What are your rules when searching for a new home?

[ronandannette]

Must be firmly planted in the heart of the city. No new neighbourhoods on the far edges, suburbs, bedroom communities or (God forbid) acreage/rural properties EVER!

 

[lpereira]

We are eyeing buying next year when prices are hit by the recession.
1. A second toilet but prefer a whole second bathroom.
2. No carpet anywhere.
3. A laundry room, not a closet.
4. Close to work, stores, etc.
5. If its a condo or townhome it must have healthy reserves
6. In an area with conservative government practices. And by that I mean the preferred government is the smallest possible needed to do the least necessary services.
7. Prefer single family but there a couple of places with townhomes/condos that I would happily buy . The Springs in Longwood is at the top of that list.
8. And finally I only want to buy a two bedroom because my child is 16. But she wants her own and my cats need their own room because my husband is not a fan so I may be buying 3 bedrooms. Which is ok because eventually he can have a home gym/man cave.

But I havent thought this through or anything.

 

[Moliphino]

At least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
Quiet area, not too close to neighbors
At least 2 bedrooms upstairs.
Functional layout (you wouldn't think this would be hard to find, but there are a lot of weird houses out there)

It took us over 2 years, but we found it. 4 bedrooms (all upstairs), 2.5 baths, on a quiet rural road in the woods.

 

[MillauFr]

One of the nicest residential areas we looked at homes in is across the street from Folsom State Prison.

I wouldn't say no to living near San Quentin.

 

[MillauFr]

We are eyeing buying next year when prices are hit by the recession.
1. A second toilet but prefer a whole second bathroom.
2. No carpet anywhere.
3. A laundry room, not a closet.
4. Close to work, stores, etc.
5. If its a condo or townhome it must have healthy reserves
6. In an area with conservative government practices. And by that I mean the preferred government is the smallest possible needed to do the least necessary services.
7. Prefer single family but there a couple of places with townhomes/condos that I would happily buy . The Springs in Longwood is at the top of that list.
8. And finally I only want to buy a two bedroom because my child is 16. But she wants her own and my cats need their own room because my husband is not a fan so I may be buying 3 bedrooms. Which is ok because eventually he can have a home gym/man cave.

But I havent thought this through or anything.

So definitely no HOAs for you then.

 

[MillauFr]

It is interesting reading everyone's "rules". I grew with well water. Nothing better. One of the nicest neighborhoods to live here all the homes have their own wells. They are surrounded by housing developments with water districts, and many efforts have been made by the water districts to annex those homes, but the resident keep saying no. My parents home was in that area and the well water was a selling point.

Except when the well runs dry you are SOL.

 

[tvguy]

I wouldn't say no to living near San Quentin.

Certain a large buffer from the prison to anything else, and most of that appears to be an industrial area. Prison is at the very bottom of photo.

 

[lpereira]

So definitely no HOAs for you then.

Ive lived in HOAs. Im very careful beforehand. The Springs doesnt have (and doesnt appear to have had) a heavy hand. But a place that gets into minutea would not be the place for me. We rented a townhome when we first got married years ago. It had assigned and guest parking. My mother is disabled. When she was coming over for dinner we would park in the guest lot which was blocks from our townhome and let my mother park in our space. A member of the board lived near us and would issue a violation every time. We did not renew our lease.

 

[VandVsmama]

• 3 BR / 2 BA
• 2 car garage
• backyard big enough so that I can garden but not large enough that it's unmanageable
• 1 story
• no 2 story houses behind us
• HOA ok
• no pool or hot tub in backyard
• no bermuda grass
• neighborhood that has good schools
• no 55+ community
• not in a flood zone

 

[Deb]

We are eyeing buying next year when prices are hit by the recession.
1. A second toilet but prefer a whole second bathroom.


But I havent thought this through or anything.

where are you putting the second toilet if not in a second bathroom?

 

[tvguy]

Except when the well runs dry you are SOL.

Always a chance I guess. Or contamination.
I had to have my parents well inspected when I sold the house. The well was 125 feet deep. The water level was 40 feet. The pipe was down 75 feet. The mineral deposits on the pipe indicate in 53 years the water table had dropped 10 feet. So the new owners should be prepared to have a longer pipe installed in about 190 years and the well drilled deeper in about 470 years, LOL>

 

[barkley]

I wouldn't say no to living near San Quentin.

Certain a large buffer from the prison to anything else, and most of that appears to be an industrial area. Prison is at the very bottom of photo.View attachment 705859

i don't know that it still exists but there used to be very nice single family housing on the grounds of san quentin that was resided in by prison staff. as a kid/teen i would frequently travel with my parents to visit a family who lived there. lovely homes in what looked like a traditional rural neighborhood-complete with park/playground areas. the only thing that was different about it vs. any other neighborhood i had been to was-you had to get identified at a gate to enter/levis and jeans in general were prohibited to be worn (at that point the inmates wore denim pants so no one on property could wear them for identifying purposes).

when we lived in a city adjacent to another with another california prison the housing tracts that had built up on the perimeter of the prison property were known as among the safest in the area b/c (1) petty criminals had no desire to be anywhere near the facility, and (2) escapees (very infrequent) would immediately leave the area w/ no desire to stay in close proximity.

 

[disykat]

I need to be able to go for a nice walk without having to get in a car.

Our starter home fit this perfectly. Our long-time home has other perks that were worth moving for, and I can at least do multiple loops on a safe route around our neighborhood without having to go out on a 50-mph road, but I sure miss the old neighborhood! It was a little hilly in places, but had sidewalks, parks, schools, and even water with a mountain view on my route.

The driveway can't be too steep.

Our house also has a fairly steep driveway, but we do not have to park on an incline. That would be a total dealbreaker for me. I definitely made some compromises on both homes we've bought, but both ended up being good choices.

 

[disneychrista]

When I bought my house the main requirement was a yard for the dog.

 

[tvguy]

i don't know that it still exists but there used to be very nice single family housing on the grounds of san quentin that was resided in by prison staff. as a kid/teen i would frequently travel with my parents to visit a family who lived there. lovely homes in what looked like a traditional rural neighborhood-complete with park/playground areas. the only thing that was different about it vs. any other neighborhood i had been to was-you had to get identified at a gate to enter/levis and jeans in general were prohibited to be worn (at that point the inmates wore denim pants so no one on property could wear them for identifying purposes).

when we lived in a city adjacent to another with another california prison the housing tracts that had built up on the perimeter of the prison property were known as among the safest in the area b/c (1) petty criminals had no desire to be anywhere near the facility, and (2) escapees (very infrequent) would immediately leave the area w/ no desire to stay in close proximity.

Looks like it is still there in the satellite photo.

 

[DLgal]

The only hard and fast rule I have is that there MUST be a full door that can close between the master bedroom and the en suite bathroom.

For the life of me, I cannot fathom how anyone who shares a master bedroom with another person puts up with just an open doorway leading into the bathroom.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

During our last house search, I eliminated every neighborhood without sidewalks. I don’t want myself or my kids to have to walk in the street, or have to dodge people and dogs walking in the street while I’m driving.

 

[MillauFr]

Certain a large buffer from the prison to anything else, and most of that appears to be an industrial area. Prison is at the very bottom of photo.View attachment 705859

Why on earth does California have a prison on property that is worth $500M?

 

[sasywtch]

2 years ago we had to look for a house with a level driveway, no steps up to the front door, a large square kitchen and a master bathroom to turn into a large shower. We found it but now I'd like to find one with all of those things plus, a bigger master bathroom (we had to take out the toilet to make her's a roll in shower) and bigger bedrooms. Even though she is in the master, she has a ton of medical supplies plus her wheelchair, her lift, 3 hospital type tables and there is just no extra room to move around. My son and my bedrooms fit our beds only plus a nightstand. Our drawers are in the closet. We need storage.

 

[slo]

I don’t plan on moving anytime soon, but when I do it will be….
No stairs - #1 most important
Sidewalks
Attached garage