This is my initial list. Rusty might have other things to add that are important to him.
- Energy efficient - So our power bill won’t be exorbitant (this is probably my #1 priority)
- Good plumbing, wiring, etc.
- Room for a permanent pole
- Two bathrooms - It’s very important to me to have my own bathroom.
- Inside the Perimeter
- Not too big - I don’t want to accumulate a lot of crap just for the sake of filling up space; and anyway, big houses don’t feel “homey” to me.
- Small/low-maintenance yard (plant a few shrubs, pay somebody to cut the grass every one in a while, and you’re done) OR a patio home
- Hardwood floors - Not a dealbreaker, but a very strong preference. Carpet isn’t as hygienic or as aesthetically pleasing.
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5 Responses to "Requirements for a house"
Things that I didn’t find out were important until I started looking for a house:
1. Good school district. Even if you don’t ever intend to have kids, if you ever want to sell the house this is something that matters to potential buyers. The best school districts also tend to have more consistently stable and high property values.
2. The taxes. I hear that city of Atlanta in DeKalb county is the worst. Fulton is pretty bad too. Unincorporated DeKalb is supposed to be better.
3. Walking distance to places you’d like to patronize. I know how much you two walk in Decatur to get dinner, etc. If you move to the burbs, you probably won’t be able to do that as often and you may come to miss it. Even if it’s just a Starbucks or a park that’s within a mile of the house, having stuff that you can walk to will probably increase your enjoyment of the house.
4. Shade trees. If you want an energy efficient house, you definitely want one that is at least partially shaded during the hottest part of the day. You’d be surprised how much you will miss shade if you have a house with no tall trees nearby.
5. Charm factor. Maybe it’s just me, but the two places I’ve bought now have been places I fell in love with the first time I saw them. I saw a lot of places that I could have been happy because they had all the technical things on my wish list, but I think a house is sort of like a marriage…when you find the one, you’ll know. The one doesn’t have to be perfect, in fact both of mine have had some drawbacks. But I loved my house on sight, and it makes me willing to spend the money and the effort to make it great because I’m still in love with it years later and despite all the challenges it has presented.
I meant to put walking distance on my list - it was on the list in my head, I just forgot to put it here. And charm factor is a given! You have to have that good gut feeling about a place.
1. Good energy.
2. Established landscaping.
Room for a permanent pole
:lol:
I have to have my own bathroom, too.
It’s so important to think about these things ahead of time and to have some preferences but not dealbreakers. While we were shopping for our current house our agent showed us a couple of houses that were not brick (brick was a requirement for us) and it was easy to just say “no” even though the houses were OK. On the other hand, the house we ended up with did not have some of the preferences we had that were not dealbreakers (high ceilings, updated bathrooms).
I totally agree with you about bathrooms. JT’s advice to young couples is always “have your own bathrooms”. LOL. My one wish is that we had a total of 3 bathrooms so that we could each have our own, and have a full guest bath. Now that is spoiled!
As far as energy efficiency goes, you may find that a house that needs a new HVAC unit and new water heater will be a better energy deal in the long run. New units are much more efficient than older ones, so if the price is right, you may be better off making that investment yourself. We just got a new HVAC unit - after doing a TON of research on them. We’d be glad to share the info with you if you’d like.
Best on luck on the search. It’s fun to see all the options and narrow it down to what you like and don’t like.
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