Basement? It depends where we move to. I don’t need another place to keep “stuff”. Our current “basement” is a walkout with two colmpleted rooms, and a very large utility room. Really…there is NOTHING in it I would miss…well…except the furnace.
I don’t need an extra 1000 sq ft of space anymore…and I won’t want it when I move. The whole point of me moving will be to purge, and pare down…keep the essentials.
Basement…not necessary. And in some parts of the country, you will be hard pressed to find houses with basements.
@BunsenBurner - good luck with the house search! It’s one of those journeys that seems so exciting, then stressful, then really exciting, then stressful again --very similar to the college app process.
When I moved back into the city, my main non-negotiable item (besides safety and proximity to the subway) was: would my kids feel comfortable here? Could I make Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen? So it had to be a “real” 1 bedroom (vs. some of the layouts where the bedroom was a closet and the living room non-existent). I saw some places (walk ups; kitchen that was clearly an afterthought) that I knew weren’t right.
I refused to get out of the car to look at any house that had a driveway on an incline. I also would not consider any house with lots of exterior steps that could be icy in the winter. Lack of street lighting is another turnoff for me so it means that we can’t live in the fancy areas of our town, even if I had or was inclined to spend that kind of money. I also grew up in apartment buildings, so I refuse to live anywhere that I can’t see my neighbor’s house.
Inside the house, I really don’t care as long as there are bedrooms and bathrooms sufficient for our needs.
If I had to do it over, I wouldn’t buy a house with a fire hydrant in front of it. It wasn’t an issue when H and I were the only drivers but now that all of the kids drive and we have 4 cars and three motorcycles, it means the loss of a parking spot. Fortunately, my new neighbors next door and across the street have young kids who don’t drive and one family has only one car, so we use their extra spaces.
I didn’t think about basement. Now that emilybee brought it up, I think I’d like to have one. I would prefer to keep furnace and hot water tank in the basement. It won’t hurt to keep a workbench there , either.
Big kitchen with lots of storage. The ability to vent the kitchen hood to the outdoors. A bathtub deep enough to soak in. A dining room. Room for bookshelves.
Real wood floors, with real tile where appropriate. The ability to install at least a pro-style gas rangetop.
I like my basement. Half is finished so has a large rec room and there is also a bedroom down there. We never use it anymore and since my laundry is on the main floor, I don’t ever have to go down there. I just don’t like the feel of a house built on a slab. It feel tinny to me.
They don’t even build houses where I live without basements. I won’t move to an area where you can’t have one. Florida doesn’t because of the water level being so high. Other places I think they do it because it is much cheaper to build houses without a basement.
Hardwood floors…no wall to wall carpet. I prefer an old home (our home was built in1933). Places to walk. I don’t want to live in the “country” nor up in the hills. At least 3 bedrooms with 3 1/2 bathrooms. Two stories are fine. Walls that are good for art work. An entry hall…
I won’t buy a house that is “downhill.” By that I mean, I don’t want to look out my front window and look up to the street. I have to be at least at street level or, even better, on a slight knoll.
I live on downhill. I don’t look up to the street. I look up to my side yard. It feels cozy my side yard “hugging” my house and you get a great view of planting done along the edge. But I get all my neighbors’ leaves when it’s windy.
I like being slightly above the grade of the street and the neighbors so we don’t get the runoff from either when it rains. H is a big fan of being slightly above. A level lot on a quiet street that’s convenient to but not TOO close to the highway is good.
Gas cooktop with high BTUs, semi-pro, nothing cheap. OR induction if gas isn’t available
Double wall ovens
Extractor hood/fan above the stove - no microwave fan thingy
Cabinet with garbage and recycling bins
Walk-in pantry
Upper cabinets. Shelves for dishes, etc. are stupid
Hardwood floors
Room for a library
After dealing with water in the basement problems for years at our lake house, we will NEVER buy a house with a basement again. They are rare here, and the few people I’ve known who had one also vowed never again. The upside is just not worth it to me.
Hardwood floors.
A four season sun porch.
Not a BIG yard, but lots of outdoor space - deck, patio, firepit area, front porch
Outdoor living is REALLY important to me!
Additionally:
More than one living space inside (living room AND family room type situation)
NOT open kitchen - I prefer a separate kitchen not open to general living space
Basement
Curb appeal - A BIGGIE.
My must haves (not previously mentioned) are a big kitchen window above the sink and a side entry garage. Our current house has two walk-in closets in the MBR and it would be hard for me to share again. The MBA also has the toilet and shower in a separate room and I love it.
“No such thing, I don’t think. Even in Florida, you need heat from time to time.”
We have no heat here in Hawaii. Don’t know of anyone who does. These recent 60-degree (and lower) nights have been a bit nippy, but we just pile on the blankets.
Having lived in Baltimore, Upstate NY, and Hawaii, I would say the “must haves” vary GREATLY depending on climate and living style. Things that were so important in NY (configuration of driveway, for dealing with snow; heating systems; an attic for storing off-season clothes; garage) don’t matter here, and things very important here (being away from the ocean salt and tsunami zone, good breezes, outside electrical outlets for yard work) weren’t important there. I would never live in Baltimore again without central A/C (though I somehow got through 18 years without ANY A/C), but don’t need it here.
Gas cooking, though, wherever we are. And water pressure!
Now that I’ve had a walk-in closet and a master bath, it’d be hard to give those up.
Bedroom has to be able to be made quiet and also have good ventilation; so I’d never want to be in a city where I’d have to shut the windows to block out noise.
Have to have a yard, and fruit trees are SO nice.
Gotta have someplace to be outside in shade.
I prefer older, or at least sturdy, construction.
Prefer, but have never had (as an adult), city sewer.
Off-street parking for at least 2-3 cars.
