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?

Off street parking
Lots of natural light, (dingy dark places make me feel low)

Agree with what other posters have said, but I would also include...not within earshot of a pub, community hall, industrial units etc. I once bought opposite a quiet country pub that changed hands and turned into a den of iniquity. It was horrible. If you are at all sensitive to noise, don't believe it when vendors say 'oh no, we never notice that very quiet light industrial unit/snooker club' (etc, etc, you get the picture). If you think a property you like might be affected by noise, go and listen yourself at various times.
I realise this is more of a 'must not have' though.
Top of our must haves was off street parking for at least 2 cars, an enclosed garden for the dogs and not overlooked at the back.

I'd add to the list having the kitchen at the back of the house and a door from the kitchen into the garden.

Parking
Location
Storage for frequently used but not everyday stuff, like the ironing board and vacuum cleaner. If I could work out where to keep the ironing board the house was discounted.

Access to public transport/Travel time to work is
If you have DC or are planning to, then catchment area for decent schools
Enough bedrooms for actual or planned D.C.
By the time I'd applied these criteria it massively narrowed the options...space for the ironing board didn't even come into it.

Depends on other circumstances really. We wanted to be in a certain school catchment , and had a budget that only -just- made that possible. Our top priorities after that were quiet road, on street parking available if not a private drive, decent garden, not on a hill, potential to improve...

No new builds
Downstairs lavatory
Kitchen we could eat in
Large drive
Fair sized garden
Garage

Must have
Room for a dishwasher
A bath or room to put one in

Would like
Toilet on each floor
Utility room

Decent garden is top of the list
Parking
Garage (not integral, because we'd be tempted to convert it into another room)
Kitchen/diner, rather than separate rooms

Parking
Downstairs toilet
Parking
2 reception rooms ( 3 would be a bonus)
Parking

School catchment
At least two bathrooms
Required bedrooms plus 1 spare
Two reception rooms
Parking!

S, SW or SE facing garden. Not too many large trees casting shadows.
Lots of windows for natural light.
quiet street

Less obvious:
good insulation, and a good heating system
reasonable neighbours

Central heating, double glazing, modern external doors that seal properly, South facing garden and living room, Good water pressure for shower, low maintenance garden. Safe neighbourhood, Good parking.

Utility room
Cloakroom
Family bathroom and master en-suite
Private parking and garage
Good storage
South facing

Our first house was a 2 bed end terrace in zone 3 with on street parking.

When dh and I would talk about our next house it had to have
3 big bedrooms
2 bathrooms
Driveway
Walking distance to train station
Semi or detached

We've got all of that, and it makes me happy!

Location
Parking
Gas central heating (because it is the cheapest to run)
No original sash windows - they look lovely but are like the Forth Bridge, they always need repainting. My current house has UPVC which is naff but so much easier
Downstairs loo and upstairs bathroom

For our first time buy when we were 25 years old it was all about what we could afford (£100k budget) and convenient location, easy to get into our city where we worked and socialised, near areas which had bars, restaurants.

Big enough to grow into (unexpectedly ended up staying 10 years and having first child there due to 2007 crash and negative equity so 2 bed minimum. . . .).

Outdoor space was essential too, we had a lovely little yard which was big enough for BBQ, few friends over for drinks.

For our next house it was all about 4 bedroom, garden, safe area with schools, kitchen diner, study to work from home etc as we wanted long term family home.

Parking.
Double glazing
South-ish facing garden (used to have a North and there was just no point)
Downstairs toilet.
Kitchen diner.
Plenty of storage.
A decent entrance (not front door onto a room)

Parking.
Hallway or porch, so you have somewhere to put coats and shoes. A remarkable number of places we viewed had nothing and it's just not practical.
2nd loo ideally.
If no utility, space for w/machine AND dishwasher in the kitchen. Often only space for one.

Oh and storage cupboards. Again, so many places we viewed had nothing. Nowhere to keep the hoover etc!

Me again. Last one - south or west facing garden. Definitely not north ever.

When we were first time buyers our priorities were very different from now. Lots of the things people are saying just weren't an option for us then (detached, garage, large garden etc) so we had to prioritise accordingly:

• walkable to station (dh was commuting at the time)
• at least 2 decent sized bedrooms
• within our (tiny) budget!

We got a south facing garden and a downstairs loo which I wouldn't now do without.

Kerb appeal, small to medium size garden (not north facing), walking distance to bus stop into the city (or a station), leafy/countryside area

Location, schools, parking, enough bedrooms, sw facing garden, good transport links, shops.

Parking even if it means a smaller garden, and a slightly larger 3rd bedroom (currently have a box room)

Which are apparently like hens fucking teeth at the moment. The only properties that are coming up are too small or just right but about 50k over budget - it seems there is no middle range 🤷🏼‍♀️