How do you find the perfect home?

[nearlywed21]

There's very limited search criteria on Rightmove etc.

If for example I wanted a 4 bedroom home with ample parking, a kitchen island with a gas hob and a decent garden how would I go about searching that?

(Is it easy to install a gas hob kitchen island into any kitchen?) Know very little as this is my first time but have waited a very long time to save up!

Build it yourself?!

You probably wouldn't find it easy to search for a kitchen with an island and a gas job. Just look for a kitchen big enough to install one.

Is it that straightforward?
I ask because I live currently in a flat with a large open plan kitchen/living room and have previously considering getting a kitchen island with a gas hob however found out that it would not be possible here, only has electric supply. Are all/most houses compatible with gas?

It will depend on whether there's a gas supply to the street that the property is on. Sometimes whole villages don't have mains gas.

Mostly, unless they have a more or less unlimited budget, people compromise. You work out the non-negotiables, which would usually be size, location, parking situation etc; you then view places in that grouping which already have the things which would be difficult to change, such as kitchen size, garden size etc. Later on, you can then landscape the garden to your taste and install the type of kitchen and fittings you want.

Most houses in cities and towns with a gas supply will be installed for gas. Kitchen islands with hobs are commonplace. Most kitchen installers would be able to fit one, as long as the kitchen size and layout allowed it.

All very useful info, thank you.

@ComtesseDeSpair - So do I assume (as a general rule when sifting through the masses) that homes with modern kitchen units with electric hobs don't have a gas supply?

Some people prefer electricity to gas so I think it's not straightforward. Most towns/cities have a gas supply to the street, it's usually more rural communities that don't as far as I'm aware. We bought a doer-upper in a town which didn't have a gas supply to the house but as there was a supply in the street it was straightforward sort although it took months

No, some people prefer electric hobs, even if they have gas in the home.
RM and Zoopla allow you to select houses with a garden and parking, I don't think any of the property searches allow you to select for gas though.

I have my perfect home. It's not perfect in that it didn't tick all my boxes when we viewed it but it felt so 'right'. We have been here 16 years and I feel so happy and content every time I pull on my drive. It's a feeling and not rational but I would find it very difficult to leave here

I know that's not quite what you were asking!

@nearlywed21

All very useful info, thank you.

@ComtesseDeSpair - So do I assume (as a general rule when sifting through the masses) that homes with modern kitchen units with electric hobs don't have a gas supply?

Thats not the case, lots of people prefer induction now for cooking, but still have a gas supply. Just read the details - all sales particulars should refer to heating - so it will usually refer to gas central heating (GCH) demonstrating that there's a gas supply, or if not, oil heating / electric storage heaters etc.

If for example I wanted a 4 bedroom home with ample parking, a kitchen island with a gas hob and a decent garden how would I go about searching that?

You need to weight your must-haves.

Parking/ garden add hugely to a house's value. You can look at appliances later, once the main criteria are met, which is why you filter on RightMove by price/ bedroom numbers and so on

You need to step out of Rightmove and onto property search engines that allow key words. But not many listings will specify gas hob…

Electricity better for the environment anyway! You’ll see loads of homes with a gas supply but an electric hob, like mine – induction is easier to clean. Look for the boiler rather than the cooking, and terms like “GCH” or “new boiler” in your keywords.

I think there's no shortcut, when I was looking for somewhere to move to I literally looked at every house in the area I wanted on Right Move. Once you've looked at them all, you can check what becomes available every day and filter for new within the last 24 hours and then it's much more manageable.

When searching on rightmove dont tick too many boxes as that may well limit the houses coming up and you will miss something interesting. Not all estate agents will list the things you are looking for so a search on too many specific things wont work very well.

Look for a detached, min 4 bedroom home only. You cant search on specifics such as kitchen islands - you will need to look at the photos. Also every ones idea of a decent garden will be different so dont select any garden criteria.

My advice is to look at as many properties as you can at the beginning to get a feel for what you want then it becomes easier to recognise what you are looking for.

Also houses can look very different in real life - so dont dismiss houses too easily as they might be much better in real life.

I would have thought in the current times where houses are in short supply you would have Rightmove set up so you get an alert when a new house comes up and just have the search set in four bed. You view everything online to check for the island.

That said, if a house had kerb appeal and was in the right location as long as there was gas in the kitchen it wouldn’t put me off.

You can move an existing gas supply especially if you have a new kitchen in time.

Also right now is crap on Rightmove, it’s the worst time of year for it. Searching for houses I can’t afford is my hobby and it dies a death in November, doesn’t get good again til spring.

You just need to keep an open mind and actually view houses. I would have not considered ours based on just the agents details.
Where in the country are you looking OP?

Thanks everyone, really great advice.

@justaweeone South Wales, somewhere with good schools nearby, low flood risk and close to motorways and ideally a train station (Don't ask for much do I... ha ha)

Search in the area you like with the bedroom criteria and max price - then go through the options. Some things (eg kitchens) can be changed and houses can sometimes be extended so factor that into your decision making process

I'm selling a house with all those so they definitely exist!!!

We took the gas out, but left it so someone could reconnect if they wanted to. I’m not sure you’d fond that out except by asking. We have a lovely island with a fantastic induction hob. Much prefer induction.

I mean, you could use the keyword match on Rightmove but equally the particulars don't always state everything. And there are typos. You're better off looking at each property in your area as others have said.

I wouldn't buy a house based on a hob. There are so many more important things to consider and a hob can be changes

We don't have gas in our village but we have a range cooker that the hob runs off gas bottles.
Concentrate on the schools, transport links etc first.
You can then look at how you can tweak the house to suit.