCTBQE: @bhbee: Def no basements anywhere in Houston! Makes sense because of flooding potential. I've also heard it's somehow related to the type of soil. But total opposite of where we are now, where it's unusual to NOT have a basement.
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@LCTBQE: it’s funny I grew up in the Midwest where everyone had a basement and we used them for tornado siren warnings so it was super weird not to see them here! I would love it for seasonal storage and kid storage. And we loved the finished part of the basement as older kids and teenagers though I wouldn’t use it for that right now. Also nice in my mom’s area is many of the basements are walk-outs so it’s kind of best of both worlds.
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We just moved into our house! It ticked a lot of the must-have boxes for us.
- two story (my daughter specifically wanted an upstairs house haha)
- 4 bedrooms
- 2 full baths (ended up with 2.5)
- Office space
- separate dining area (kitchen is technically "eat-in" but it's separate enough that I like it)
- foyer (I hated the door opening right into my living room)
- deckWe're really happy but the house seems SO LARGE to us because it's double the size of our last home. I think we'll grow into it.
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We are planning to move in 3-4 years. We've decided to build because our number one must have doesn't come around that often in the town we want to be in.
So, with building our must haves/would be nice to have are all just budget dependent.Must:
at least 10 acres, with space for a garden and yard (ok if the rest is wooded)
private from any road or neighbors
be in the town we live in currently
4 bedrooms
extra room with space for a day bed (my husband takes call at least once a week)
master bath, kids bath
mudroom
open floor planwant
hardwood and stone tile flooring
separate laundry room
pantry
garage
wood pellet furnace
wood burning wood stove in main living area
nook/extra room for my desk and sewing stuff
induction cook top -
@LCTBQE: Love your list.
Our house was built in the 1910s and has 14 ft ceilings. You would DIE! It needs to be updated in some areas but I love it.
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@bhbee: @LCTBQE: I really appreciate aesthetics too, but it is something my husband has made it clear that he doesn't care about, *at all*. So we will see how much we have to compromise on other dimensions, and whether I have any bargaining power left when it reaches that point... I love a lot of the 1920s stock from an aesthetic point of view - though I have noticed the lack of bathrooms thing as a potential downside. The only two things DH cares about (beyond AC) are new construction and short commute, but those two things are mutually exclusive around here, so I don't know where we will come down on that in the end.
@LCTBQE: I would really love to be out of our completely open concept one bedroom before the baby becomes mobile - and will probably have the best chance of convincing DH over the next few months since it doesn't have AC, the one thing he hates about it. We will be making a decision about job stuff in the next few months and I'd like to move asap after that, but get a sense for what I want now... It is not such a good time since the market is going nuts, so there's that, but if I can convince my husband to spring for a bit more of a commute, prices are not so crazy a bit further from city center... 9 feet seems like a good compromise with ceilings. We have 14', and they are gorgeous, but the heating bill is not pretty. Popcorn ceilings would be a complete deal breaker for me - we lived in a house with them when I was a kid and I had horrible asthma. Then as soon as we moved to a house without them, my asthma almost completely went away...
@MrsSCB: @bhbee: My understanding is that the water table is pretty high there, which makes basement construction often infeasible.
@bhbee: The screened patio sounds awesome. I hear you on being realistic. Even beyond the financial issues, we are not handy people and it is hard to imagine us prioritizing reno projects...
@avivoca: Congrats on the new house, it sounds awesome!
@Becky: I lived without a dishwasher until I was like 30. I would not want to go back to that
@looch: We have a condo association and it is a pita in many ways. One of the main reasons I would ideally love a single family home is just to avoid that...
@cnidaria: I feel the same way about no pool - fortunately they are rare where we live. And would *love* to be close to greenspace, but don't know if I'll convince my husband that the extra commute is worth it...
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We currently live in a small-ish house that we have (almost finished) completely renovating ourselves. We’re now going to be sitting on a lot of equity so buying a new house is sort of always on my radar screen but not something we are actively planning to do at least for a few years. So a new house would have to have the following:
-at least 3 bedrooms on 2nd floor and bath (currently we have 2 bigger up and 1 smaller down and so we don’t ever plan to use the one downstairs other than as guest room and our kids will have to share.)
-flat, decent sized backyard with deck or porch. (#1 thing I hate about our house is the walkout basement and hilly backyard, can’t easily get to backyard/mind kids from inside house)
-doesn’t require full or major renovations
-if kitchen is new then I have to like it asthetically. We just redid ours and I would hate to move to a house with a new kitchen that I didn’t actually like.
-mud or entry room with room to store coats, etc.
-garage or workshop. My DH has a lot of tools.
-relatively open concept
-in a neighborhood
-hardwood floors. Carpeted bedrooms could live with.
-in our budget!Want:
-good landscaping
-4 bedrooms
-screened in porch + deck/patio
-abutting conservation land/forest/trails,etc.
-near our current location/not far from DC
-finished basement or playroom
-fenced in yard
-friendly neighborhood with kids -
@petitenoisette: This is a great point on the walkout basement, and in contrast to the above comments on it being the best of both worlds. Most single family homes around here have basements, but I've never lived anywhere with one and hadn't thought through the pros and cons of walk out vs. not....
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It’s so interesting to read these because they obviously depend so much on where you live. We are in the middle of a crazy expensive city so our must haves are things that are just obvious in a suburb like parking and a washe/dryer. But here goes just bc I think it’s fun:
Must have
-parking
-washer/dryer in unit
-guest bedroom ( so at least 3 total)
-2 bathrooms
-outdoor space
-prewar/Victorian aesthetic (High ceilings, molding)
-near public transit
-brightnice to have
-central air
-views
-in-law unit
-not too many stairs -
My next house must have is a bathroom for every bedroom and a separate hall/guest bathroom. I love that we have a first floor guest bedroom except when we have guests because they tie up the downstairs bathroom. The bed and bath adjoin. Like I see their used towels and toiletries and it just grosses me out like I’m using * their* bathroom.
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@Silva: I’m so curious, why ten acres? What would you do with it all? For reference I grew up in central NJ in a neighborhood of close together identical houses with small yards. Our current house has a decent size yard and some woods around but I cannot imagine 10 acres and always wonder.
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Just adding because no one seemed to say it...
Linen closet!
I am building a new house and there isn't a single one. Luckily, there is some space in the upstairs hall to build one in but it is not something I considered until after I put the deposit down!
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@JJ2626: my list when we lived in the city was VERY different! Basically my list above was what it would take to get me out of the city to the suburbs.
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@Ms. RV: good one! I never considered it really, but now we have TWO linen closets and it is luxurious.
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@Foodnerd81: we're actually considering 21.5 right now!
We're in a rural part of the state, so its not that uncommon. It offers protection from potential future developments. We want property where we can have trails throughout. We will keep chickens and goats. I grew up on 10 acres and my husband grew up on 50- my childhood was spent running through the woods. There aren't big parks up here like in a city or suburban area- just a playground at the school. We do have some nature preserves, but I want my kids to be able to go out the door into the wild. We live on 1.5 acres now, but it borders about 100 acres owned by a farm that lets us use their land in the winter (in the summer they grow hay so we can't walk the fields). Its lovely, we are just too close to the road.
I think its just how I grew up, and the way I envision my family growing. Very private, no neighbors around.
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Having a master bath, 2 car garage so neither car is in the driveway, large kitchen, good backyard with plenty of space for our dog and kid.
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@JJ2626: @Foodnerd81: Yeah, this is basically us. If we stay in the city, our list of must haves has to be much, much shorter due to cost and a very limited housing stock...
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@Silva: yeah, I figured it’s mostly how you grow up. For me I get so paranoid about ticks and we have poison ivy on the border of our yard so we won’t even let the kids step foot into the woods. As i put it, it’s too much nature.
But we have protected land behind our yard so all you see is woods- we just only own a little ways in. Thanks for the insight!
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