What matters most to you when buying a property?

[Bumpitybumper]

If you had to order the following list to reflect your priorities when buying a property how would you do it:

1. Garden
2. Parking
3. Garage
4. How much work there is to do on the property
5. Room proportions/layout/internal space
6. Transport links
7. School catchments
8. Type of property e.g. detached, bungalow etc
9. Relative value for money

10. character

I ask because I think our current property might be tricky to sell, but I'm not 100 percent as I don't know what most people prioritise when looking for a property to buy.

I think you've missed out the most important thing for a lot of buyers (myself included) - location! It's all about the loacation, lots of others things can be changed but you can't change the location of a house!

I also think things such as room layout etc can be changed. If it's the right property people will be willing to reconfigure internally/do major renovations etc. We're looking at the moment and I know our priorities change for each house we look at as if it's in the right location and it's an amazing house (or has the potential to be) I'd be willing to compromise on other aspects of the house.

@BeesMichael
Yes I was trying to think about elements of "location" that would make a difference other than just saying "location" as that's so broad and could mean loads of things. I know exactly what you mean though and do agree! So i guess the question is if it is assumed the location is good/similar for a few competing properties how would you order that list?

With our current search:

1. Our budget and checking house isn't overpriced.
2. Strong preference for period property ideally thatched
3. Within a mile of at least good rated secondary school and shop
4. Short commute for DH (OK for longer one for me)
5. No chain ideally empty as want to move quickly / nothing to fall through

The above were probably essentials.

Not that bothered about parking as long as can at least park on road by house.
Garden would be something we would compromise on though gone for one with nice garden in end.
Ideally sporting facilities within village.
Work we've gone for one not requiring any work but have gone for two in past requiring lots of work.

I'm worried about when we later sell ours as even though we've done a lot of work there's still a fair amount left. I don't drive which affects wanting things in town though even if I did I think I would want things in walking distance.

Outside of budget and minimum number of bedrooms, it's the area type that matters most.

Rural, village, semi-urban, city centre, etc. I can be flexible on all sorts of things - type of house, garden, work needed. That's what I mean by location - not schools, amenities etc.

For example I'd rather buy a 3 bed bungalow in my preferred area (rural) than a 4 bed character house in the wrong area (town again), even if the latter was a better house.

Not being on a main road is a massive thing for me. Traffic noise sends me insane.

Also, not being right on the pavement when step out front door.

Not having north east facing garden.

Commute
Schools
Detached
Room layout
Reasonable sized garden

Decor and character was quite far down the list.

It's going to be different for everyone.

When we bought our house, location, internal space, and parking were the most important. I didn't care about decorative order, or the state of the garden, I didn't worry about character, or whether it was a semi, and school catchments were low down the list.

When I'm looking for a place to rent now, it's similar, but location with reference to commute/schools/shops is more of an issue as we don't have a car (city centre)

When we look for our next home to buy, we'll be looking for space again, and for a detached, with excellent internet, and supermarket delivery and within reach of a good school - but still won't care about decorative order or state of the garden.

Location was our number one priority and non-negotiable. Then size (or potential size), layout and light. All in relation to price.

School catchment was our number 1.
Followed in order by
Local area & amenities
Layout of house
2nd bathroom
Off street parking.

A specific village was our main criteria(within budget of course).
This was followed by detached, off road parking and room to extend if necessary.

What are you worried about with your house? I think people's priorities will vary will their circumstances and preferences.

I'm not bothered about detached but wouldn't want a bungalow or mid terrace. I would want other houses nearby that also looked attractive.

Currently house hunting and have a fairly specific idea of what we want so it goes like this:

1. search for properties in our price range and within a 5 mile radius of DH work.
2. check location of closest schools - I have a list of local schools that are acceptable to us (for slightly complex reasons) and need to be less than a mile from one of them.
3. check the floor space/Square footage - I have a minimum in mind
4. look at the kitchen, make sure there is adequate cupboard space, consider where washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer will all go
5. assess where a kitchen table could go
6. consider where DH will store his bike - if it’s in a garden shed can he get it out without going thru the house? If it’s in a garage can he get it out past the car safely?
7. look at the rest of the pictures and get a general feel for the space and layout

Obvs this is specific to us - but maybe something to think about?

Oh yeah, must have off road parking and not really interested in mid-terrace properties...

@penguinsnpandas
Mainly plot size (big house relative to plot), less than perfect schools and unconventional layout.

When I sold my last house the feedback we got as to why people had ruled out the house really shocked me. Things like garages etc just seemed a much bigger deal than I had previously thought and things like decoration seemed to matter less.

Budget/Price
Bedroom count
Location
Parking
Crime levels
Flood risk
Work required to house
Character
Garden

Schools don't matter to us as are kids are grown but are very important to many on here and IRL

Good luck

Schools aren't terrible but definitely not best in area

Location - must be on a quiet road

1. needs outbuildings or space for them for business at least double garage size preferably bigger, or double plus big shed type thing
2. detached as business occasionally makes moderate noise in business hours
3. catchment of decent secondary ( looking rural) not bothered re catching school bus as already does that for primary
4. within 45 minutes drive 1 hour when busy of my elderly parents
5. price has to be less than what we sell ours for as too old for new mortgage
6. reception space need 2 separate rooms at least if kitchen not big enough for a table for 6 we need 3, as need home office as well( this could be a 4th bedroom)
7. no more steep sloping gardens

8 not on a flood plain

1. some character preferably period we can do restoration

10. must have decent broadband at least 14mbps 11 not dingy or with tiny windows 12. not thatched

not important
precise layout of rooms
proximity to stations or bus routes as we work from home
en suites or what kind of shower or bath but want 2 toilets
separate utility
proximity to pub shops etc
decoration can re-do but not paying extra for someone else's taste don't re-do your kitchen/ bathroom for me
not worried about traffic or whether I can see a graveyard etc, neither am I worried about buying a house where previous owner had died

Value for money
Detached
Number of bedrooms
Parking
Light - realised need big or multiple windows. I like character properties but dark / north-facing reception rooms became a definite no when we were looking.
Garden - this alone put me off new builds. Tiny overlooked squares.

when i was looking my priorities were
location
parking - cant be arsed with parking wars, wanted driveway or space to turn garden into driveway
decent sized garden
semi or end terrace

Based on our last purchase (3 yrs ago when ds was 2, planning to stay till at least retirement) weput your list in this order. Some of these surprised us - when crunch came it really exposed what was actually our priorities.

1. Garage
2. School catchment
3. Room proportions/layout/internal space
4. Transport links
5. Parking
6. Garden
7. How much work there is to do on the property
8. Type of property e.g. detached, bungalow etc
9. Relative value for money

10. character

Im looking at the moment and my main thing is bedroom size, must be decent doubles, garden med or large and the ability to have a driveway even, if there not one there now.

I dont mind layout as i would change it and I prefer not decorated and old or derelict kitchen/bathrooms as dont want to pay for someone else's style.

Area is important but only with regards to crime, i dont care about status areas etc. Schools etc not on my radar, transport links tend to be good in the city. Would like a nearby park but not essential.