Essentials list for new house

[fortyfourfeasts]

We are selling our house, have had a lot of interest and one (low-ish) offer. We are going to start looking for our next home, so are about to do our essential/desirable list.
The essential list has things like number of bedrooms, garage, garden etc but wondered what else you would have on yours? Unusual things you may not think of at first, for instance a friend had on her list somewhere to store the bins that was easy to wheel to and from on bin day.
Any tips?

You can buy a bin store, its not something that a house needs to have imo.

My essential list
1.Location location location - I would compromise on pretty much most things to live in the area I wanted (nice area, top primary and secondary schools, community & family oriented).

1. Then the house had to have (or scope to have with a price to reflect installation of / extension) :

bedroom for us & each child utility downstairs loo decent sized garden large kitchen diner & separate reception room hallway

Pretty basic really!

Modern kitchen and bathroom that we don't have to replace immediately (it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly to our taste as we'll probably replace as a matter of course, just not immediately upon moving).

Separate shower (not over bath).

Kitchen large enough for eight seater dining table.

No signs of damp (nothing more depressing).

GCH.

Period features (fireplaces/in built storage / recesses).

Utility room (or at least utility closet).

Airing cupboard for linen storage.

Manageable garden ideally accessed via double doors in kitchen/dining room/living room.

Bay windows (suitable for Christmas tree).

Double glazing.

Wood floors (esp downstairs).

Larder.

Not a flood risk. Not in an area where new builds will make it a flood risk. Off street parking.

Not too near schools , pubs, busy roads, flight paths.

Not listed.

All else can be changed!

I think it's a good idea to do a list like this as it focuses the mind, but what we thought was important to us at the start of our search was quite different to what we decided we wanted by the end! Thought we wanted a detached house needing no work with a huge garden. Ended up in a terraced period doer-upper with a medium sized garden that we fell in love with and I don't regret it for a second. Also a lot depends on what comes up in your search area/budget and you will most likely have to compromise on some things. I was shocked at the poor quality of so much that came on the market. The two things we didn't compromise on were the location and the size of the property. Once you've trudged round 10 crap houses, when you see the perfect one you're not going to turn it down because it doesn't have a bin store.

Parking. I have lived in a flat with parking issues and it affected me way more than I expected. I was very pleased to leave after six months.

Agree with poseynpip

Parking and potential noise issues.
School catchment.

I am interested to read how the process can change from something quite clinical into an emotional response. Our current house is the first one we ever bought and were lucky that it ticked every single box on our list. I am being told by our agent, and a couple of friends that I will have to compromise on something and given what is on the market at the moment, it looks like being the case.

But so far the essential list contains: Detached, 3 beds (with potential to add a bedroom), bigger rooms than we have now, 2 toilets, decent sized kitchen (or potential to extend), lounge, dining room/area, decent sized garden, GCH, garage or off road parking, plenty of storage!

We don't mind a doer-upper. Even if a semi-detached was perfect, I don't think we can compromise on being detached - neighbour issues have cast that one in iron!

Our essentials were:

In county; decent school catchment
Rural location
At least 3 beds
Large garden
Scope to extend/improve
Hall
Drive
Bath (or space to add one)
Open fire
Storage cupboards/spaces to build them
Not mid-terrace

We bought a total doer upper but it fit the criteria and is on the way to being awesome

Personally I'm not a fan of lists, it limits you. I go for x amount of bedrooms as a min and the price range and location then have the agents send me everything that comes up, and also look on line. I can do the weeding out beyond that. Unless you can't be arsed looking through properties at home, why have a list of more?

Check phone signal on viewings. We didn't and now and I have to stand in my daughter's bedroom to make a call. Pain in the arse.

For us
Location: quiet, views, near countryside and dog walks but still easy to get to town and amenities.
House: detached, big windows, big rooms, open plan kitchen diner family room (fab for parties) but other rooms as well, well laid out floor plan, lots of parking, smaller garden (not north facing) than our last home which was huge and became a chore. And no doer-uppers!

I rather like the lack of mobile signal in our house. We have a landline.

but do check broadband coverage.

We looked at a few houses with a very general list of criteria - basically priced between x and y, within 45 minutes of work and with a garden.

After we'd looked at a few we had a good idea of what we liked and what kind of houses were in our budget. We then came up with a more specific list, which included square footage, parking, orientation of the garden etc. We ended up putting an offer in on the next house we saw and that sale is going through at the moment.

When it came to rightmove we relied more on floorplans than photos (though we were happy to do work) but I don't think anything is as good as just going and nosing around in person.

Storage. We only have a downstairs cupboard & it's not even tall enough to store an ironing board.

storage! I personally hate not having room for clothes/toys/rest of thinks . A manageable garden and decent size rooms. A kitchen and bathroom that are in ok condition ( we did not have the money to make big changes straight after moving). Downstairs toilet. Parking and location are a must too
I checked the floor plans and then visited plenty of houses. I learned I should not trust the pics :)