New home deal breakers

Source: Pinterest

Somewhere along the line during our house-hunting process, at the peak of my frustration, we compiled a list of things to help us guide our search and let us know if a property was a winner. It can be easy to be persuaded by fancy pictures online and make an emotional decision even before viewing somewhere, which can make it difficult to say no when you view the space in real life even if it doesn't fit your original criteria. 

A lot of these elements we had discussed at length during our nightly walks when I could not contain my energy from having spent hours browsing real estate listings online, so we had a pretty clear idea of what were the essential must-haves, the optional desirables and the ultimate deal breakers. The key things for us, the deal breakers, were those parts you can't change - natural light, location and the floor plan. We knew if we got these right we would be much happier in our place, no matter what else it included from the list. Here's what we came up with next:

MUST-HAVES

• Big windows with natural light, ideally north-facing
• A spacious, semi open plan layout that makes sense (you'd be surprised how many places have bizarre extra walls and nonsensical floor plans )
• Villa or townhouse rather than an apartment or flat
• Two bedrooms
• A courtyard or backyard rather than a balcony
• A separate laundry
• Must be within five kilometres of the city

DESIRABLES

• Third bedroom
• No renovations needed
• Air conditioning
• A separate dining room away from the main living area
• Wooden floors
• A bath
• Interesting architectural details like archways or exposed brick walls 
• A dishwasher in the kitchen
• Lock-up garage

As you can see, most of the things on the second list could be changed or added in ourselves at a later date, while the elements on the first list were pretty much set in stone. The final verdict on the place we ended up buying, then? I am pleased to say it checks all the must-have boxes, but falls a little short on the desirables. BUT! There are opportunities for us to add in most of those things and more, so I am excited at the prospect of making it our own over the years.