When we agreed we wanted to purchase a new home, we were lucky enough that we were not in any big rush.  We decided to do this about a year ago, but knew that we would have to wait for my boyfriend’s lease to finish since he had no way of getting out of it aside for subletting.  We also had the “bonus” that I had gotten pretty seriously injured and could barely walk.  Kinda made going to open houses difficult.  But once we made the decision to do it, we paid more attention to the market and the houses that were going up for sale - and most importantly, what each had to offer.

One of the best moves we made through this whole process was putting together a list of characteristics we were looking for in our ideal home.  Having that in place, we knew just what we wanted and were able to put in an offer when we found a place we both loved that suited our needs perfectly.  To get you started on the right track, here’s a sample of what we came up with:

• 3-4 bedrooms: the master bedroom for us, a bedroom for my boyfriend’s daughter, and a guest room.  If we ended up with 4 bedrooms, we’d have a bonus home office.  If we have 3 bedrooms, ideally we’d also have a finished basement.
• 2+ bathrooms: No one wants to try to share a bathroom with a teenage girl.  Trust me.  We may be several years away from that, but since we’re planning on staying in this house for a looong time, we might as well plan ahead for it.
• A small-sized patio/deck: small = less time devoted to up-keep.
• Public water (no septic tank): just heard too many horror stories about septic tanks.
• North/South-facing house: Odd, yes, but we both grew up in North/South-facing homes and things just seem to jive better.  The biggest benefit seems to be that you get fairly even warmth throughout the day in the main parts of the house.  Shifts in temperature shouldn’t be as great as when the front of your house faces east & gets a bit warmer in the morning, but then the back of your house bakes in the evening.  It’s tough to use a west-facing deck in the summer because it’s just too darn hot.
• No lines on the street: This may be a bit extreme, but we both grew up on quiet streets.  The only way to make sure it would be a quiet street would be to find a side street somewhere - that has no lines painted on it.
• Lot size of <1/3 acre: again, small = less time devoted to up-keep.
• No chain-link fence: Not a deal-breaker by any means.  They’re easy enough to remove.  They’re just ugly as sin (from my perspective).  Someday we’ll probably install an invisible fence for the puppy the doesn’t yet exist, but chain-link is out.
• Trees: Another left-over from childhood, it just wouldn’t seem like home without a good number of big trees in the yard.
• Price: obviously needed to be within our budget.  We could certainly have afforded more, but we’re of the school of thought that you’re better off purchasing a more affordable home and paying it off sooner than drowning in mortgage debt for the rest of your life.

In the end, the only thing we had to give up from our list was the small lot size.  The home we chose is on 1/2 an acre of land, but other than that, we nailed each of the items on our list.  I would highly recommend putting together a similar list if you’re contemplating purchasing a new home.  It becomes much easier to figure out if a home will suit your life!