Can you please share....

Your "must-have", "really want" and "dealbreaker" (or anything similar) lists from househunting? Just looking to see if we've forgotten anything that may be relevant. Thanks!

Re: Can you please share....

must have:
- walking distance to downtown/mass transit
- at least 2000 SF
- 3-4 BR
- 1.5 BA
- garage
- yard
- old world charm
- structurally sound older construction, not prefab
- attic or basement or both
- good school system
- nice, quiet neighbors

really want:
- open layout
- porch
- fireplace(s)
- hardwood floors

dealbreaker:
- less than 1500 SF
- 15 mins or more walk to downtown/mass transit
- no yard
- no garage
- modern-looking homes
- not move-in condition
- bad school system
- high RE taxes

Message edited 1/6/2012 11:05:38 PM.

Re: Can you please share....

Must have was a garage or basement
Nice size yard
Wood floors

Deal breaker was if it on a main road

We really weren't too picky since it's just DH and I
We really had no idea what we were looking for

I'm glad we weren't too picky - even though we only have 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, we wound up with a charming little house on a great block. The homes have a lot of character. It has a "cottage" type feel. My favorite plus is our wood burning fireplace

My best advice is to be open minded, I'd love to have 1 more bedroom and bath but looking back I wouldn't change anything...

Re: Can you please share....

From when I was looking:

Our must haves:

3 bedrooms
2 baths (would consider 1.5 if the half bath could easily be converted to a full)
Basement
Garage
Eat-in Kitchen
Formal Dining Room or Dining Space Other Than Eat-in Kitchen
Had to Be in One of Our Target Towns (but we looked from Merrick to Massapequa, so we had a lot of choices)

Our like to haves:

4 bedrooms
A master bathroom
A half bath for guests
A deck
Attached garage
Gas heat
Central Air
Family Room or Den (in addition to living room)
Finished Basement
Fireplace
Wood Floors
Updated Kitchens & Baths
Midblock Location

Deal breakers:

Main Road or Proximity/Backing Up to a Main Rd or Commercial Property
Small or Otherwise Unusable Yard
Needing major TLC (e.g., gut renovations, new roof or exterior) - I was pregnant and we needed a place we could just move into without doing major work.

We bought - A 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath split level. It had all of the must-haves, and on the like-to-have list, it had: A master bath, a half bath for guests, an attached garage, a family room, a finished basement, a fireplace, gas heat, central air, wood floors, a nice yard with a deck and a patio. The house was not all updated, but very well maintained and in good condition.

Compromises were: It did NOT have 4 bedrooms, and it's a corner property. The kitchen is not updated (it's not completely original, and it's relatively neutral, but definitely needs updating), and only one of the bathrooms was really updated, but it wasn't "mint." But kitchens and bathrooms can always be remodeled over time.

We love our house, and we got most of what we wanted, and everything we needed within our budget. It's not a perfect house, but it was perfect for us!

Re: Can you please share....

must haves:

property at least 8k square feet
basement (unfinished or finished)
smaller home
something that we could do work on (we wanted to have fun and tear stuff down and make it ours)
bellmore, merrick, wantagh, or seaford
close to train station
not a busy road
not near commercial properties
3 bed/1 bath

like to haves:

garage
1.5 + baths
4 bedrooms
updated kitchen
gas
sep. dining room

deal breakers:

no basement or garage
busy street
mold/moisture issues

we ended up with all of our must haves, and then the garage and gas heat

over time though, it has oodles of potential

Re: Can you please share....

Must have:

Been renovated w/in last few years (we were not handy, nor did we have the budget to do renovations ourselves)
3 bedrooms
Basement - either finished or potential to be finished
Eat in kitchen (we're not dining room people)

Like to have:

1.5-2 bathrooms
Finished basement
hardwood floors
Fireplace
High ceilings

Dealbreaker:

Location!