What would be your deal breakers / ideals in a family house?

[IamSorenLorensen]

We are currently viewing 3 bed properties and as this is all new to me ( first time buyers in rented) I am a bit baffled by how you know if the house is right for you?

We have a toddler and hope to have another child before too long so aside from 3 (decent sized if possible) bedrooms, the other things on my list are:

Open plan kitchen diner
Good size garden
Garage and/or shed
Ample storage

Is there anything else that I should/could bear in mind when looking?

Do you really just know when the house is right and keep looking till that time or do you just go with the one that ticks most boxes?

All the ones I've seen so far don't have open plan kitchen/diner which I would really like.....and as we will be mortgaged to the max it will be a while before we can embark on any knocking down of walls etc....

This probably sounds a bit muddled and confused as that is where my brain is right now!

Any advice gratefully received, thanks, I just feel like I don't really know what I am doing!!

As I have more time I am doing viewings without DH at moment. I think it might be time to rope him in!!

[overmydeadbody]

Personally I'd go for a house with a garden, driveway and garage and lots of storage space. Ideally I'd want a kitchen big enough for a table and sofa in it, but not an open plan kitchen, I want to be able to shut the door to the kitchen.

I would want a utility room though.

[Chewbecca]

I've always known when I viewed a house if it was a yes or no, never had to ponder it, if I want it, I know!

Off street parking?
School catchment? Could be essential if not planning to move again for a while.
2nd loo?
Potential to extend in the longer term?
Transport links?

Do you know what condition you want, does it need to be perfect now (so prob more ££) or are you looking more for good location, plot, room sizes/layout?

So many questions!!

[mumblechum1]

Dealbreakers:

Immediate neighbours
Plastic windows
Small garden
Small rooms
No room to extend.

Pretty much everything else is fixable.

[mumblechum1]

I once bought a house because it smelled nice and the owners were playing the Girl from Ipanema

[delilahbelle]

Ideals - south facing garden, wood burner, conservatory

Deal breakers - proximity to main roads, area

[Rhubarbgarden]

Ideals (actually these are essentials):
Big south or west facing garden
Architecture acceptable to world's pickiest DH
Walkable to naice village/town centre
Commutable to London
Good layout

Dealbreakers:
Low ceilings
Garden that cannot be made safe for the cats (unfenceable access to roads etc)
Small kitchen that cannot be enlarged by knocking walls out
Not enough light

Nice to have:
Views
Interesting original features
Water nearby - river, sea, lake, whatever.

[oreocrumbs]

For me the deal breakers are:
-size of bedrooms (if you plan to have more DC then I would want similar size rooms for them)
-size of garden
-a drive
-schools
-kitchen that fits a table

Other than that I do believe you get a feeling about a house, I'm not all hippy dippy about it, and my head is always in charge, but I believe that houses have a feeling about them.

I don't believe there is ever the 'one'. I had my heart set on one house, it was the one, and then they vendors were playing silly buggers trying to play us, so we started viewing again, and I saw my current home, and that was the one!! There will be others too! So never rule anything out untill you have the keys in your hand, pay a fair price for a house, don't get pulled too high on a feeling.

[ForeverProcrastinating]

Having bought 13 properties to date, upon reflection the common denominator for all was location - you can change a house (within reason and subject to planning permission) but you can't change where it is. So consider blights - electric pylons, noisy transport - cars, trains and planes, flight paths, these matter more to some people than others.

I would suggest drawing up two lists - a 'must have' and a ' would be nice but not essential' list - these will identify what's important for you.

Don't forget to use your valuable position as proceedeable buyers wisely, and make that cheeky offer, a vendor can always say no and it's easier to offer more money than reduce an offer.

A last thought, the word 'compromise', I have yet to find a property that had everything I wanted that I could afford

[AKissIsNotAContract]

Don't rule out knocking down a wall, just offer less for the house. You never know, they might accept your offer. We've just had an offer accepted on a house and will want to knock down a wall to make an open plan kitchen diner. When we made the offer we took into account the cost of the work needed and luckily they accepted.

[GrendelsMum]

I think you know when the house is right for you - in theory our current house ticked about 2 boxes from our list (no eat in kitchen, garden smaller than I wanted, massive renovation project aka money pit) but DH fell in love with it and that was it.

[Busyoldfool]

Agree with Forever - location is the one. Also, have said before on other threads, trust your instinct - it will be picking up things that your conscious brain doesn't register.

For me parking is crucial, (think - trying to get a toddler, a baby and five bags of shopping from the car to the house in the rain!).

Also table in the kitchen and neighbours

[SingingSands]

It's a hard thing to judge - you really have to think "does this house tick all the boxes?" and if not, you have to weigh up the compromises. I'd go for good location always and work back from there.

But, having said that, I viewed a house today that nearly ticked all our boxes - 3 beds, 2 receptions, kitchen diner, downstairs loo, great location (only downside was no garage) but the house just didn't "grab" me in way our current house did. When I viewed this house I really felt like I was coming home and wanted to boot out the current owners immediately! Actually, the more houses I view, the less I want to move!!

[BerylStreep]

Driveway with gates that can be closed.
(note to self) - not a busy road - a cul de sac location for kids to play beyond the garden in relative safety once they are older would be great.
High ceilings
Downstairs loo (in addition to main bathroom)

[NewHouse]

A third bedroom with all dimentions above six feet, I lived in one less than six feet infront of the window for a year once, not fun!

Near good schooling, a bus route and local shops.

If possible a second wc, a utility and one living space that is not open plan.

Off road parking, parking problems and boundary issues can cause problems with neighbours, so good existing fencing and not near a schools entrance, on a main road, near a train line that kind of thing.

I have had a full asking price offer accepted. I was the first and only person to view the house. I know local prices well. The house was all bar the living room done to perfection, not 100% my taste, not far off. I have one room to do to my laste and am not going to be ashamed of the rest if I bother to change it or not.

I lost two renovation projects with cheeky offers to higher offers during this latest house hunt.

A home is worth what it is worth to you either with a low or full asking price.

Check the property sites each day, that is how I got the house I am buying, I spotted it, viewed it and put a time limit on how long the offer was on the table, and did that before weekend viewings could take place.

[Clary]

If it's a typical 3-bed semi layout (like mine! a bargain on the market today!!) then I personally prefer living room and dining room (ie front and back receptions) to be separate rooms not knocked through.

I also like a big garden; ideally I would like a kitchen big enough for a table (we don't have this sadly) tho I am not hung up on open-plan if the kitchen is big enough. Ideally I would like a study but that's because my DC are older (homework etc) and also I do a lot of home-work for my job atm (and for the forseeable future!).

Quiet road is crucial for me; with a toddler, a cul de sac or big driveway is nice so they can learn to ride their bike nearby. Near to schools, ie walking distance, ie 10 mins, is surely essential. Near to shops and bus stops to better facilities also a must.

But a lot of those things you can see yay or nay before you view; the house we want to buy is in one of the few roads I like as much as ours, and before we even set foot inside I knew it had lovely big garden, great location wrt schools, amenities, quiet road etc. I have always known about houses as soon as I saw them tbh.

The key is to do the groundwork first. There's nothing worse (speaking as a would-be vendor atm) than hearing feedback like "we wanted a south-facing garden" (ours faces north-east) or "we wanted a study as well as the three bedrooms" - well then don't view my house then and waste all our time!

Gosh some of you want a lot don't you! We will never sell our house (no downstairs loo, no room for table in kitchen, plastic windows (replacing rotten wooden ones with wooden ones would have cost £6k for front ay alone!!!), garden faces wrong way, no utility room

Neighbours are nice tho.

[NewHouse]

Clary, I love a upvc window, no maintenance

[gaelicsheep]

Sorry to AKissIsNotAContract but it pees me right off when I hear of people offering well below the asking price for a perfectly good house because of things they would personally like to change. More fool the vendors for accepting.

[gaelicsheep]

NewHouse - they will need replacing decades before wooden ones will!

[AKissIsNotAContract]

'Sorry to AKissIsNotAContract but it pees me right off when I hear of people offering well below the asking price for a perfectly good house because of things they would personally like to change. More fool the vendors for accepting.'

Very few houses are going for the full asking price at the moment. It doesn't hurt to offer what you think a house is worth. If a vendor wants more then they can refuse the offer. The OP is in a strong position as a first time buyer and would be crazy to offer the full asking price on a house.

[gaelicsheep]

I think if you really really like a house you're taking a big risk if you don't offer the full asking price, even in this market. I think many people are being totally unrealistic just now with what they "think" places are worth. Phil and Kirsty have a LOT to answer for.

[BerylStreep]

My MIL has lost out on the apartment of her dreams by offering a cheeky price. The vendors were so pissed off that they sold it to someone else at a lower price, even though she was prepared to pay more. The vendors weren't prepared to entertain her offer(s) as they felt insulted by her.

People aren't always motivated by money, remember these are people's homes, which they have a lot of emotional attachment to.

[ivykaty44]

Open plan kitchen diner - you can alter a house to achieve this yourself, so look at the prospect rather than the finished article
Good size garden - if that is what you want then fine
Garage and/or shed - a garage and shed are very different - a garage is expensive to build but a shed you can put up your own for a few hundred pounds or less
Ample storage - get a shed, some houses have plenty of built inwardrobes etc soem don't, but this can be achieved agian with soem DIY

[StickAForkInMeImDone]

I wanted a decent size hall, one where we could all fit in and take our shoes and coats off. Plus a decent size landing, hate coming out of my bedroom and seeing the other doors all within 2 square feet. I also wanted a certain number of bedrooms and for the house to not be on a main road.
i compromised on my love of 1930s properties with high ceilings and a cellar and huge attic.
I love my house and knew the minute I walked in that it would be home. It feels comfortable, and homely in a way our previous house never did.
We made an offer 20% below asking and had our hand bitten off. We knew what it was worth to us and what we could afford.

[Missy44]

I could tell you a list of things, but I've found that when you walk into the right one, it will have all manner of things that you didn't plan for. That could be both bad or good, but you will know when you've found the right one. It'll either be perfect and you can move right in, or it will make you feel inspired to do things.

If it's the latter, just make sure you carefully cost things, there are plenty of houses that I've fallen in love with, dreamt of all the renovations I could make, then realised I wouldn't have the money to do anything to it