To ask what you'd look for when buying a home?

[MoverNotShaker]

We're planning to renovate our house. It's currently just under 2500 sq ft, but we'd like to extend to add a bit more space and re-design the layout inside to make it better suited for our family.

We'd like to 'future proof' our house, do taking lots into consideration including selling potential should we need to down the road.

AIBU to ask what you love about your current home or wish you had?

Eg: A larger ensuite, a dressing room / walk in wardrobe, a play room, a walk in pantry, open plan kitchen or perhaps not? Bifold doors, glass extension, easy access to a patio, or maybe a brick extension with an orangery style glass roof. A hot tub? Outside garden storage, or an office room at the end of the garden?

Basically, what would you like in your dream home?

Haha this I think depends a lot on where you live.I live in London - and no one around here has such luxuries as an established tree filled garden, two car garage, separate boot room and ensuites to every bedroom ! Sounds amazing though!

I recently moved to a house that I absolutely love, bought almost exclusively for the view and garden.
It also has a downstairs loo which has gone right on to if i move in future I would want list.

Previous house had a big utility room for washing machine sink etc - miss it as dont particularly like having washer and dryer in kitchen now.

I also think storage is really important as not having enough would drive me nuts.

A moat with crocodiles on it.

I don't like:

• en-suites
• bifold doors
• hot tubs
• kitchen islands
• open plan.

Yes- Bifold doors level with the patio

Hell no- orangery roof. Baking hot. Paid ££££ to have it reversed.

Lots of space and light. (I’m assuming you’ve already got the downstairs loo and room for a dining table!)

A hallway would be nice (haven't had one for 15 years). High ceilings, large windows. Good hard flooring. Downstairs toilet. Storage. Safe easy stairs (I currently live with death stairs). Light. Deluxe or lantern windows a great idea in dark corners.

The 'improvements' I don't want are open -plan (as in, I'd knock through to gain larger rooms, but I think families need walls), bi-fold doors (won't age well, French doors much better), spotlights, huge kitchen islands, spa baths, hot tubs, swimming pools, hot water taps or any unecessary built in systems that require moving parts that are bound to go wrong, tray ceilings, freestanding baths, over-complicated showers, fitted carpet, plastic grass, 'smart' curtains or blinds...

Oh, pantries and utility rooms always good.

Like: level floors - no step from one room to another
Windows you can clean from the inside.
Upstairs bathroom, separate downstairs loo/shower room.

Storage! Unobtrusive, and plenty of it, especially for ugly/awkward/bulky things like coats, shoes, hoover, ironing board.

On a related note, a hallway with enough space to get everyone inside out of the rain and taking their shoes and coats off.

Bedrooms big enough for a bed AND clothes storage AND some floor space.

No stupid dormer windows. They make the ceiling slant and reduce the usable height of the room.

Can you tell what bugs me about my house 😂

I LOVE being able to shut the kitchen door - cooking smells can stay in there. Doors generally, actually, it's good to have space for yourself and not have to share with everyone else all the time.

A big selling point of our house was the internal door from the garage into the house - no more cycling paraphernalia all over the house, it can stay in the garage with the bike. I like being able to use the garage as a utility room too, the washing machine and tumble dryer are out there.

But basically I'd be more attracted to a house where the owner had invested in getting the basics to a high standard, than one with flashy mod cons. In my last house we inherited a once-expensive shower cubicle that boasted steam jets, water jets, built in sound system etc. It was a nightmare, nothing ever worked properly and it soon started breaking apart. It couldn't be mended, bits couldn't be replaced. I'd much rather have had a really good quality shower that delivered it's one function really well.

You are better off making the house work for you because everyone is different and you have to live in it.

Yes if you put bedrooms on the ground floor and living space on the top floor that might make it hard to sell. But everything else is just a case of finding the right buyer.

My only input is make it make a good impression. So don't have furniture or cupboards in front of every door so walking round the house is like an obstacle course.

I was thinking that too!

In that bumper list, the only thing that is essential is double glazing, which has been commonplace since the 1990s.

The first thing I look at though is to make sure that it's not leasehold. Instant swipe left if I see that word.

Garage
additional off road parking
downstairs loo
utility
en suite
proper fireplace
secluded garden
good sized bedrooms, 3 minimum
good pub in easy walking distance
supermarket within 5 miles
double glazing
good communication links
secure garden for dog
good views
minimal road noise

However I do not think all of these options will be possible in one house!

I would love a house with good insulation, sustainable heating, ventilation, natural light and lots of storage. Somewhere to hang washing to dry naturally under cover. Provision for electric vehicles. Good sized main rooms but separate areas to work and get away. A well designed and kept garden- you see so many immaculate houses with a scruffy lawn outside. Not interested in "toys" that will date like hot tubs and glass extensions. And why a garden room in such a big house?

Tbf OP did ask for "dream home" descriptions 😂 this is our moment to imagine ourselves on Grand Designs with a boatload of cash and motivation

I would want at least one bedroom with an en-suite and a walk in wardrobe. A separate utility room would be important, and a big garden. Bust most important of all would be for a house to be at least 100 years old, preferably Victorian, and without any changes made the the layout. I hate open plan houses with a passion and whilst I’m prepared to do quite a bit of renovation work to get a house back to its original splendour, that doesn’t extend to reinstating walls to separate rooms again.

True 😂

Have to agree with this.

All the things that were real plus points when we bought out current house (huge garden, loads of room, school catchments) are things we no longer need and would not be on our list when we look for our next house.

When we renovated our house, the two things I wanted were built in massive storage and natural light through out the house. The latter meant sky lights. The former gave us a floor to ceiling built in pantry cupboard in the kitchen which dcs' friends gawp at the amount of snacks, crisps and chocolates in there. Our bedroom also has 2 banks of floor to ceiling wardrobes that act almost like a walk in wardrobe.

Not a conservatory. I dislike conservatories as they are never the right temperature. Instead our extension had French doors and sky lights.

En suite to master. Walk in closet. Office/craft room. Separate self contained one bed flat or studio. Walk in pantry. Laundry room near the bedrooms. Access from kitchen/diner/family room to back garden. Formal living room for entertaining. Games room for teenagers. Off street parking. Storage room off of kitchen. Some sort of sheltered outdoor area with built in BBQ nearby. I could go on and on.