What would you filter on to find the perfect home if Rightmove had more search criteria?

hazyjo

Most things are changeable and most are open to interpretation so I'm not sure I'd filter much more.

The only real niggle I have with rightmove is that each search criteria is taken as a single item rather than combining with another search criteria.

For example, my mum may consider a detached bungalow. But if you search for a bungalow + detached, it brings up all detached properties AND bungalows.

There's loads of things I'd not want, but would be so open to interpretation, it wouldn't be worth bothering with.

davidmcn

"Bedrooms actually big enough for a double bed" and not merely "can probably accommodate a cot".

Flats where "garden" filter means "private garden", not "communal drying green".

"Parking" means off-street, not "you'll be entitled to get a residents permit from the council and fight for spaces on the street outside".

eddddy

I suspect a lot of people end-up buying a property which doesn't match what they stated in their original requirements.

For example, they say they want a separate dining room, a kitchen island, a patio etc - but then find a property in their price range with a wonderful conservatory (with no separate dining room, kitchen island or patio) and fall in love with it.

TBH, I think criteria like

• "it has a bit of a country feel, but not too far from a supermarket" or
• "a nice open space nearby for children to play without needing to cross any busy roads" or
• "less than 45 minutes commute to x - by bike, or by bike and train, or by bus" or
• "reasonable driving distance from a golf course that isn't too expensive"

would be more useful search criteria. But much harder to do.

hazyjo

PS if you're asking what questions you think you should ask these people, I'd include the following:

Downstairs bathroom - yes or no. If no, what if there was an en suite or loo upstairs?

Shared drives? If no, what if a shared area like on a modern estate?

Age of house

Maintenance charges for new estate - yes or no.

Near a river etc. Yes or no.

Main roads. How quiet do they want.

How many storeys. Some write off townhouses or bungalows. What if one of their bedrooms is a loft conversion? If yes to a townhouse, would a first floor lounge be acceptable?

Outside of house: does it have to be brick. What about painted/rendered, pebbledash, etc. 

Thatched roofs

Parking

Layout (if can't be changed) e.g. would they consider a separate kitchen or does it have to have a dining space in it

Heating

Garden (and front garden - many won't consider a house with a door straight onto the pavement)

Some won't buy a house with no hallway

The list goes on and on lol

Chloe901

hazyjo said:

Some won't buy a house with no hallway

YES! I will not even go to view a property where the door opens straight into the living room. My boyfriend thinks it's a very strange quirk of mine!

Sensory

Doozergirl said:

Sensory said:

No parking spaces.
No boats.
No shared ownership should actually mean no shared ownership.

Im with you there! What would be personal to you though, do you think?  What's important for Sensory's house to have?

At this stage in my life:

• Nothing on the ground floor (which excludes most types of houses).
• No west-facing windows. Even with the blinds down, I currently suffer 30+ degree heat in my living room from mid-afternoon to late evening (summer sunset); regardless of reported air temperature, cloudy days are far more comfortable than clear skies.
• Ample (non-clothing) storage space.
• Search by square area. Shoving a 2-bedroom 2-bathroom apartment into 549 SQFT / 51 SQM is ludicrous.
• Larger open-plan living space preferred over larger bedrooms.
• Hallway is preferable.
• Full fibre broadband internet (at least 1 Gbps).
• Concierge/security to accept deliveries.
• Not on a main road.
  
• Less than 0.5 miles walking distance (door to door) from a tube station (London).
• A large supermarket situated (ideally) between that station and the property.

eidand

no forward chain, I would kill to have that!

anerise

Off street parking with vehicle not visible from the main road. Includes garages of course but the house we ended up offering on doesn’t have a garage but still met that criteria! It was a PITA to find though

Also would have loved a downstairs toilet filter, and being able to search by sq ft total and not just bedrooms would have been amazing!

jessboots

I’d like to filter out holiday homes easily 

rach_k

I really wish you could filter out houses that have had all their original features removed (and replaced with 'feature walls' usually!).  I don't mind modern houses, but a 30s house should look like a 30s house, a Victorian house should have at least a few nice old bits.

I'd filter out anything with laminate flooring over a significant part of the house.  I couldn't be bothered getting all that ripped up and I wouldn't want to live with it.

This is a bit weird but I refuse to look any further at a house that has fairly modern double glazing but where the opening windows have a wider frame than the non-opening (I'm not sure if there's a name for it).  The glass needs to be the same size in both opening and non-opening, for me.  I wouldn't mind if the windows needed replacing but if it they're newish, I'd just not look as it would seem a waste.