Creating Your Homebuying Must-Haves and Nice-To-Haves List

Choosing a home means balancing between your have-to-haves and your want-to-haves, and that means considering two things: your lifestyle and your budget. Your budget will affect what compromises you need to make, and your lifestyle is going to dictate what is essential and what isn’t.

When helping my clients figure out what home to buy, I usually try to start the conversation broadly and then we drill down to specifics. I’ll start by asking them what things they want in their home. This lets us create a wish list, and then we can go down the list to see what’s truly necessary.

The list is not definitive; it's going to evolve, and as a buyer, you're going to iterate on it. As you tour properties, you may decide there are things you would be willing to compromise on because there are other elements of the property that you love so much. But it is a crucial starting point, so it’s worth figuring out what you want in a home.

Home Type

One of the basic things I help my buyers figure out is what home type will suit their lifestyle best:

• Condo

• Co-op

• Townhouse

• Multi-family (duplex, triplex, etc)

• Detached single-family home

As a New York City real estate broker, I've had people who would only consider top-floor, corner units. They didn't want people above them. And look, I get it. You really don’t want to have neighbors, or shared walls. But sometimes I have to tell my clients, “You know, with the budget that you have, this is the housing stock you realistically have to choose from.”

For example, if you don't want to share walls with people, then perhaps we need to think about whether you really need a single-family home, or if an end-unit townhouse will work. Maybe we're only going to look at townhouses that are corners, so you're not sharing walls on both sides.

I also think it’s very important for you to consider all of the costs of ownership that go along with different types of properties. For example, with vertical living, you’re going to have your common charges and co-op costs. For townhouses and single-family homes, there’s the landscaping, the yard work, the oil and gas costs. So it’s always important to have a conversation about the expenses that go along with a particular type of property beyond the purchase price.

Location

I touched on this more in-depth in another article about finding the right neighborhood, but location really is everything. When you’re buying a home, there are things you can change, like wall color or even layout (to a degree). But there are other things you can’t change, such as the neighborhood. When thinking about home must-haves, make sure you have a complete understanding of where the home is located: what the neighborhood is like, what your neighbors will be like, how close you’ll be to things such as work, school, friends, and even the grocery store.

I always tell my clients how important it is to visit the area multiple times. Go during the week and on weekends, in the morning and in the evening. Stop by the local coffee shop and get a good feel for what it’s truly like to live there. Talk to the people who live there and learn as much as you can. You may find that it’s worth it to compromise on some extras and nice-to-haves in order to live in your dream neighborhood.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are key for a couple of reasons. Consider how many bedrooms you need, at a minimum, for your family and lifestyle. If there are kids or a significant other, how many bedrooms will that require? Can the kids share? Will the bedrooms be multi–purpose, such as a home office, game room, guest room, or multi-purpose room?

Decide what the absolute minimum number of bedrooms is, and the nice-to-have number of bedrooms. While you don’t want to lose out on a home that would otherwise be perfect, you also want to be realistic about how crowded a particular home might be if it doesn’t have the right number of bedrooms. And while yes, you may be able to add on later, that can get expensive, and big projects like additions can add complexity to your life. Better to buy a home that fits you now and in the future, too.

Bathrooms

Similarly, you need to decide the right number of bathrooms, including half baths. Think about the people who’ll be living with you, and how many bedrooms the home will have.

Will you want a bathroom on every floor? Consider how long you plan to stay in the home. Will accessibility be a factor, such as for aging in place, ongoing or unexpected disabilities, or young children? Honestly, it’s better to go for too many bathrooms than too few. Just be sure your expectations are realistic for your area and budget.

One rule of thumb is one bathroom for every two bedrooms, plus a half bath for guests. That’s not always possible in some neighborhoods. But you’ll know best how many bathrooms you need at a minimum for your lifestyle.

Kitchen

Are you a cook? Or will you use the oven to store your designer jeans?

Everyone wants a huge, eat-in kitchen with the latest appliances. But think about whether you’ll truly use it. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city with fantastic restaurants around every corner, like my NYC clients, you might not cook as much as you think. On the other hand, you might be the type of person who likes to unwind with a glass of wine in the evening as you putter around the kitchen, trying new recipes. If that’s you, the size and condition of the kitchen is going to be really important.

Try to remember that you can change out the appliances, the wall color, even the cabinets or countertops – but you can’t change the location of the home. You might want to leave a little room in your budget to upgrade the kitchen if you’re not finding what you want.

Yard and Property

When you’re touring homes with a yard, think about how you’ll use the outdoor space. Will you want a garden? A place to grill and entertain, or just relax? Or maybe you don’t actually like being outside all that much.

There are some people who tell me, “I don’t want to do any maintenance.” And that’s fine… but then why look for a home with a yard? Why do you want a garden if you’ll just need to pay someone to maintain it? This is your chance to find a home that actually works with your lifestyle.

Love dogs? Look for a fenced yard. Like to entertain? A home with a patio and an outdoor kitchen would be lovely during the warmer months. Also make sure you consider how much work you’re willing to do, both now and in the future.

Amenities

This is some of the fun stuff that really makes your home yours. When we’re looking at certain buildings, I ask my clients, “Do you need to have an elevator in the building? Do you need to have laundry?” I’ll have people who say the laundry has to be on the floor, or even in the unit, but I have to let them know, “you might not get that. Is it okay if it’s on another floor? Is it okay if it’s in the building?”

For houses and townhouses, I’ve had clients say, “Well, it needs to be on the second level,” or whatever their preference is. And I remind them, “You know you can move it, right?” So many things can be changed after you take possession of the home.

Same goes for other amenities that may be more personally important to you, like:

• A pool

• Fitness room, or space for gym equipment

• Sunroom

• Home office

• Basement

• Garage (attached or detached)

• Garage space or workshop space

You have to ask yourself whether a particular amenity is a need or a want, and then tailor your search accordingly.

Energy and Environmental Features

I know this isn’t always on the top of everyone’s mind, but you need to think about a home’s systems: HVAC, plumbing, electrical. Not only do these affect the efficiency of a home, but they can impact your finances as well. You think, “Oh, this is the mortgage amount, I can totally afford whatever the number is.” But you also need to prepare for ongoing costs and regular maintenance.

Some of these features will depend on what part of the country you’re in, like how costly and effective solar panels might be and what type of heating and cooling systems homes need in your area. Also consider things like electric vs. gas appliances, and how much your gas bill could be vs. an electric bill. Take a look at the insulation, especially in areas that see long months of below-freezing temperatures. You want it well insulated to save on heating. In hot and sunny areas, you might want triple-glazed windows with a UV filter, for example, to cut down on cooling. It all depends on your location and your budget.

You also want to think ahead in case of an emergency. What if your septic backs up, you know? What if you need to replace the boiler and the hot water tank? Because of course, luck always has it that they both go out at the same time, in the middle of winter. It always happens at a time when it's going to cost you the most money!

I joke, but I actually did send a client a warm, fuzzy throw blanket once when their home had heating trouble. I said, “Look, here's an extra layer for when you're watching television, because I know it's cold in your house right now.” These things do happen. It’s just part of being a homeowner. But it’s a good reason to know the age and condition of the home’s systems so you can plan accordingly.

One of the things I’ve recommended to people is to look at the difference between what their actual costs are and what they thought their cost would be. Think of that as savings. If you put that delta into a separate home slush fund, you’ll have something to tap into in an emergency.

HOA Restrictions

Depending on where the home is located, you may have a condo association or homeowners association involved. That can mean ongoing monthly fees and other costs, and it can restrict you in terms of changes you can make to the property. If the home you’re considering is located in a neighborhood or building with an HOA, make sure you review it and know what you’re signing up for.

Will you be able to add on to the home later? Are you restricted in terms of zoning? For example, some people who live in more suburban areas may want to have chickens. If that’s the case, will the HOA and town regulations allow for that? What are the rules?

If you’re looking at a gated community, a waterfront community, a senior living/55+ community, you’ll want to know what exactly that entails, and what sort of restrictions you’ll be under. What will you have access to, and what will it cost?

As I’ve said before, so much of your “must-haves” come down to lifestyle. You need to think about what your life will actually look like and then seek out the neighborhood and home that will help you make that happen in your price range.

Conclusion

Helping buyers create their “must-have” lists creates an interesting conversation. One person will say, “It doesn't really matter to me if we have laundry or where it is.” And the other person will say, “Well, of course, it doesn't matter to you. You don't do the laundry. I'm the one who does it.”

It gives you insight into interpersonal dynamics and what really matters to someone. I find that people tell me a lot more than they realize when we go through that exercise.

I think that the most important thing I tell people, over and over and over again, is to think about your budget. You never want to be pushing your budget to the max, because you need an emergency cushion for the inevitable. As long as you have wiggle room, you can deal with almost anything else.

Take the time to create your list, but remember to be flexible when necessary. Compromising on things you thought were non-negotiable can turn out to be a wonderful way to get into your dream home – even if you didn’t realize it at first.