What is #1 thing on top of your home buying list (Houston: countertops, house)

[Obamney1]

Just feeling curious.

[L.A.2Orlando2Dallas]

All of the above or a compromise that looks like this ( 1-10 scale)

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[TurtleCreek80]

We know where we want to be (Park Cities) for both general location / community/ schools.

Beyond that, it's fitting this criteria pecking list into our budget:
1. Specific Elementary school zone (not because these 2 are better than the other 2, we have family/ cousin/ sentimental ties to 2 of the 4 HPISD schools).
2. Home type / size - the newest construction we'll consider is a custom 1980's center hall plan traditional. Prefer something from the 1920's-1940's. Then a specific list of bed/ bath/square foot/ etc criteria.
3. Specific locations within each zone - ie, not within 1/2 a block of either Hillcrest or Preston roads due to traffic & noise and prefer being betweeen Hillcrest & Preston as 1st choice, then west of Preston, then east of Hillcrest.

That's about it. Not too picky, right?!

[Obamney1]

Not picky at all! :-)

[MckinneyOwnr]

For our situation, we went for "bang for the buck." Central location wasn't important to us, I'd already lived in the downtown area for years, didn't need to do so again. Schools were important, at least through elementary, so most places in Collin county were fine for us, we got a house about 1/4 of a mile away from an exemplary elementary school. Amenities... McKinney is pretty weak on this, especially compared to say, Plano. However, we were thinking long term, and what we don't have now, we're confident it will be built in the future. But, we have easy access to 121, so it's not difficult to get to Plano/Frisco stuff, so we don't mind that aspect too much.

As far as bang for the buck goes... we bought at the perfect time, housing was basically at rock bottom, and spent about $100k less than what the previous owner did on the home. The best part was, he never even lived in the house! We bought a house that was 4 years old, and he had never moved in. Now we have a large kitchen, 3 car garage, media room, nice office for me since I work from home a lot, huge master bedroom suite, etc. Also got lucky in that the previous owner had opted for just about every option imaginable, including energy efficiency.

So far, no regrets.

[Komeht]

Central. There is no close second for me. Although being central implies 2, close to the amenities I use.

[PlanoGirl]

I couldn't really answer the poll, as I think it is a delicate balance of all of the above...especially if you are limited by money. Also, what is most important to you, may not be the same thing that is most important to your spouse or family. House hunting can be very trying for a couple...lol!

MY top priority is the location...it has to be an area I LOVE and that has a great sense of community. Doesn't have to be "central" as in near downtown, but has to have good proximity to family/friends and a variety of activities I enjoy. Can't really define it much more than that...certain areas of the metroplex just "speak" to me, though often for different reasons as some are suburban and some are in the city, but I would probably be very happy in each one. Mckinney is one of those areas that just seemed to fit us...and it had the added bonus of being near family and friends, and getting more bang for buck (which was probably DH #1). We have also been happy that the longer we live here, the more "right" is has seemed on so many levels. So, very pleased!

Education is also a very high priority for both of us, but having grown up here and seen many kids go through the various school districts here, we've come to the determination that the kids' success is much more a result of their upbringing, parental involvement, and self-motivation than where they go to school. Not saying that environment doesn't play a part, it sure does, but being educated involved parents who put strong emphasis on education, we felt we could help our child be successful in a number of school options. That said, if we felt our child was struggling or being underserved in his/her current environment, we would happily drop everything else to to find the right place for our kid (whether that be a a different district, private school, homeschooling, unschooling, online schooling, etc).

Commute is always a consideration, but not a top one for us. DH owns his own company so the likelihood that he changes office locations has always on the table...so we've tried to keep the commute reasonable, but without being limited to his work area. Actually he is now in the process of moving his office next year to a place in Mckinney that we are super excited about, so woo-hoo for that!

[Rdmaster12]

Granite countertops! And an open layout..

[Johnhw2]

Location, close to relatives in the area and up US75 in Oklahoma. Age of home, wanted newer build also near amenities, wanted a bigger home than I had in Houston (3600 sf there) as mother in law lives with us and each need our "space".

Ended up in West Plano, 1999 build the size we wanted. Bought in 2010 at a good value for this area. Like the location and home more than I expected ...so far so good!rea.

[ChristieP]

Priority 1 for us was a good structure with no foundation issues! Close second from that was a floor plan that used the space well and had good natural light.