What would make you pay more for a property?

Excited13

Falling in love with the property and planning how you can update it within 30 seconds of walking in!

I_have_spoken

In Surrey
Close to Waitrose
Location suitable for 'white flight'
Detached property
Very high standard of insulation and boiler efficiency
South facing back garden, no more than 200m2 in size
No conifers/nuisance trees overshowing
'Swingers' in other houses along the street
No Grade II/conservation area planning malarky needed
Orangery/garden room
Attached large garage with power and lighting in garage
Off-road parking
Lootility room downstairs
Good quality fixtures and fitting (no Homebase/B&Q kitchen)
Cul-de-sac location
No dot-n-dab plasterboard and wood-framed plasterboard internal walls
No black decor, black tiles, black worktops etc.
Wired for Ethernet with connection points in each room & 100Mb broadband service

Hermia

TrickyDicky101 wrote: »

Having had to endure horrible neighbours for 5 years in a semi, detached is my only must have.

Same here!

Excellent location in terms of being able to walk to shops/doctors etc and good road and public transport links further afield.

No parking problems. I won't even look at somewhere with parking problems having lived with rubbish parking for five years.

A house that has been recently refurbished and redecorated by someone with a similar taste to mine. I am not skilled at DIY and don't have lots of handy builder mates so knowing I won't have to do anything for years would be a big bonus for me.

gazter

dotdash79 wrote: »

Secret rooms and tunnels

And a magical wardrobe..

WellKnownSid

• No neighbours
• No pollution
• No mobile phone coverage
• Own stream (= free water)
• Enough roof space for 24kWp of solar panels (= free electricity)
• Allotment (= free food)
• Next to a wood (= free heating in winter)
• Uninterrupted panoramic view of the sea
• Room for a pony
• Able to leave your cars unlocked on the drive
• Less than the price of an 'average' home

It was a long time coming, and I still have to pinch myself every time I take the dogs for a walk!

Strapped

Davesnave wrote: »

A south facing, gently sloping location with neutral soil, good views, no close neighbours or nearby noise would be a great start. I'd need about an acre as a minimum, hopefully with some structural planting and trees in place, and preferably with a natural water supply, river or large pond. Some outbuildings in good repair would be the icing on the cake, as would a decent sized town within, say, 10 miles.

I've not mentioned the house because I'm taking it as read that I'd be happy with it, or that its price/type would allow me to alter it as necessary.

Aren't you settled now Dave?

Davesnave

Strapped wrote: »

Aren't you settled now Dave?

Yes, I was just answering the question, as I think those were most of the things we were looking for.

Houses can be changed, but their setting can't be, except in superficial ways, so we always gave the externals priority.

We have most of what we wanted, except there's a close neighbour and virtually all the trees/planting had to be dug out/replaced. Also, our stream is more of a ditch in the summer.

On the positive side, the nearby village is a very friendly and active community, which is something harder to assess when relocating. As you will know, some of the top locations in our region are full of holiday homes and rich bods, which may do wonders for prices, but it may not make them the most happy and cohesive communities.

Davesnave

I_have_spoken wrote: »

'Swingers' in other houses along the street

Everyone to their own, but doesn't it get noisy when they start throwing their car keys about? :cool:

Davesnave

dotdash79 wrote: »

Secret rooms and tunnels

Be careful what you wish for!

A close relative bought an old barn and began doing it up, only to discover a hidden chamber under the place where just he'd been operating the digger, pulling out foundations. :eek:

Not falling into the void was one thing, but concealing it from a hostile neighbour intent on stalling/complicating his build was something else! It would only have taken a word to building control, or the local historical society....

It's now sorted. Pity he's not a big wine drinker!