Since we shared our house wish list back in the fall of 2010, we wanted to document what was on the list now (I just found it scrunched up in a vase that was sitting on the bedroom floor, naturally). It’s actually the same list – we just scribbled things out as they changed and added new things as time passed (even when we weren’t house hunting, if we thought of something for our “someday house” we jotted it down whenever we came across the list). Not surprisingly, many things were the same – although it does seem that after 7 years of home-ownership our nice-to-have list grew a lot (I guess since we keep realizing new things we’d appreciate but don’t necessarily need).
Must Haves:
- Four bedrooms (or three bedrooms and an office) of which at least three are on one floor
- At least two full bathrooms and no more than three (three full ones occasionally felt like one too many tubs/showers to clean, so we were open to scaling back down to 2 or 2.5)
- Within our budget (duh)
- A private street with less through traffic (we wanted a place that Clara could ride her scooter and someday learn to ride a bike)
- Around the same square footage as our last house, since that worked well for us (give or take 100 square feet or so – but nothing significantly larger or smaller)
- Something not new (we just love a home with character and eons of potential behind all of those dated decorating decisions of yore)
- Great schools (Clara’s the most important thing in the end, so it didn’t matter how awesome a house was if it wasn’t in a good school district)
- Located in a walkable neighborhood (our long evening walks keep us happy and sane, so couldn’t live on a road where walking is dangerous)
- A flat-ish backyard without a big treacherous drop off (this is another Clara & Burger safety parameter)
- A safe and well loved neighborhood (the reasoning behind the word “safe” is obvious, and the “well loved” thing just means that even if our house needs help we’d love to be on a block with other homes that have already been spruced up, so we don’t risk over-improving our house for a crumbling-around-us neighborhood). You know, that “pick-the-worst-house-in-the-best-neighborhood” thing.
Nice To Haves:
- A private backyard (our first house’s grassy and then wooded yard was the gold standard in our mind)
- A kitchen that we could expand into a living/family room (you know we love knocking down walls, and we’ve noticed that a lot of newer homes have open living rooms and kitchens for a nice airy and casual feeling that appeals to us)
- Extra high ceilings are always on our list, but they’re hard to find within our budget (just like our first two homes we didn’t hit on those this time, except for in the unfinished storage room, where we could potentially loft the ceilings a little and have exposed beams someday).
- A brick exterior (we’ve grown used to how nice and low-maintenance they can be – although it can be harder and more expensive to find a two-story brick house so we were open to other options too)
- Easy access from the kitchen to an outdoor BBQ/eating area without having to walk through a bunch of rooms (we love eating outside when the weather is nice – so once we switch out the windows in the kitchen for a big french door that leads out to the deck we’ll finally have this one checked off after two other houses without such direct access)
- A window over the sink that looks outside (our first and second house both had pretty over-the-sink windows, but they looked into a sunroom in both instances)
- A real pantry (our first house didn’t have one at all, and our second house had a tall cabinet, but not a true blue pantry with a door).
- Sidelights around the front door (we honestly thought this was a pipe dream since no homes in our budget seemed to have them… until we found ours!)
- We thought an actual foyer/entryway would be nice (our first two homes had a front door that led right into the living room/dining room)
- If we found a two level house, we hoped the front door wouldn’t open right into the stairs (some other two story homes we toured had that setup and depending on how close the steps were to the door, it felt a little cramped – so we thought it would be nice if the stairs were offset from the door somehow)
- A garage (we had a double garage at our first house, and a carport in our second house, so all the garage things ended up in the separate entry basement, which wasn’t as convenient – even though we made the best of it by adding a sweet little pergola).
- A deck or patio (in our second house we DIYed both of them and lived to tell the tale – but we thought it would be nice to inherit one for a change, even if it needed some love).
And as for how we did, our new house meets all of the must-haves and checks nine of the twelve nice-to-have boxes (there aren’t any extra high ceilings going on, our backyard could use some shrubs to up the privacy-factor, and we don’t currently having easy outdoor dining table access from the kitchen). But we actually think all three of those things can be explored over time and we’re certain that at least two of them (the last two) can be accomplished. So it should be fun to see where we end up.
What do you guys look for in a house? Do you make two lists (one that’s full of musts and one that’s full of “in a dream scenario” things)? That seems to help us weigh the “needs” and the “wants” better than putting them all in the same category.
Annie says
We just bought a new house in November and our must haves were:
3 bedrooms plus and extra space either a fourth bedroom or a family room
2 full bathrooms (after living through a bathroom reno with only one full bathroom this was a must)
At least a 1 car garage
And a smaller yard, our previous lot was just too much to take care of.
Somewhere to go in case of a tornado. Our little 1000sf ranch had no rooms with out windows.
The nice to haves were a deck, a dinning room and and entry way.
We ended up with everything on both list. We have a HUGE family room (with built in bookcases and a fire place! Bonus things we weren’t looking for) that one day will be divided into a fourth bedroom and a den. There is also a large closet under the stairs we have named the “tornado closet”
Kay says
I love how specific this list is and yet how attainable it is. It’s clear you really understand what works best for your family and what you like. I’m no where near purchasing a home but while I slowly but surely save for a down payment, it’s nice to think about my wish list.
Liz says
Must haves are good neighborhood, good location, a family room, a kitchen with some view to a living area, a decent lot size, indoor laundry room, 2 bathrooms and air conditioning. With location being so important, we didn’t get a lot more than that! But we got a 40 year old one-owner home that was taken good care of, so we really get to make it our own!
Kate says
First time commenter (Hubby Jack mocked you and I was intrigued)! I love love LOVE your new home! The columns and brick are simply gorgeous. My husband bought our home before I started dating him and I’m very glad I was spared the home-buying process. Seems stressful! We’ve taken a similar approach with our project list, splitting it into “before babies/must do” and “after babies/OK to wait”. We’re trying to get the messiest, most disruptive stuff out of the way, but a few huge projects we’re deferring until we’re in our 40s/50s with that midlife income and no future kids to save for. Sadly, overhauling the kitchen’s on that second list. :)
Kristie says
Good timing for me that you posted this! My husband and I are getting ready to sell our house in NC and move to a rental in Las Vegas, so we have a definitely evolving list of what we want in our new place. Looking at lots of listings has helped me clarify what is a “must have” and what is just a “would be nice.” One thing that was originally a “nice to have” has become a “must have” for us: a loft. I’ve been dying for one ever since touring a house here in NC that had one.
Megan says
My current house has a great room (living room, kitchen, & eating area all in one space) and I LOVE it! It’s a definite must (or super high on the Wants list) in our next home. Other musts are 3 bedrooms with office space, fenced yard (for our high energy never seems to sleep dog), and the biggest one is more space between our house and the neighbors. In our current neighborhood, the houses are way close and all up in each other’s business.
Starr @ The Kiefer Cottage says
If you had been looking for a brick house in my neck of the woods, you’d have a very small inventory to choose from. Wood shingles rule ’round here!
We had a tiny list of requirements. Two living spaces on the 1st floor–basements tend to flood here and that’s where most family rooms are in our area. Two toilets, and a yard I could garden. Our budget was too low to be picky. We lucked out getting such a huge kitchen.
Kat Rogers says
Beautiful house! Congratulations!
Are the doors you painted white “real wood” doors or the lighter models available now?
Just curious…love your choice of knobsssss
YoungHouseLove says
They’re wood ones :)
xo
s
BamaCarol says
I used to think I wanted those high cathedral ceilings too. Until my mom bought a house with a living room that opens up to the second floor and we saw how much of a power bill she has because it is so hard to heat and cool all that open space. I’ll just keep our regular 8 foot ceilings thank you and use the money we save on power bills for something else. And your place looks wonderfully wooded which helps with that kind of thing too. Can’t wait to see this new house progress!
Rosemary says
When looking at NYC apartments, we had a list of musts (near good subway station, no basements, usable kitchen, good neighborhood) and nice-to-haves (elevator, laundry, dishwasher). It made it much easier to take the emotion out of “falling in love” with a place. Hopefully we can stick with the same priority list when we’re ready to buy!
True story: I cried at an open house because I loved it so much. Not sure it impressed the realtor?
YoungHouseLove says
I love that. And I love you for it Rosemary.
xo
s
Christy says
My wish list got a work out recently when I contemplated moving from Richmond to Williamsburg to be closer to work. I had no idea how difficult it would be to find my “must haves” (windows on all sides of the house, 2 stories, garage, updated kitchen and baths, manageable-sized flat”ish” yard in a good neighborhood with a community pool) in a small town that caters to retirees and vacationers – even after upping my budget by $50,000. After a year of searching and seeing 50+ homes, I realized that I’d rather just stay in my darling house in Richmond and continue commuting 2 ½ hours a day. Call me Goldilocks, but at least I’m not stuck in a house I don’t absolutely love.
Liz (@violetposy) says
Funnily enough we are just drawing up a list! We want to either move more locally or about 100 miles away (we need easier access to London). At the moment we are in a suburban 1934 2.5 bed house (2 doubles and a box room) semi detached house at about 1000sqft?
So here’s my list
Non Negotiable
3 beds plus a study or 4 beds
Kitchen larger than a postage stamp
Family bathroom plus 1 ensuite
Laundry room – I’m sick of going outside in all weathers to the washing machine.
Smaller garden – I have a 1/3 acre and it’s just not manageable anymore
Parking for 2 cars at least.
Walking distance to mainline station to London
Walking distance to a school.
Nice to have
Second kids lounge
Kitchen/ Diner
Conservatory
Extra en-suites
downstairs bathroom
All kind of doable where we currently live 70 mins outside London, but 20-40 minutes from London I’m looking at very minimum £500,000 ($800,000) starting price *gulp*. We might just stay here!
Richelle says
Oh yes, a list was a must have when we bought our house over a year ago. The houses were being sold so fast that I would get an email that a house was on the market and ask to see it within hours. Since my husband and I work oposite schedules we couldn’t wait until the weekends to look at houses together or they would be sold already. I called my husband and said “I put an offer on a house today, don’t worry you’ll like it – it has all the things on your list!” The house we bought had only been on the market 4 hours when I put in the offer and they had 3 offers by the end of the day. He finally saw the inside when we did the inspection a few weeks later and agreed that I picked a great one. A year later we are very happy with our purchase and don’t plan on moving anytime soon.
Emily says
That is great that you got so much off your nice to have list. My husband and I have a list that needs to be divided into must have’s and nice to have’s once we are able to move into a bigger house. One day. Until then we are enjoying fixing up our current house!
lovepastatoolbelt.com
Rachel says
The must-haves and want-to-haves for our recently purchased home:
Must Haves:
3 Bedrooms
2-3 Baths (we’re like you – I really preferred 2-2 1/2 baths. I didn’t want to clean any more!)
Mature Trees!
Quiet/Peaceful Neighborhood
Something we could update (and the flipside: something that hadn’t been updated, since we could never tell the quality of work done)
Fenced backyard for our dog
In our budget, obviously
Nice-to-Haves:
Hardwoods
Large & “foresty” Backyard
Wooden Fences
A big kitchen
An established neighborhood
We got most of our wishlist too! (You can see it here: http://www.casamarcelli.com.) The backyard is smaller than we’d hoped, and it doesn’t have a wooden fence yet, but we can take care of that. It also doesn’t have as many trees as we’d like, but we have 3 huge trees and will plant a bunch more next summer once we finish up some projects inside the house.
Becky says
I bought my house due to a divorce, and I was in a hurry to buy. I had four must-haves: location within walking distance to the schools, priced in my budget, at least 2 bedrooms and it had to be a place that was not a total eyesore. That list sounds simplistic but with the list being that short, I was able to find something that I could see myself and two girls living in. I was able to begin updating/improving the house three years ago (I’ve been there 10 years)and I so appreciate what all of it adds to my sweet space.
Kathy says
List-Making Power!
I remember reading about how writing things down has a certain “power” and it’s always been true for me. If you write down what you want (some people make visual wish boards), it’s much more likely to happen than if you don’t record it. Your home wish list worked! :) Yay!
Amanda says
We only had a must-haves list because we were on a sever time crunch due to needing out of our rental early and a tight budget. Our must-haves were a garage, basement, and big back yard. We quickly found out that our budget would limit us to two of the three. When we found our house there was no garage, but space to build one. My husband and father are carpenters, so it will only cost us materials. I hated house hunting, so we’ll be here a long time!
Caitlin Skoda says
How high are the ceilings in this new home?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re just standard height (8 feet).
xo
s
Susan says
Since we are moving to our dream locale-San Diego(!), we have NO list for a home-it just has to be affordable to us and not falling down skanky, LOL. We may rent so we can get to our five year goal-which is to build from the ground up-something totally green that really works for us, that we can pay off ASAP.
Do you have a mortgage timeline in which you want to pay off the whole thing? If I only knew way back when what I know now about paying down mortgages, etc.
YoungHouseLove says
We like to overpay our mortgage whenever we can and we like 15 year mortgages since they help cut way down on interest over time :)
xo
s
Heather @ Barefoot Crafts says
We’re in the process of buying a house right now so the things that are really sticking out to us are: single level living, land, and layout. We found one we love last night…fingers crossed!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh, so exciting! Good luck Heather!
xo
s
Kim says
I’d like to think I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to wish lists, but once I actually start writing it down…not so much. But I think it’s important to be somewhat high maintenance with a purchase that is not only an investment, but your home and sanctuary!
-At the tippy top of our list, is it must be in an awesome neighborhood (safe, with good schools).
-Also, there can’t be major structural problems (foundation, random flooding, iffy electric/plumbing)
-and while it doesn’t have to be an open floor plan, it has to have the potential to be!
-As far as lot goes, we live in an area where it’s super affordable to have 1-2 acres, so we’re really set on having at least that much.
-Finally, and it’s kinda weird/random, we’d prefer the house not to have the garage door set closer to the street than the front door is, and optimally, not be visible from the street at all. (Is there anyone else like us or is this just a quirk of ours?)
Christen says
Great list! I was curious if the type of heating system (oil vs. electric vs. gas) went into your list? Also, what type of heating does your new house have?
This is something my husband and I are debating… I love the older homes, but the one we are interesting in has oil heat, and I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good thing because I heard that can be costly…
YoungHouseLove says
We had oil/heat pump in our first two houses and this one has gas, which we really like so far!
xo
s
Jenny says
We’re actually closing on our house on Friday and moving this weekend. :)
Our must-have list started with location–my husband needs to be within 10 minutes of the hospital for when he’s on call, so we were confined to essentially the city limits of our small city in rural Iowa.
Other than that: attached 2 car garage (I’ve been parking outside for years and I’m so tired of digging my car out of snowbanks), 3-4 bedrooms because we’re far away from family and need guest space (plus future kids), at least 2 bathrooms (we’ve shared 1 bathroom for 4 years–it gets old), a fairly private backyard so not everyone would be up in our business as they drove by, a patio/deck or at least a good set up to create one, and a finished basement. My husband was adamantly against a fixer-upper–he would rather have clean and immediately livable over older and charming and needs a little love. And since he works long hours, the onus of updating would have been mostly on me, so I agreed.
So once you add all that together we had 2 houses in our budget that were available in our town (it’s a weird housing market here). We got everything on our must-have list plus a gas fireplace, which I’m really excited for. :)
Rachael says
This list makes me so happy, because I realized that our new house meets almost all of your criteria!! Except the side windows by the front door, and the high ceilings. It’s a great feeling to know that our new house is J&S approved!!! ;)
Angie says
Wow, that’s a lot of checks! This definitely qualifies for dream house status.
Melissa McCoy says
Something that I initially wouldn’t have thought about, but now see it as a requirement for our next home purchase is lots and lots of natural sunlight into the kitchen and main living area. I’m a sunlight junky and without it, I feel blue. So since I spend MOST of my time as a stay at home momma in the kitchen and main living area… I need some gorgeous big windows with lots of light coming in!! P.S. What will you do for privacy for those side lights. We have them in our current home and in our last home… We put a frosted coating on them in our last house, but I felt like we lost too much daylight. I’d love something that would just cover them at night…or for those mornings I want to hide in my PJ’s without the neighbors knowing. Do you have any special plans for yours?
YoungHouseLove says
I think we’re planning to keep them open since they really only look into the foyer and our house is set back a ways from the curb.
xo,
s
Ann says
Hi! I don’t know if this question will make sense… but I recently saw a house I’d LOVE for my long term house with an insanely good price tag, except that we just bought our current house less than 2 years ago. We have made some updates, so I’m sure our value has increase a little, but did you find you got “less” out of selling your second house sooner than your first house? I’m wondering if its worth jumping on our long term house (since our current house would be a little too small to keep in the long term), even though we haven’t been living in our current house very long. Do you have any advice? Sorry if this is random, just thought it was a funny kind-of coincidence! Thanks in advanced!
YoungHouseLove says
I think if you found the best house ever, I would worry about losing it and never finding one like it again, so there’s value in that. As for monetary value, I think you can make more from having a house for just a year in some markets (if housing is up and real estate is booming) and other times you can hold something 5 years and lose money. We made more on our second house than our first and had it less time.
xo,
s
Hudson says
We just bought a house! Our MUST HAVES were:
1. Location–had to be in a place where my husband and I could both bike to work and we could walk downtown. We don’t like driving at all!
2. Has to be quiet–no busy streets.
3. Small (<1500sf): less maintenance, less trouble, cheaper and greener to heat.
4. Move-in ready
5. Safe, family-oriented neighborhood
Our NICE to haves were:
1. Updated fixtures and appliances
2. Green/efficiency features to keep utilities low (solar panels would have been awesome)
3. A neighborhood where people were really neighbors and were friendly and helped each other out.
We lucked out–we got all 5 of our musts and 2.5 of our nice-to-haves.
mipebu says
You guys get this all the time – but I really love your blog! You are thoughtful, humble, entertaining and kind-spirited bloggers. THANK YOU!
I know this is not a parenting blog, but your evening walks are intriguing. As a new mom I’d like to incorporate this routine, although it may be challenging in my neck of the woods (colder and darker San Francisco). What time do you go – after dinner but before bedtime? How old was Clara when you started?
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! Our walks have changed depending on Clara’s age/nap schedule, but now they’re around 6 or 7, but they have been as early as 2 when Clara was younger and we needed to get out of the house!
xo
s
Robin says
We do evening walks as well! Especially in the summer when it stays light late but all year really. We usually go after dinner before bed but it depends. They are so refreshing to just talk and stretch your legs with no technology to distract you.
Kim says
Just from the headline, I thought this post would be about new furniture/decor for your house that you’re considering buying but haven’t yet! Think that could be a fun post too. :) (Kinda like your knob post yesterday, but more about general decor).
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea!
xo
s
Dina says
Great list! I love how it’s evolved over time with your family and what you learned that you like/need.
Our new place puts checks in boxes we haven’t had so far, and they’ve changed so much over time! Where we used to love our bedrooms all on one floor, we’re looking to give the boys some more private space now that they’re older. Our bedroom is downstairs, the boys are upstairs, and they have their own bathroom. Woo hoo for separate bathrooms!
Cool feture: there is a loft area up there, too! We’re excited for both family movie nights and for them to get to spend time with their friends watching tv and playing video games where they don’t feel like they’re always in eye-shot.
Sarabeth says
We weren’t even really considering buying when we first looked at our loft. We just knew we needed to move somewhere we could have three dogs since we were going to be keeping my sister’s two for two years.
When we walked into the loft and saw the wall of windows we were sold! We love the openness of the loft so I think an open concept will be a must have if/when we move.
Ellie says
When we bought our (old, shabby) little frame house in Brooklyn, NY, we couldn’t put things like garages, patios, and big backyards on our list ;) But we knew it had to have a little garden, at least three bedrooms, and the potential to be fixed up: all of which we were lucky to get. When I was house-hunting, my best friend told me she had a vision of us living in a house that was blue or green on the outside (practically a non-existent thing in our neighborhood) with a blue or green staircase inside. When I saw our house, I knew it was the one: green on the outside, with a blue staircase in the front hallway. (When we repainted the hall, I made sure to paint the stairs blue again, for luck.)
Congrats on your new home and much happiness to you all!
verucaamish says
Wow. I could just hug you right now. I love that your wish list is not about bigger but about what’s right for you. Watching certain home buying tv shows, so many people see upgrading as just more – more space, more bathrooms, more bedrooms. My partner and I are just exploring selling our house and moving. If we could just move our lovely craftsman to a neighborhood with a better school district, we totally would.
Maggie Rose says
I totally do the same thing – we’d been in our current apartment about a year when I started my “our next apartment will have X” list. Still kind of tweaking it, but I think once you’ve lived in a few different kinds of places you really have a reference for what kind of features you like! On our “next apartment” list (since we won’t buy for another 5 years or so) is: W/D IN UNIT, dishwasher, wood floors, good light, parking spot (pref garage), lots of storage, big-as-possible kitchen, second bedroom or office space, some kind of outdoor patio/balcony that we can grill on and grow some herbs on. Not picky at all, right? ;)
Sarah says
We are just starting to prepare to buy a home, casual looking for 6 months or so and then actively looking in 2014.
Since live in Northern Virginia:
#1 is location (primarily for COMMUTE), that’s the first thing I factor in, even though some communities are 5-10 miles outside of DC it can take 45 min or more to get to work during rush-hour.
#2 is 2+ bathrooms, living in a 1 bathroom apartment with a husband who uses it as a library, not fun haha!
I’m pretty simple (right now), but those are the starting two, I’m sure I’ll add to mine like you guys did.
Your blog has given me more confidence to look at older homes with good “bones” and see the potential. We have similar style homes up here so I’ll be stealing some ideas for sure! :D
Tirsa says
It took my husband four years to convince me to move. It was really hard to let go as I had moved so many times before getting married and this was the first time I had lived for so long in one place (10 yers.!) So I had one condition: a bigger yard- no less than half an acre. Not an easy thing to get at a decent price in the DC area.
We ended up with his, hers and ours must haves:
his: bigger house with a two car garage
hers: bigger yard
ours: hardwood floors through out, at least 3br, at least 2 baths, in a quiet neighborhood.
After looking at at least 30 houses we ended up choosing one that BIL had found for us. It has all our must haves and is in a great neighborhood. Yes, it took my teacher idealist visualization skills to see what this house could become and we had to gut the kitchen and a bathroom; but the house looks great and homey and we love it. (I did a LOT of painting.) In the end DH got more yard than he wanted and I got more house than I wanted, but we are all happy. :)
Mary | lemongroveblog says
Great list! Y’all definitely found a winner if it’s checking off so many boxes on that list!
timothy says
while i was reading your list i was like, “this is just like my house.”haha.. we actually almost moved into a house last year that looked exactly like the one you just bought exterior wise and very close on the inside. I’m so excited to finally get to be on this journey of renovations and restorations and redecorating right from the beginning!! I started reading your blog about this time last year so I;m kind of a newbie:):)
ryan says
it’s so funny reading what’s on other people’s must have lists. it really is such a personal thing and varies widely from person to person. i just bought my first house last summer (scary to think i’ve almost been there a year!) and my must haves were fairly simple: 3/2, decent sized yard (i’m into the whole gardening thing and have a large dog to think about), some updates but also some left to do, CHARACTER and in an “up and coming neighborhood” near downtown austin. i don’t have kids, so i wasn’t really interested in schools. my biggest focus was finding the perfect combination of what i could afford by myself (buying on a single income is so limiting) and in a neighborhood that will appreciate over time (i don’t mind living in the ghetto…ha). one day, i hope to sell and make a pile of dough.
Melissa L. says
I’m afraid I was not nearly as sophisticated about buying a house as most of the people reading this blog. My first house was the perfect little house (1920’s Sears craftsman, well-maintained, tastefully updated) but in a lousy neighborhood. As the neighborhood got worse over the course of 15 years, I decided I needed to move. So location–a nice, safe neighborhood on a quiet street—was the major requirement for my second house. My 1970’s ranch is really too big and required many updates to make it energy efficient and to feel like “me”, but has a great location. I also ended up with features I love that that I didn’t even know I wanted: 1 block to a labyrinth of hiking trails through our wooded watershed, lake view, a garage (!!!), large glass doors off the back of the house letting in plenty of light. In fact, at this point my only gripe about the house is its size. I will probably sell and downsize at some point, but am enjoying living here for now.
Paula says
I had to google Sears Craftsman – it’s what we here Down Under in Australia would call a Californian Bungalow. Built in the 20s and 30s, immediately after what we call Federation style homes, which were built in the late 19th century and early 20th, around the time Australia became one nation, instead of a bunch of colonies (and which often feature Australian motifs due to a sense of nationalism). There you go, a history lesson on Australian architecture!
Andrea D. says
I’m in my first house now, and as much as I always thought my ‘must-have’ list for the second house would focus on the house, it’s actually much more about the lot, road, and surrounding area. Probably because during the time we’ve lived in house #1, we’ve added two kiddos to the mix. It’s not that it’s kid-unfriendly but next time must-haves will be quieter street and no seriously sloped driveway. Like you said, it comes down to what you can change v. what you can’t.
Also, if you are ever house-hunting and see a community basketball court across the street and think ‘how charming and perfect for kids’ Don’t. Think of hearing the noise of dribbling basketballs all night, every night. :)
Danielle Purtle says
We close on our first home on July 15th, and we are so pumped! I can’t get anything done in our current apartment, because I sit staring at the ceiling thinking about evergreen shrubs and paint colors!
Our must have were:
1. At least 3 beds and 2 baths (It has exactly that.)
2. At least 1500 square feet (It has 1450 and a huge unfinished bonus room.)
3. At least an acre–with a somewhat private backyard (It has 1.2 and lots of old trees!)
4. Quiet street in the area we like (check!)
5. Well built and older (1997)
6. No more than our price cap (we’re paying 10k under and appraised for 15k more than what we are paying–seller was an elderly widower who just wanted to get rid of it)
Some things that I had on my “would be nice” list that I didn’t get were two-story and a fourth bedroom! Oh well! :)
Joseph says
We always kept meaning to make a Need/Want List but never got around to it. Which is surprising because I am a list person if ever there was one. I have three different lists in front of me on my desk right now.
Speaking of The Thrill of the Hunt, have you ever been to Thrill of the Hunt in Ashland? It’s a really cool little shop. It’s like a furniture thrift store, but they actually redo a lot of their furniture and even have classes on painting furniture.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like lots of fun!
xo,
s
Izzy says
The front door in my new house has sidelights too!
They came with old fashioned fabric curtains for privacy which I’m dying to get rid of, and I’m thinking of frosting them instead (inspired by you guys!).
Wondering if you have any plans for your sidelights, or if privacy through those isn’t an issue.
(So excited to follow your transformation of this house :)
YoungHouseLove says
Right now we like them open (no frosting) since its just the foyer and we’re set back a good way from the curb.
xo,
s
Danielle says
Mine would be more about the place then anything. Must have woods, nice to have one a lake. Must have 1 acre, nice to have 10 acres. I would love to live in a house around 500sq ft. I am a bit of a tiny house nut. The idea of no mortgage appeals to me. People try to point out that my current house is already small (just under 1000sq ft) but it seems huge to me after looking at tiny houses :)
Beth C says
It’s funny you should ask about house wish lists–that’s been on my mind a lot lately as we decide whether it would be better to fix up the house we have now (in a great location but lacking in other aspects) or just buy a new house.
Needs change over the years, and sometimes you don’t realize what you want or need until you don’t have it (or conversely, what you don’t want/need until you have it).
We have three dogs and live on a corner lot. The dogs bark constantly at people walking by the house, but if I leave the shutters on the front windows closed (so the dogs won’t see the people and will be quieter) the house is dark and kind of sad. When we moved here nine-plus years ago it didn’t occur to us that that would be a problem. The other day I looked at a model home that has the living space open to the back yard–no windows in the front (except in a bedroom that could easily be closed off).
Since we’ve moved here, we’ve also added a car (that makes three) and boat, so a three-car garage would be great. Not a must-have, but a nice-to-have.
And I just love a new house with all new finishes that I (and, OK, my husband) picked out. Our current house is 15 years old, and things are starting to break, plus I didn’t care for some of the decorating choices the previous owners made. We’ve made quite a few changes over the years, but it’s looking a bit dated, and I don’t know if pouring more money (that we likely won’t get back) into the house is a wise financial decision. But then I don’t know if buying a new house would be financially wise either.
So many things to consider. Thanks for giving me a place where I can pull some of my thoughts together.
Sarah says
It is all about the season of your life. Since we will retire soon (and must leave our current home as it belongs to the church where my husband is employed) we are looking for: a ranch, low maintenance, no more than two baths, garage/workshop space for the man who now will have time, and a house that is in a area that will be a fun destination for family. West side of Michigan…near the lake with fun things to do but, still within a few hours of the fam.
Amanda M. says
Well, I think I’ll go make a list. Not that we are going to be able to upgrade any time soon, but seeing yours written down made much more sense than my jumbled up brain version.