Checklist when buying your next home?

Murphybear

NaughtiusMaximus wrote: »

I know what you mean, some of the high end conservatories where there is as much brick as there is glass can be quite attractive but the bog standard UPVC and glass ones you usually see are awful, I'd rather have a decent patio.

I wouldn't necessary rule out a house with a UPVC conservatory but it certainly wouldn't add anything to the value as far as I'm concerned, maybe even detract from it for a particularly cheap and nasty one.

Know what you mean. When we were still working a few years ago we saw a house with smallish garden. Most of the garden was taken up with a large conservatory and the owners wondered why it wouldn't sell:rotfl:

MoaningMyrtle

location
garage
garden
parking

kzzhar0

Wow so many brilliant responses!

I hadn't received any email notifications so assumed nobody had replied but then realised I think I forgot to turn them on. Thanks so much!

It seems like lots of people have the same specification in mind!

The idea of having a 'nice to have' and 'must have' list is great too, at least that way we can separate wants from needs. Here is ours so far:

We are hoping for two kids I think so want a room big enough for us to grow into. We also have quite a big dog and our house at the moment only has a small(ish) garden and the nearest park is a drive away so its really important that we move somewhere with a bigger garden and/or country walks nearby.

Must have:
3+ bedrooms (plus a study)
Garden/Countryside location
off road parking
A bath in the bathroom (we only have a shower at the moment and it drives me crazy!)
Catchment area for primary and secondary
Garage
South facing
Away from the main road.

Nice to have:
W.C as well as a family bathroom
Detached property

We viewed an amazing house with garden and all of the above (apart from it was a semi, not detached) but I'm worried its at the high end of our budget.

Also, the garden was east facing and owner said that in the summer you get the sun all day - can anybody clarify this? Surely if its east facing you only get the sun for half the day?

Thanks for all the great responses

kzzhar0

I also desperately don't want a new build as they seem so much smaller but we will see what comes up!

whizzybee

Bought my first house last year which needed to be an hour or less commute for me and my husband. Which basically put us in a rural area so we couldn't have a checklist of wants straight away, with research we slowly built it up if that makes sense? I'm up north so budget was less than 100k. There is virtually nothing round here for that price that doesn't need work doing to it so we focused on 'dated' properties which we felt would need more cosmetic work rather than an overhaul. I really wanted a garden, good neighbours, local amenities and a minimum of two beds. Parking was also essential but wasn't bothered about off street

I got a south facing house (its a back to back) with a small terraced garden, needs redecorating top to bottom, cellar with conversion potential and uninterrupted countryside views. No major issues uncovered (yet!) But we are doing it up slowly. The neighbours are lovely, I would only say that the house is a bit small and we are about to add a new person to the household! Plus we are within a mile of two lovely villages with all the amenities we need (including an aldi!) which isnt massively convenient as no corner shop. But we had to be realistic and I wouldn't change a thing.

Next house? I would love a min of 3 beds, a garden, good neighbours, and good sized rooms. I enjoy diy but I think I would like a house with minimal work next time. But we have no plans to move prob for at least 5 years if not more.

Contessa

If you're going to start a family you may want a house which has room in the hall for a pram. It was a long time ago but when we looked at houses before having children we ruled out some because there was nowhere to put a pram/buggy.

Kpossible929

We are FTBs so not looking to start a family quite yet so ours may be different to yours.

- Driveway or garage, we didn’t want to have to park the car on the street or away from the house.

- Hallway, quite a few of the houses round here have front doors that open into the living room which I personally hate.

- Space/plumbing for a dishwasher. Not a deal breaker but a nice extra.

- Freehold, seems obvious but some of the houses here are leasehold, seems to be on the newer developments.

- Needed to be on a regular bus route as I don’t drive and need to get to work on a Sunday.

- Big enough living room to accommodate the sofa. Sounds petty but our sofa cost a bomb and it’s massive so I don’t fancy replacing it as we love it.

- 2 or more bedrooms, if only two second bedroom needed to be a decent size.

- Bath and shower. Shower over bath is fine, doesn’t need to be separate but we wanted both, just personal preference.

Slinky

DigForVictory wrote: »

there's still one room full of boxes over a decade later, !

Throw them, if they're still unpacked a decade later there's nothing in them that's needed.

Slinky

For us, location topped everything. We've bought a house which has several things we don't like but it turns out we can probably live with. No bath (will put one back in), open tread staircase (will replace) rising out of a room rather than a hall (will just have to live with it), link detached (rather than detached, will have to live with that also). West facing garden rather than South (but better than North which we also offered on).


You can change/improve many things, and learn to live with others, but you can't change the location except by moving again.

kzzhar0

Slinky wrote: »

For us, location topped everything. We've bought a house which has several things we don't like but it turns out we can probably live with. No bath (will put one back in), open tread staircase (will replace) rising out of a room rather than a hall (will just have to live with it), link detached (rather than detached, will have to live with that also). West facing garden rather than South (but better than North which we also offered on).


You can change/improve many things, and learn to live with others, but you can't change the location except by moving again.

My partner got rid of the bath in this house and replaced it with a big shower which I tried to talk him out of but he wouldn't listen! Hope it doesn't put people off but I have a feeling it will