You're buying new house..what are you looking for? Update pg 5.

[Disney Doll]

Location, location, location.

After that, figure out how big or small of a house you want. Personally I'm more for a smaller place. I think ours is around 1600 SF. Fairly classic 3 BR Cape.

At least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths-best for resale value.

Yard big enough to enjoy but not so big that it's a bear to take care of.

Some storage but remember, the more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.

 

[Vicki926]

Things I would need in a house:
Basement
Some sort of foyer(my house you walk straight into the living room, I hate that there's no place for bags, shoes, jackets etc.)
3-4 bedrooms
I would like 2.5 baths, ideally. Half bath for guests, full bath for the kids, master bath for my husband and I.
2 living areas, I don't care if it's a living room and family room, or a living room and finished basement..but someplace for the kids and friends to go away from me. Lol
A garage that enters into the kitchen or some kind of mud room.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think it was easier to pick a husband then decide on a house

That's because Matt was/is such a good guy, Tina. A good 'catch'.

 

[indimom]

Fun thread! Good Luck in your home search.
First: Don't stress the cost unless you really think it's out of your budget. I always looked at it as "free rent." You're just paying rent, but you get your money back if/when you sell.

Like others have said, Location is my first priority. How far you are willing to commute. Schools. Shopping. Neighbors. All can make a difference in how happy you are with your home. What you want in a neighborhood can and does change throughout life.

We chose a home close to schools/parks/library/pool when our kids were young. Neighbors were close which meant the kids had playmates nearby and we didn't have to drive them everywhere.

At that time, I wanted the bedrooms all upstairs for proximity to young kids who still needed us at night, but also to keep our bedrooms private from guests (I worked from home).

We didn't want a huge yard because we were so busy with work and kids, we didn't think we could keep up with anything larger.


Now that our baby is 16, we're thinking about moving. Not in any rush, but it's on our radar.

At this point, we would prefer a single level with a basement for storage and guest space for visitors. We would primarily live on the ground floor. I would like a larger living space and smaller bedrooms. Plenty of closets, average sized bathrooms (I don't need more to clean ), and a appropriately sized space for my home office (this has always been an issue in our current home so it's on my radar). I like a good sized (not huge) kitchen and love having a pantry. I also need a decent sized laundry room and a mudroom/entry to collect the mess. I would like an attached garage (we have always had a detached), and at least 2 acres but no more than 6, so we can have small garden and room for the dogs to run. A pond would be a bonus. Dh enjoys fishing and we have a lab who loves to swim. (This was not on my list until I saw how many homes in the area actually had a pond... it got me thinking....)

I'm okay with renovations, but would want to get them done up front. So if the house is too expensive to cover all renovations right now, it's not the house for me.

The next time we move should be for keeps, so I have lots of smaller requirements also.
That's why we're not rushing, just keeping an eye on the homes for sale, and will go from there.

We have the bonus of knowing there is a very limited supply of homes for sale in the price range of our current home and none which have been updated/renovated like ours. Selling should be easy, once we find a house we want to buy or a property where we want to build. My sis is in the midst of selling a very similar home and the amount of interest she's had within a week of listing is crazy, I think she'll end up with a bidding war before she's done.

 

[kamik86]

Things I loved about my current house:
1) Privacy its not super duper close to the ones next to it, sits up a bit on a hill from the street so you have to be in our yard to see in the windows from the street and see anything but the top shelf of a bookshelf and our lights. In summer when the plants are full only one neighbor has any few at all of oru back yard.
2) Not on a main road was a must for us... our road is little and only has 2 roads that intersect it... its one of those small in neighborhood roads no one drives on unless they live there, which makes it quiet
3) Lots of space - Well ok not by standards of most here but it does for us since we are a couple with no kids
4) Two bathrooms. I wish both had a shower though, its really 1.5 bathrooms in house speak.
5) Cat proof entrances/exits - By which I mean both our front and back door have little mud rooms before your actually outside. So if the cat makes it through one door you have a small room to catch them in before you open the second door.

What I now know I don't like as much and want:
1) Kitchen layout... ours is awkward I didn't realize how much it would bother me at first.
2) A flat yard. I didnt think about the fact that my husband is allergic to grass when we bought the house. Neither did he. I can't mow the front yard hill thing with our lawn mower... Its overgrown most of the time because he hates doing it since he can't breathe well. The back is much larger but its relatively flat so its not a problem for me to do.

 

[lovin'fl]

So we just went on the market Saturday... got two offers Sunday... signed and went under contract today. Woo hoo!

We didn't plan to go on market so soon as we can't move until DDs graduate in May. But we met with realtor and went over all the stuff we needed to do to get the house show ready. She listed us as 'coming soon'. We had contractor get started and after just three days, our realtor was being bombarded with 'when can we see the house' so we did a week of hard back breaking work and got it ready to list early. Apparently inventory is really down... in this area (Balt-Wash area). The best thing was that one offer put a May closing date. So it's all coming along... knock on wood. Next step is to begin our search for a permanent home in NC. We own a tiny condo there but need something bigger.

 

[tvguy]

So we just went on the market Saturday... got two offers Sunday... signed and went under contract today. Woo hoo!

We didn't plan to go on market so soon as we can't move until DDs graduate in May. But we met with realtor and went over all the stuff we needed to do to get the house show ready. She listed us as 'coming soon'. We had contractor get started and after just three days, our realtor was being bombarded with 'when can we see the house' so we did a week of hard back breaking work and got it ready to list early. Apparently inventory is really down... in this area (Balt-Wash area). The best thing was that one offer put a May closing date. So it's all coming along... knock on wood. Next step is to begin our search for a permanent home in NC. We own a tiny condo there but need something bigger.

Sounds great, although I have never heard of a closing date 4 months away. A lot can go upside down in 4 months.

 

[lovin'fl]

Sounds great, although I have never heard of a closing date 4 months away. A lot can go upside down in 4 months.

They live in my neighborhood already and don't need to sell a house so they went with a good date for us. I know a lot can go south between now and then. That freaks me out a tad. I tend to be a negative Nelly to begin with too...

 

[MSPeeler]

We are looking to sell our current home and move within the next year.
We currently have a 2 story home, and need a 1 story (knee problems), also the school district is probably the main concern.
According to GreatSchools.org, the current rating of our middle school is a 6, so we are hoping to move to a 9 or 10 by middle school.
We also want 5 bedroom (or 4 plus bonus) since we have 3 kids, and need a working office/game area. Bigger garage space would be nice, we can fit our 2 cars in the garage, but have no room for bikes, or lawn equipment.

Doesn't matter to us if it's new build or older as long as it passes inspection and is a good neighborhood.

 

[trip]

Haven't read all of the replies but when thinking about location, also think about how the house sits in relation to the surrounding houses. My DH is retired AF and we lived in several houses through the years. One time our lot sat below the house behind it. We hated being in the back yard because we always felt our back neighbors were watching.

Make a list of things you hated about previous houses/apartments you have lived in. Make another list of what you loved and used the most. One more list of things you wished you had. Can you tell I love lists?

Good luck!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I forgot to say that I also asked if anyone had died in the house. It made a difference to me. It saved a lot of time with one house we were looking at. The young man who had lived there had actually died there and so I told the realtor that was a deal breaker for me.

 

[QueenIsabella]

They live in my neighborhood already and don't need to sell a house so they went with a good date for us. I know a lot can go south between now and then. That freaks me out a tad. I tend to be a negative Nelly to begin with too...

The good news is--your house sold so quickly. If things DID go south, it would probably sell quickly again. Just trying to help you remain calm!

Someone dying in a house wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. We favor older farmhouses, and lived in two that were 150/200 years old. You have to figure, somebody died in one of them, somewhere along the way. We had been told the 200 year old house was haunted, but I never saw anything in the 10 years we lived there. OTOH, our neighbors across the street there had a ghost so active, they called her by name.

To the OP--so much is personal preference. Nothing wrong with getting ideas from more experienced homeowners, but one person's must-have is another person's yuck! A good example is an open floor plan--some people really love this, it's great for entertaining, etc. I hate it, all I would see is the clutter in the next room. But, that doesn't make others wrong in their love for it. Similarly, it's fine to say, "must have a basement!" I love basements, but in coastal or low-lying areas, they're not happening. When we looked in mid-South Carolina, maybe 95% of the houses were built on slab. Along the coast, houses are built with garages and storage on the bottom floor, and they frequently have elevators. In upstate NY, almost everyone has a wood stove. I actually love wood stoves, but I would look silly having one in my house in southeast North Carolina.

 

[tvguy]

They live in my neighborhood already and don't need to sell a house so they went with a good date for us. I know a lot can go south between now and then. That freaks me out a tad. I tend to be a negative Nelly to begin with too...

When we bought our house, we had a 3 week close date, with the sellers renting back from us an additional week.
When I sold my mom's house, the offer was 2 weeks, revised to immediately, but I countered back 2 weeks because I need the time to move everything out.

 

[lovin'fl]

When we bought our house, we had a 3 week close date, with the sellers renting back from us an additional week.
When I sold my mom's house, the offer was 2 weeks, revised to immediately, but I countered back 2 weeks because I need the time to move everything out.

Yeah, this is the 5th house we have sold and we have bought 6 houses and all the closings were 3-8 weeks. The other offer we got was a 6 week closing. If we had gone with that we would have to rent something for two months, move stuff to storage and then move it to new house eventually. Would be a 'process'. I guess we'll wait to get through inspection and appraisal to house hunt in NC. I have been looking online and it seems inventory is low there too.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah, this is the 5th house we have sold and we have bought 6 houses and all the closings were 3-8 weeks. The other offer we got was a 6 week closing. If we had gone with that we would have to rent something for two months, move stuff to storage and then move it to new house eventually. Would be a 'process'. I guess we'll wait to get through inspection and appraisal to house hunt in NC. I have been looking online and it seems inventory is low there too.

Yeah, I know we are not the norm, we bought our "one and done" house 34 years ago. Then when MIL and my Mom passed, we sold their houses. So we are rookies in real estate, and will be in our one house until we die.
I didn't know any better, as I lived in only 2 houses until I got married, and married an Air Force brat who vowed she was never moving again.

 

[lovin'fl]

Yeah, I know we are not the norm, we bought our "one and done" house 34 years ago. Then when MIL and my Mom passed, we sold their houses. So we are rookies in real estate, and will be in our one house until we die.
I didn't know any better, as I lived in only 2 houses until I got married, and married an Air Force brat who vowed she was never moving again.

I would LOVE to never move again after this. It stinks. Been married 20 years and we've lived in 5 houses, 1 townhouse and 2 apartments in those 20 years. This house has ben the longest at 10 years. That's why I am looking for first floor master ad low maintenance with the next place because I want to be there when I am old.

 

[Annadesu]

Our first house (the one we are in now) is a fixer-upper. Hopefully, in a few years we can flip it and make a profit. Next house, we are not looking to do much work on right away! Just want to move in and not have any major repairs right away. lol

 

[punkin]

I want a house with no plumbing issues!

 

[tvguy]

I would LOVE to never move again after this. It stinks. Been married 20 years and we've lived in 5 houses, 1 townhouse and 2 apartments in those 20 years. This house has ben the longest at 10 years. That's why I am looking for first floor master ad low maintenance with the next place because I want to be there when I am old.

My mom lived in the house she and my dad bought for 53 years. They lived in their first house 10 years, and an apartment for a year. 3 places in 64 years.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We've been in our home for a long time, but over the years I've always looked to see what's out there. It's hard, in our area, to find what we already have at a price we could afford. There was one house I would've loved, but it was twice the cost of what we have, and I'm not sure it had everything we have, either. It was a different style (our favorite, though we like what we have, too), in a better neighborhood, and bigger, I'm sure, but I would've missed some of the things we have now (e.g sunroom, screened porch, legal in-law apt, fenced yard) even though I'm sure it had many of the elements we're missing here (e.g closet space, mud room, larger rooms, pantry). So we stayed put. I guess there's often a trade off - you usually can't have everything, so you pick the things that are most important to you, and that can definitely include cost, as well as amenities. We have added on twice to our house. It's still basically a small house but has a lot of neat "nooks and crannies" in it, and it's pretty cozy (if I do say so myself). We've upgraded a lot, but there are still things we'd like to do if we can afford to some time. We've had many people stop by to tell us they love our house and to let them know if we ever decide to sell it. I can't see us really giving it up. Good thing is that since we never really "upsized", we don't really have to downsize, lol.

Tina, one thing I would suggest is sidewalks that lead to shops and restaurants, so you can walk places on a nice day. We seem to have lost that in many places. And don't "settle" for something because you're getting frustrated. Just wait to find a house that you really love. Good luck!