top things you look for in buying house (hardwood, roof, foundation)

[bgmv90]

What are some of the things people most want in buying a house? Example: closet space, paint colors, landscape, fixtures, flooring, lighting, etc.

Thanks.

[dmwlakewylie]

Less than 5 years old, clean, well maintained, good bones ( I can change the paint, light fixtures, etc. ) at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not on a busy street, no power lines (the huge ones near power plants, not the normal ones found on a street), good neighborhood, open floor plan for resale, cannot see into master bedroom from the foyer, family room, kitchen (don't like to make the bed all the time).

[susan42]

Location
good street, well kept gardens, what's next door
Aspect,trees blocking light, privacy
Height of ceilings, size of rooms
Does the house feel light and airy or dark and opressive
Does it smell (YUK)-damp maybe
Heat and air-age of system and type

These things would apply to any house I looked at -whether as an investment or to live in.
The things you can't or are very difficult to change are most important to me
Fixtures and colors can be changed fairly easily, although I sgree you need to take them into account whe thinking about the $$$$$$$

They often say if your strapped for cash-Buy the worst house on the best street, rather than the best house on the worst.

[Sunnydee]

affordability
safety
nice neighborhood/visually appealing
good schools
mature trees
walkablility
low traffic street or cul de sac
low maintenance exterior
well-maintained
sufficient storage, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space
easy access to highway and airport

[whoisjongalt]

Location
Modern architecture
Mature trees
Open floorplan / high ceilings
2 car or larger garage
Quiet neighborhood
Smooth finish walls
Little or no carpeting (no big deal but nice not to have to do it myself)

[Cattknap]

Absolutely location is #1. Established neighborhood with houses that aren't new. Quiet neighborhood, low crime and neighborhood homes maintained well and close to every day shopping needs. Good flow throughout the house, all systems in good working order, newer furnace and air conditioner, walk-out basement, more than 2 baths, a house that lends itself to having dinner parties, at least a 2 car garage, preferably 3 car garage with workshop, large formal dining room, large kitchen that has room for lots of people, traditional Federal style, English Tudor, Cape Cod and/or Colonial architecture, at least one fireplace, tons of storage, no high ceilings, medium large cozy rooms, larged screened in porch, tray ceilings, multiple flower gardens with water features, lots of architectural features like crown moldings, built-in bookcases and beautiful woodwork as well as nice outside architectural features. Good natural lighting along with recessed lighting, lots of windows and skylights, mature landscaping, no fences, underground utilities.

[Charles]

Location: Good school district
Very high speed internet
End of Cul de sac; anywhere that jerks can't do 45 in front of my house on a neighborhood street
Good demographics, Good zip code, Low crime
Orientation: lots of windows on the south side, minimum windows on east and west side
Not near non residential zoning (commercial, industrial, retail) or highways
Not near ugly power lines (should be under ground) and not near huge power towers (ugly)
Two door garage (not tandem) for three cars minimum
No formal dining room: waste, no one ever uses them
No formal living room, waste, no one ever uses them if there's a family room
No other wasted space like a sitting room or parlor. Who the funk thinks of this garbage?
No other no-value-added things like crown molding
A/C with battery backup smoke/fire/CO detectors.
Large open kitchen, openly connected to the family room
No ugly Bermuda lawns which is dormant, brown and ugly for six months. Why does anybody get bermuda?
Wood burning fireplace, not phony gas with no chimney
Street pressure water source - upstream of the pressure regulator so I can have a 120 psi garden hose
Easily accessible utilities: Hot water heater, furnace, electric box, etc
Big closets
Main floor master
Gas, not electric range, water heater, furnace, oven, etc
Concrete or tile roof
Deep and long master tub, not some stupid shallow and wide tub.
No white tile on floor or counters.
Hard flooring instead carpet, tile preferred over wood.
Yard hardscape that makes gardening easier: easy to use a string trimmer, easy to clean, no qwerky corners where leaves gather for example.
Trash compactor (more important than a microwave)
Kitchen sink with no lip so I can easily wipe crumbs from the counter into the sink
Central vacuum with an inlet on the floor of the kitchen for sweeping crumbs into.
Double hung windows
Hot looking neighbors

[kentuckydad95]

First and foremost, you want to make sure that there is aluminum wiring throughout the house. Age doesn't matter, nor does standing water in the crawlspace. Make sure the house has fuses, because breakers are overrated.

(yes I am kidding)

[Driller1]

No one said good water and lots of it. Sadly, many do not notice until they are calling me after the have the house.
Also, make sure any discharge system is in good working order.

[SoHoVe]

Great topic and considering different buyers have different needs, I look forward to reading all the responses. I have owned 4 homes and while I basically have the same NEEDS today as I did when I was 20 alot of what I desire in a home has changed over the years.

#1 No foundation issues.

#2 Not in a flood zone

#3 Location- at this point a nice quiet conservative neighborhood is a MUST but I prefer to live on a main street that is easy to get to. I have no issues with busy streets.

#4 Large fenced backyard wooded lot- I have dogs and they need a relatively large area to play plus I like yard work.

#5 Established neighborhood with interesting architecture well maintained homes- No cookie cutter housing tracts.

#6 Older house- if I could afford it I would love to live in a historic turn of the century place but as a single person I think maintaining one myself could easily become overwhelming. I've owned a newer home and wasn't impressed. I think older homes just have more charm and were built better (but it depends on the decade and materials used obviously).

#7 Lots of windows- appealing views, light airy feeling.

#8 Hardwood flooring at least in the main rooms and master.

#9 High ceilings (though they definately are not practical)

#10 appealing kitchen

#11 dedicated laundry room

#12 4 bedrooms

Really I don't have any legitimate requirements aside from the yard. I would have no problem living in a studio apt and did so when I was younger. Storage is of no concern to me...and ironically I bought a house with TONS of storage without even realizing. I also could care less about dated kitchens, baths, fixtures and lighting as long as its functional I can replace to my taste if I choose. Paint is another non-issue and easy fix if one finds it offensive. I just looked basically for somewhere I could picture myself living in relatively decent shape that most likely isn't going to REQUIRE anything major like a new roof in the next few years.

Basically I just picked the neighborhood (after a TON of research) and went from there. I LOVE the house I bought but am sure I would probably be just about as happy with ANY structurally sound older home in the area.