House hunting must haves

[HungryForApples]

DH and I are first time buyers and about to start looking at houses, so I'm drawing up a list of "must haves" and "would likes". What would be on your lists?

Integral garage rather than separate garage.
Initially I liked the look of separate ones but it's so handy that it would be at the top of my list now.

Parking
Parking
Parking
And somewhere to park

What’s important to you? Everyone’s priorities will be slightly different.
Eg for us it was:
large house and large garden in a affluent and safe area, fab schools, excellent amenities for sports and the outdoors (sports clubs, gyms, pools, close to coutryside and coast), easy commute into central London. Personally, we weren’t bothered about having the poshest high street as we don’t spend much time in cafes.

Walking distance to a station. A a kitchen that's big enough for a table.

Side access into the property.

Garden facing West or. South.

If beautifully decorated, that I liked it. Not good to pay for it and then hate it so much you want to change it anyway. So poor decorating choices is not a problem.

A kitchen that you can live with until you have enough money to change.

Parking
Garden not overlooked
Downstairs toilet

Depends where you’re looking. I’m in London so for me walking distance to a tube station was a top priority and then, because I’m disorganised, walking distance to a corner shop for milk, bread (and emergency wine!)

For the actual house think practicalities, downstairs bathrooms are a pain in the bum, is there enough living space for the amount of bedrooms (some with extensions have lots of bedrooms but tiny living rooms). If you’re looking to have kids in the future then open plan is good as you can cook and see the kids without them being in the kitchen with you...

Parking for sure! At least 2 spaces. If you have or are planning children a garden and 2-3 bedrooms.

We are looking at the moment, and our list so far is

1. Location
2. Size of garden and dog safe
3. Parking for all the family
4. 4 good sized bedrooms and at least 2 bathrooms.

The house itself isn't so important - you can make changes to that but you can't change where it is. As long as we have potential, I'm open minded.

Oh yes, south facing garden, instead of our miserable cold north facing one!

No shared driveway. Wouldn't ever consider that.

One big thing for me is storage! Think - is there an airing cupboard for towels/bedding? Where would I keep my ironing board? Hoover?

Having somewhere to tidy away this kind of clutter is one of my favourite things about the house we're in now. We rented initially in a two up two down terrace, and there was usual household stuff hidden everywhere!!

Thanks, I've added a couple of things I hadn't thought of.

I currently have parking in the "would like" list rathe than "must have" as neither of us drive and we plan to be walking distance to the train station and town centre. I'm hoping we might get a bargain as so many people prioritise it!

Ours were
Location
Parking
Garage
Smallish private garden
Two double bedrooms
Kitchen/diner
Downstairs toilet /utility room
On a wide not busy road with off street parking all around.

Presumably you have a budget and know roughly whether you want terraced, semi or detached already.
If terraced, where to locate the bins can be crucial!
We now have 4 differently coloured large bins, and if we were still living in the terraced house we bought way back, we wouldn't have any outside space whatsoever as it would all be taken up with storing the bins.

Otherwise -
Location
Downstairs loo
Separate office or space for dedicated office area
Separate double garage
Parking +++

Driveway parking
Side access to back garden
No shared driveway
Garage
Cul de sac

We have recently moved and our must haves were: period features; large house; garage; garden; affordable mortgage and running costs.
Good luck in your hunt for the perfect house xx

Fully detached in that you can walk all the way around on your own property . Off street parking .

Decent size garden.
Off road parking.

And nice neighbours!

I currently have parking in the "would like" list rather than "must have" as neither of us drive and we plan to be walking distance to the train station and town centre. I'm hoping we might get a bargain as so many people prioritise it!
If you are buying your first house then I presume it won't be your forever house and you will want to sell it at some stage. Therefore it's an idea if your must-haves take into consideration your buyer's must-haves. If it's cheap to buy then it won't get the sale price either.
Parking will become more important as people will need to be able to charge their electric car without trailing a flex halfway down the street. Unless we all go car-less or join car-share schemes.

If you plan to have children in the future, then being close a park and playground is good. Buggies often live in boots of cars so if you don't have one, make sure there's somewhere to put one in the house.

Hall or a porch. When the room comes off the door it can be messy!

A hallway, and cupboards.

Otherwise you're just arranging furniture around walkways through rooms.

Mains gas
Integral garage
Parking

My first house, my wants were location, 2 bedrooms and affordable.
My 3rd house which were in the process of purchasing, location, 4 bedrooms, downstairs toilet, 2 bathrooms/shower rooms, hallway, kitchen diner, bigger garden, garage, non estate location, utility room. I realise that’s a huge list and unachievable on our budget so we’re actually buying a cheap 3 bed with one bathroom but it’s got massive potential for extension stp.