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.
Irena says
My fiance and I are also casually looking. We ride our bikes through our favorite neighborhoods and if we like the house, we pull up Zillow app on the phone, save it under favorites and check it out when we get home.
One of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.
YoungHouseLove says
Us too! Open house days = the best!
xo
s
Robin says
My (one day) house must haves: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, big kitchen, open floorplan. Nice to haves: 4th bedroom or office, any size garage, 2 floor house, front porch, side entry garage/driveway, pantry, big laundry room (to include kitty litter box) & hardwood floors.
Abigayle says
On Sunday we went house hunting for the first time (we were prequalified for a loan on Thursday), put an offer in on a house we loved and by the end of the day everything had been accepted. We got our completed contract yesterday and have the inspection on Sunday morning – we are SO excited!
It’s funny though when I think about it; we didn’t have much of a wish-list. We knew we needed a basement/garage/room that could be converted into a soundproof studio for my drum-playing husband and his band, and I wanted 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a side walk in a traditional neighborhood. But that was about it – we were flexible on most things.
I thought we would go the old house route, but we ended up falling in love with a renovated house that I can definitely still put my own touch on. Luckily though it’s a pretty untraditional house layout in a pretty traditional neighborhood, and it’s on a cul-de-sac which I was hoping for but not banking on. I’m so excited and I’m constantly inspired by your blog everyday!
Sorry it’s such a long comment – I’m just really really excited about owning our first home!!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Congrats! That’s so exciting!
xo,
s
Robin says
It’s long lists like this in my head that make me want to custom build a house one day… then you get exactly what you want (right?!) Assuming you have great location, schools & land.
I actually have zero knowledge on this so it’s just sorta a dream right now.
Yulia says
What a fun post!
When my husband and I were house shopping, he insisted on three things: a basement, a two car garage and a window in every bathroom. I thought he was crazy because I grew up in a house that had none of those things. Well we’ve been in our home for 10 years and I am so glad that he didn’t compromise.
That’s funny that side windows by the door were a must have for you because they were on my must-not-have list. A small piece of glass so close to the door knobs would me worry too much.
rachael says
We didn’t really make a list when we bought our house. It had to fit our budget and not be in a bad neighbourhood. Now that we’ve been here 5 years we definitely have a mental list of things to look for if we ever move.
Glynda says
In our house now our #1 need was a big enough bedroom to hold 3 twin beds. (We came to the booksigning in Dallas with our triplet boys). #2 was it had to be on a cul-de-sac, so the boys could play outside and not worry about traffic. #3 it had to have the washer/dryer inside the house, not in the garage. And of course good schools. Other than those 3 things we were open to just about anything.
Kelly says
We also made a list of “must-haves” and “nice-to haves” for our first house, which we purchased about three months ago. Our “must-haves” included at least two bedrooms (we got 3), no more than half a mile from public transportation (we only have one car and I rely on the bus to get to and from work)a backyard big enough for a garden. We also had a size cap – no larger than 1100 square feet (we ended up at 960).
Our “nice-to haves” included a garage, two bathrooms and a laundry room, which we didn’t get any of. But, we have a large laundry closet that suits our needs perfectly. I also wanted it to be within walking distance of a few great neighborhoods (in Portland, Oregon) that had cute shops and restaurants, but in the end our price range was too low to accommodate.
Kylie says
Not a bad haul! We ended up giving up our biggest must-have (3 bedrooms + office) in exchange for location, which is the one thing you cannot change. It wasn’t a bad trade.
MIT says
I hate to say this since I love reading your blog, but after a few months, I’m deciding to be jerk to speak up (maybe someone else already has?).
It has seemed like you guys have started phoning in a lot of your posts. You guys scaled back the quantity, which is reasonable and fine, but some of the quality of the posts are getting a little thin. Like “look at the door knobs we ordered” or “we took a section off our couch to turn it into a sofa.”
I understand you guys can’t be DIYing the crap out of your house all the time, but I feel like there was more interesting stuff going on when you were at 2 posts a day. I don’t need 2 posts, and I don’t expect you to slave away and miss out on Clara growing up, but maybe you could pick the best of what you’re doing and less of play by play of your purchases.
Sorry for being the A-hole reader
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! As it turns out everyone wants something different from this blog, so for every person who wants less play by play/planning others are requesting more. You can check out this post (and the comments) for more about our pace and what folks seem to enjoy reading about.
https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/05/a-fresh-start/
We have only lived in this house for a week, so we think having painted trim and new floors for our entire upstairs is more than we were sure we’d even have done by now!
xo,
s
Will says
Looks like you are in your dream home or about to become dream home. Exciting!
Meredith @ La Buena Vida says
Two things that we didn’t think about at all when we bought our first house but will be high on the priority list if we ever buy again:
-A pantry. Our house has terrible kitchen cabinets. There isn’t a single one tall or wide enough to put a box of cereal inside. I thought the cabinets would be plenty of space for keeping pantry essentials, but they are NOT. Next time, I definitely want a pantry, or at least a floor to ceiling cabinet!
-Indoor Laundry Room. Our laundry is in the garage. It’s terrible in the winter, it’s terrible in the summer.
Emily says
I was just flipping through my new HGTV issue, back to front as I do for some reason with magazines. All of a sudden I came across your bedroom, and was like – hey, I know that room!! It was a really nice write up and great pictures. I’ll miss your pretty little house, but looking forward to reading along as you DIY the new one. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! We’ll have to check it out!
xo,
s
T says
How amazing that you got practically every thing on your list o’ dreams! What a blessing! :)
Needle little Balance says
I like the styles of houses you have in your area! I think our climate is much cooler than yours- essential things we also (have to) look into which we can´t DIY when house hunting are: isolation (walls and windows) and proper heating. No oil or gas heating but geothermal energy or a heating that works on wooden pellets.
Maybe all the heating systems in your area are pretty much the same so this wasn´t an issue for you?
YoungHouseLove says
Most houses here are oil, gas, or heat pump (or sone combination of those) and those seem to work well. Our first and second one were oil/heat pump and the new one is gas, which we like so far.
xo
s
Annika says
Heh, this was a fun post to read! Interesteing to see what other people look for in a house… I had to go back in my own archive because I thought I remembered doing a similar list, and I found it! From about a year ago, before we moved in to our house: http://magpiesatsunrise.blogspot.no/2012/02/valentines.html
Hanna says
My list of must-haves were:
– Good school system (6 or above [preferably 9 or 10] on greatschools.org)
– Under $225k
– Three bedrooms
– No more than 30 minutes from one of our workplaces
– Not a new construction (we like old, tried, and true)
Pretty short list, but you would not believe how the school system, price range, and region VASTLY narrows down the list in Mass. It is very hard to find a 3 bedroom single family with thosee criteria. But we did it! It is 150 years old, COVERED in carpet and faux paneling, and simply wonderful. We’ve been here 10 months and we love it.
One of the things that tipped this house for us was the nice-to-haves. It is in a small little neighborhood where the kids can ride their bikes, and it is near a public beach (about a 5 minute drive). The other nice-to-haves have gone onto our renovation list!
A few things that were not on our list but that we realized we wanted after we viewed the house: it is by a commuter rail stop and it has a massive rock in the yard, perfect for kids to climb on. Seriously, we love that rock. And it is not bad to walk 200 yeards and jump on the train for a few hours in Boston. :)
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
We don’t have an actual list but do love to talk about what we would like in our next house. It really helps to be on the same page before its time to start making the big decisions.
Catherine Wood says
My husband and I started a list like this ages ago when we were still dating! It’s such a good idea to have it written out. Some of our “must haves” are 3-4 bedrooms, 2-2 1/2 baths, on lots of land and affordable but there are many more “wants” like a working wood fireplace, garage/man cave/storage area, basement, brick or stone (we hate vinyl siding…especially when builders mix the two!) and many more. Can’t wait to buy or build one day!
thelady says
I’m house hunting in my east coast city full of row houses
Must haves:
3 bedroom (easier to resale than 2), pre 1940s, less than 30 minute walk to work, original wood floors, vintage style bath, original wood interior doors, off street parking, front porch or sun room, 1,000 to 1400 sq ft, front door above street level (for privacy reasons)
Nice to have:
window over kitchen sink, back deck, linen closet, 1/2 bath, walk to stores, garage
Bella says
Yeah I did two lists for the house me and my now ex planned to get pretty soon, but then we broke up and now I have to make do with a one bedroom apartment. I’m back to ok you can turn around without hitting yourself on 5 things and it is even bright and my dog can live there too? Ok wait i’ll get my checkbook :D
but it does have something exciting trying to fit all your stuff into one room, kinda wants to make me go minimalist :D
mp says
I don’t expect to leave this house upright, but if a disaster happens, I have a tiny house plan picked out. It’s a Katrina cottage and would be perfect for a freewheelin’ old chick and her chihuahuas.
Sarah says
I’m so excited for you guys! Well, I’m actually pretty excited to see what changes you have in store for us to see. You have given me the courage to really change things around my home. Thanks!
When we finally made the move from renting to buying, it was right when the housing market in FL was on it’s big upswing and while we had a wish list, we were just hoping to find a house that we could afford before someone else found it first! Our “nice to haves” were kicked to the curb and we crossed a bunch of the “have to haves” off the list. We ended up with what we thought would be our “starter house” but now that the kids are getting ready to fly the coop (7 years later) we’re content to stay in our “forever house.”
Jen @ The Well Read Fish says
Double sinks, granite, and an open-floor plan.
Just kidding. I’m not from House Hunters~!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
reny says
it’s nice to be able to make lists. when i and my husband looked for a new home across the coast (we lived in west coast before this), we just hoped to find a big piece of land with a nice house on it. so we ended up with this house. not exactly what i would love (a victorian, two story, recently furnished with hardwood floors, 4bdr, 2.5baths, a sunroom or a deck). this one is brick ranch, 3 bdr, 3.5 baths, and a whole lot of green in the house (green carpet, green wall, green wallpaper, green curtains, etc). but it came with a 91 acres lot with a huge pond. so i made my compromise and hasn’t regret it since. well except when i have to clean the bathrooms. :D
Rachel says
It’s funny. I’m totally a list person but when we bought out current house I didn’t make one. The only thing that was necessary was a 4 bedroom and a segregated master bedroom.
In the end we found a house that we loved but no segregated master bedroom. We compromised and although we still miss that feature we love our new house and say everyday to each other how much we love the new house and how perfect it is for our family with a kid friendly backyard and so much more living space for 2 kids and 3 dogs.
Thank you for your blog it’s my favourite and such an inspiration.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Rachel! It’s so much fun to read everyone’s story/list/house hunting ideals!
xo
s
Jo Mathis says
Totally NOT related to this post at all, but I got my HGTV mag in the mail today and I saw your huge spread in it!!!! I can’t believe you didn’t do a post about it today! My favorite blog in my favorite mag- so fun to see. Congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Eeeeks! We haven’t seen it yet. So nervous!
xo
s
Nardia Cooper says
I had been reading your blog for a while before we bought our first home and it really helped my husband and I to be realistic about what we wanted and obviously could afford. We made a list of must haves and wants just as you have and took a copy with us to every open home. Because we knew our budget and were able to go unconditional quickly ( builders report and valuation were a bank must have) we managed to secure a house with everything on our list except for an already built tree-house. We also managed to purchase for less than the expected market price as we could make an offer quickly. Congrats on your new home and wahoo for all the changes you have made already! I love the wood flooring and am trying to find that sticky underlay stuff here in New Zealand.
Kris says
We just closed on a house in early June and moved in over the weekend – this, after three months of looking at 75 houses, 45 with our realtor. We created a spreadsheet that grew to 250 possible points, including five deal breakers, and are pleased that our prize scored 245 of those points. We made four offers before this one and learned how competitive our city’s housing market is right now; all offers were significantly over asking price. What’s most amazing to me is the house we’re now living in has the most square footage, and it’s on the biggest lot of all – it’s just that it’s a mid-50’s ranch, which we didn’t expect would be our choice. Don’t settle for less, know what you want and need, and figure out a way that allows objectivity in the search.
Tipling says
When we bought our house it had everything on our list but a garage. Now we find ourselves saying next time we buy a house it must have a garage. Hauling things up and down the stairs to the basement is no bueno as you mentioned. Its amazing how many different types saws you accumulate when owning a home….
Aimee W. says
I’m sure I’m the last one to say this, but I just got my HGTV magazine in the mail and flipped through it! I was so excited to see your article in it! Congratulations!
YoungHouseLove says
Ahh thanks Aimee! We haven’t seen it yet!
xo
s
Holly says
I’m super excited for you guys! Just so happens my family and I bought a house (we should be closing in July) and looked for very similar things. Funny you mentioned the front door NOT facing a staircase – this was on my “must have” list! Haha. Like Virginia homes all seem to have sunrooms, Utah homes seem to require a basement to be appealing (all that extra square footage and low cooling costs), so that was a must have. I hoped to find a home with a formal living room that we could use for an office/piano spot, but when we toured our soon-to-be new home we just couldn’t help but love it! It does have a loft upstairs (aka. office space) and it does have a basement (which will eventually house our “family room” TV and such so the upstairs current family room can become more formal and house the piano passed down to me).
It’s been a lot of ups and downs, and there’s plenty of nerve-wracking and exciting things ahead, but we’re so, so excited! I’m thrilled that your family has possibly found your forever home. Even if it’s not, I’ll be watching step by step and you transform the spaces. Be certain that I’ll be gathering inspiration from you two for our new house as well!
Mags says
How is using a buyers agent different then using a realtor when buying a home?
YoungHouseLove says
A realtor can be either an agent for the seller or the buyer, so it’s really the same thing to say “my realtor” or “my buyer’s agent” – although one distinction is that you might pay a realtor (to list/sell your house for example) but you never pay them when they’re acting as a buyer’s agent (the seller pays the buyer’s agent fee).
xo
s
Martha says
This is an interesting comment thread to read. My husband and I dream of building a home someday and “the list” is a common topic for discussion. It is interesting because you think when you build a house that you can get everything you want–but there are always trade-offs and compromises, especially because getting everything you want costs lots of money! My husband is interested in timber-framing and has done some work with a local timber-framer, so we would definitely seek out that style of construction. Lots of character with exposed beams, open floor plan, two stories with three bedrooms, and we’d love for it to be in a big field in the country :) We are always drawing up floor plans, even though home building is probably 10 years out or so.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’ve loved reading the comments to this post! It’s so cool how everyone wants different things and the stories of how people ended up where they did are so interesting!
xo
s
Erica says
When I bought my house almost 4 years ago now, my absolute musts were that it had to have at least 2 bedrooms, one bedroom that isn’t a walkthrough, be older and have some character, NO sloped floors, and not have an entrance to the cellar in the kitchen floor! I really wanted my house to have a front porch (nope), a pretty fireplace (yep, even though it doesn’t work!), a garage or place to park off street (yep!), and I really didn’t want the laundry room in the kitchen. Sounds like some strange requests! But I bought a house in an older neighborhood full of shotgun style houses, and they have some interesting quirks! My house is 113 years old- it is definitely full of some fun stuff! :-)
Gretchen@BoxyColonial says
House Hunters has taught me that not only do stairs lining up with the front door feel cramped; they’re bad feng shui! Apparently all your chi will just go right out the door that way. Which, I gather, is bad. I’ve never done much reading on feng shui, but I have to admit I was relieved when the stairs were set off from the door in the house we wound up with. Just in case.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! Someone else mentioned that too!
xo
s
Sue says
When I first moved to the town I live in (20+ years ago, going through a divorce), I took a class for “women in transition”. Part of 1 class assignment was to write out a big, 5-year dream, in as much detail as possible. I wrote what I was looking for in a property, and promptly filed the paper & forgot it. Found it when I was packing up to move into the house I had just bought, and it was amazing how closely my dream met reality! I had written that I wanted 4 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms (yep), 5-10 acres (got 5), water would be nice (we have a pond fed by irrigation water), mountain view would be nice (I can count 10 mountains from my back deck). There are some things I wish I had been more specific about, but when we moved in I told my kids they would be burying me from this property, and 17 years later I still feel the same. It’s a lot of work keeping up with it all on my own (kids are now grown, and Sweetie has passed away), but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
High ceilings are over rated. It can be a beast to heat and cool for real! I like our not too low, not too high ceilings just fine. Our electric bill is rarely over 150 in the summertime. We have fans strategically (and thankfully!) placed all over the place in bedrooms, the kitchen and living room. I love that you had a realistic list and that you pretty much stalked and found the right spot for you to land. High fives all around! And in the words of the great Hannibal from “The A Team”….http://youtu.be/FPQlXNH36mI
My best, Lynn
Sam says
Wow! Your list is almost identical to ours. :)
Susan says
Bought a foreclosure…from not looking to walking through the door in 12 weeks! 3xx,xxx house in million dollar neighborhood with almost all of our mists except high ceilings.
Our previous house had the entry in the living room so that became our deal breaker! In Chicago that’s a weather and dirt related mess.
Wanted to sell and make our bundle but no other house meets so many musts and wants…So here we stay!
Yogesh says
We had a similar wishlist when we bought our 2nd home and once you have kids, not only does your must haves change, your nice to haves change too!!!
Looking forward to seeing this transformation from the start.
karen @ paperfancy.com says
I can’t wait to see what lovely things you’ll do to this new house. I hope you get to stay put for a while and enjoy the home once you’ve worked so hard on it.
Have you thought about buying rentals and fixing up? Bet you could even flip them quickly. Just a thought when I couldn’t sleep last night….
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have thought about that, although we’re not sure how fun it would be to redo rentals on a blog since you don’t usually get to furnish them (so the “after” is just an empty room). You never know where we’ll end up though! We certainly plan on putting down roots and giving this house the time/thought it deserves, so we’re not in any rush :)
xo
s
Ryan says
When we bought our first house, we had a couple lists of wants and needs. But when we house hunted for the first time, it was easy to get overwhelmed by the myriad of features that could be potentially deal breaking for us. We didn’t have any experience revamping and renovating (but we do now!) and so potential projects and things that needed major updating were houses we eventually shied away from. We ended up in a house we were very happy with, that was move in ready. Quickly we worked up the nerve to start adding our own touch to it. Unfortunately, like you pointed out, you can’t necessarily get everything you want in a house, so we compromised on a back door to the yard (you have to go out our front door and walk around), and not having a fireplace. But we still love it!
haverwench says
When we went house shopping back in 2006-2007, our only absolute must-haves were that it had to be a house with a yard (not a condo) and at least two bedrooms (one to double as an office) in a walkable town (meaning not just a town where you can go for walks, but a town where you can walk TO places you need to go) within reasonable commuting distance to my husband’s workplace. Oh, and it had to be in our price range. This very short list narrowed the field considerably. I think we ended up looking at only 25 houses or so over a period of about a year.
Beyond these must-haves, we had two secondary lists: “really want” and “nice to have.” The “really want” list included such items as a second bathroom (or at least a half bath), hardwood floors, a gas stove, and an open floor plan. “Nice to have” items included a finished (or finishable) basement, a fireplace, and a stream in the backyard (didn’t really expect to find that one). After bidding unsuccessfully on two houses that had all our “really wants” and even some of the “nice to haves,” we finally found one that had everything we really wanted except the open floor plan, which we have discovered wasn’t nearly as important as we thought. (Plus it had the “nice to have” semi-finished basement, which is now a fully finished entertaining/dining area, so we have the open plan down there.)
Rather than continue to use our “wish list” to modify our house once we’d bought it, we started a new list called “Things to Do on House,” and we have been regularly crossing items off and adding new ones on for the past six years. Currently at the top of the list: adding a patio. We have actually gone so far as to take a week of vacation time for the job, so it’s officially scheduled to start on June 30. Wish us luck.
YoungHouseLove says
Lots of luck!
xo
s
Molly says
My husband and are dont have children yet but we have two cats! And we rent. But I definitely have a “must have”, “would love” and “would like” list. Our must have list included two bedrooms and two bathrooms (or atleast 1 3/4; I just don’t want guests having to use my shower). We also need no yard or a gardner, a garage, and a double vanity in the master bath. Our would love list includes the location being < 1 mile from the beach and a patio or deck (also for ourdoor dining!). Our would like list was a complex with amenities like a gym and pool. A security system. And the ability to paint.
Luckily our current house hits all of our must haves and loves. And our landlord is flexible on some of our likes.
Jessica says
I have been following your blog for a little over a year now. I’m so excited you guys bought another house! We’ve been in our first property just over a year now and we’re thinking about investing in more real estate and becoming landlords. Have you guys ever considered buying additional property and become landlords? You’re so great at maximizing potential! Also, do you guys have any experience at foreclosure auctions? We’re toying with a few different ideas and I know you both have done extensive real estate research. Thanks guys! Keep writing!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We have thought about it but we think besides not really having the money for a second home we also would worry that our brains might explode from having so much to manage, but maybe down the line if we get to a nice “coasting point” at this house, we’d have more energy/time/focus for another place. We have no experience with foreclosure auctions. Anyone have tips for Jessica on that?
xo
s
Corrie @ Little House On The Update says
Our wishlist:
More privacy
Better school district
Open floor plan
Larger garage
Pool!
Someday, oh someday….
Great post guys, thanks for sharing:)
asham says
If it makes you feel better, our friends bought a house with high ceilings, and it’s difficult to heat in winter and cool in summer. Low ceilings FTW!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Asham!
xo
s
Adam B Graham says
Awesome post! My wife and I recently threw our hat into the house hunting game and are trying to stay positive (the inventory in our area is absolutely abysmal; we’ve basically run out of any houses left to view).
Being first time buyers, we only really know that we hate our apartment. But we do have a couple of things on the short list.
– Old and outdated: As in preferably older than 1970. There is a glut of ’70s houses in our area and many are weirdly laid out and poorly maintained. But your blog has inspired us to look for something in need of some work. Not to mention that it seems like no one understands fair property value in our small town.
– Nice, flat yard: not the easiest to do, since our town is kind of known for hills. For the wife.
– Decent sized kitchen: anything’s better than the galley kitchen we currently have.
– Something more than one bath.
– A least one “extra room”: I just don’t want to feel like we’ve moved up only to feel immediately closed in again. Plus, both my wife and I are musicians and have other hobbies that involve things that take up space. Nothing like having a room just for something important in your life.
Looking forward to following you guys in the future. I’d love to catalog our DIY adventure in a blog, too. Seems like a lot of fun. Wish us luck!