My House Hunting Wish List

Well it’s safe to say our house hunting journey is coming along sloooowly. Turns out I’m one of the pickiest buyers ever, plus the market around here is nuts. This past weekend we put an offer in on a home we really loved, but the buyer just didn’t respond to our offer. Literally, we got no response. And our offer was only 10k under asking price. Plus to make it even worse, the house has been on the market for almost two years! Kinda crazy if you ask me. But I know God has something better in store for us and that house wasn’t meant to be. We are moving on and I’m really excited to see where we end up. I have idea when it will happen, but I really do enjoy this house hunting process and it’s fun to take you all along with us!

Anyway, today I thought it would be fun to share my house hunting wish list. These are all things I’m looking for in our next home and for the most part they’re all kind of non-negotiable for me. And I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but I literally wrote this list out on paper to keep me on track throughout this house hunting process!

My House Hunting Wish List

  1. Acreage: One of the main reasons we are moving is that we want more acreage. I’d LOVE to get chickens one day, plus I want plenty of space for the kids to run and maybe even drive around on 4-wheelers and dirt bikes. I grew up with that kind of childhood and I want my kids to have that too! Ideally I’d love to find something with about 5 to 10 acres. That’s tough to do in our area without spending a fortune, but we’re hoping we can make it happen.
  2. Lots of Windows: This one is super high on my list because I NEED sunshine in order to function. Really, I don’t think I could ever move into a house that didn’t have tons of windows (and windows positioned the right direction to the sun). That’s one thing I love about our home now–there is so much natural light.
  3. Four Bedrooms Upstairs: Here’s another big one for me! I love the idea of having all of my kiddo’s bedrooms upstairs, along with the master bedroom. That’s what we have now, but the girls have to share a room. I’d really like each of them to have their own room on the same level as us.
  4. Open Kitchen + Living Room: I’d love a huge living room and adjacent kitchen with lots of light!
  5. Home Office: I really need a designated home office in our next home. I have a little working space now, but I’d love my own office with built in shelving.
  6. Mudroom Space: This one isn’t completely non-negotiable for me, but it’s on my wish list because it would be amazing to have a mudroom in our next home. We have a little one now and it’s SO useful.
  7. White Doors + Trim: This one isn’t super firm, because we could always the paint doors and trim, but I’d love to find a house with that already done.
  8. Lots of Character: We live in an area with lots of cookie-cutter homes, so I’d really like to make sure we find something with its own unique character and charm. And you better believe I plan to shiplap alllll the things!
  9. Wood Floors: Again, this is something we could always do ourselves, but wood floors are expensive! It would be great to find a home with wood floors throughout the main level.
  10. 60/40 Rule: I made this rule up, but I’ve used it every time we’ve bought a home in the past and it works pretty well. I like to find a house with about 60% of the “work”/ upgrading already done and 40% or so left to do. I obviously love renovating our home, but I want something that doesn’t need a TON of work. I’m looking for that sweet spot! Also getting in that zone really helps build equity too.
Image from Magnolia.

Well there’s my top ten list when it comes to house hunting. I could ramble on about other things I’d love in our next home, but I’ll cut it here so I don’t bore you to death. I’d also love to hear what kind of things are on your dream home wish list. Maybe you’ve thought of something I forgot! All right, I’m off to refresh Zillow. Toodles for now! xo

Leave a Comment!

20 Comments

  1. 3.13.20
    Jo said:

    I love your list! I don’t need an office but a reading room would be great. I love your thought process with the 60/40. I never thought of that. We live in the south now and want to get back home to New England. It so expensive there so having a 60/40 mindset would be less discouraging as we look. Thanks Sarah 🙂

  2. 3.13.20
    glenda lafont said:

    I hope you get exactly what you want.

  3. 3.13.20
    Anna said:

    Love your idea’s,we looked at sooo many home’s the past 2 yrs.Many of them was farmhouse’s on a lot of land,2 of them was on 5 acres and they only wanted 79,000 to 90,000.The one had the orignal metal cabinet’s plus shiplap,but they took someone else’s offer, even though we had offered what they wanted.So, i know how you feel,but we finally found our’s had to comprimise alittle on what we wanted,but it’s just me and hubby now.We are just having headaches from lenders not wanting to finish for our closing date.So,wish you all the good luck thing’s will go the way you want them.

  4. 3.13.20
    Melissa said:

    Hey, Sarah! Sorry about the other house but that guy was definitely a weirdo. My husband and I just went through the house buying process a year ago and I can pass on a few things we learned.
    1. If you happen to have a home equity line of credit on your current house, close it and then discharge it through the registry of deeds. It’s actually considered like a mortgage and is listed as a lien on your homeowners insurance. We found all this out at the 11th hour before closing and it was an awesome experience to deal with it. 😉

    2. We didn’t realize it during the house tour but after we moved in and started playing with the lights, we realized there was a ton of weird things they had done with light switches. Many of them were configured so that in order for the top plug to work you had to switch on the light switch. WHY??? So now we can’t use half of our top plugs until we have an electrician come in and fix it. I guess it’s a preference thing, I think it’s weird. Certainly not a reason to pass on a house but something to just check out as you are looking around.

    3. Just make sure you LOVE the whole neighborhood and surrounding ones. In our prior house we were blinded by the house itself and didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was around it. After we moved in we were awakened to some things that we hadn’t bothered to see and ultimately (10 years) it got old and we left.

    Have so much fun in this journey! Looking forward to following it on the gram. 😉

  5. 3.13.20
    Diane said:

    We still live in the same “starter home” for 21 years now, but that’s okay. But…my dream has always been a big kitchen with a blank island, no sink or stovetop on it, plenty of prep space! And…if it’s a log house…perfect! It’s a dream…

  6. 3.13.20
    Wendy said:

    Here’s a great solution…let’s switch houses and acreage lol. I have NO doubt that you could literally buy a cardboard box and make it gorgeous (and all of us green with envy)!! At one time we had 50 chickens, all exotics. They are so FUN…and addictive lol. In all seriousness, be patient, hang in there and your new home will “speak” to you and let you know “she’s” the one : )

  7. 3.13.20
    Tracie Jones said:

    My boyfriend and I bought a house a year ago. I live in it now with my dog, and when we get married, my boyfriend will move in with us. We saw so many homes with cramped rooms. I don’t mean small. I mean closed up, boxy little spaces where you want to tear down all the walls. Lol. We found a great little house about the 35th house into the hunt, and it was this one. It’s small and affordable, but not cramped at all, even with small rooms. It was well designed.

    It has a cathedral ceiling in the main area, which is the living/dining space and open to the kitchen, which is open and off to the side. This house has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a covered front porch, and a semi private back deck, and an attached one car garage.

    It is all one level, something definitely on our wish list. We can’t believe how blessed we are to have found this home and love it. We can’t wait to live here as husband and wife (and dog) together!

    • 3.13.20
      Faith said:

      House hunting naturally comes with frustration, and joy! “Trust in the Lord with ALL your ❤️and lean not to your own understanding…in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”
      Proverbs 3:5
      He will give you the right house at the right time, in the right place…pray about it, then trust and wait on him. I’ve often heard people sell homes closer to the end of the school year so they can get settled over summer vacation and be ready for new year. I’m confident you will find a home, and things will fall into place as He delights your soul. 🏡🙏🏻😁

  8. 3.13.20
    Vickie Norrid said:

    Just one thing to consider is as you age or even an illness could make it not practical for all bedrooms to be upstairs. I know you are not thinking about that now but things happen and in our rural area everyone wants at least one bedroom on ground floor. Good luck looking forward to following your process.

  9. 3.13.20
    Sheilah Perry-Rosales said:

    I’m house hunting also.What I look for is enough room all mechanicals in working order,roof etc. and no bigs!Paint is cheap.

    • 3.13.20
      Sheilah Perry-Rosales said:

      I meant bugs.lol

  10. 3.13.20
    Linda said:

    Sarah,hey. What’s wrong with your list,doesn’t everyone write wish list?
    I looked at over 50-75 houses before purchasing the one we live in now. As for sunlight that is most important. Good luck and enjoy the hunt.

  11. 3.13.20
    Gail said:

    Sarah,
    Your wish list is VERY reasonable. I really like it!! It can take awhile to find what you want. You wouldn’t believe how many houses my husband and I looked at before we found this one. I even told our Agent I needed to take a “break” from looking. One thing Samantha did for us was to look at listings that HAD BEEN on the market but hadn’t sold. Bless her heart she did a cold call on the owners telling them she had the perfect buyers for them and here we are four years later still in that house. It’s worked out great for us. Your new house is just waiting for y’all I just feel it!!

  12. 3.13.20
    Kathy M said:

    Those two pictures you posted are amazing and I love your wish list. I always have one in my head, but have never written it out. Good idea. I always feel like, when I find the right house, I will absolutely know it when I walk in. That might be a fantasy though. LOL

    • 3.13.20
      Gail said:

      So true Kathy!! You can feel it when it’s right.

  13. 3.13.20
    Vicki Clem said:

    Not ridiculous at all to make a list of your wants, very smart! I was same way about bedrooms being close together when my kids were little but they do grow up and you probably won’t always want that. Also, something to think about is getting older and having to climb stairs to your bedroom (or even an injury or disability). All depends on how long you plan to live there, I suppose. Just something to think about. Have fun house hunting!

  14. 3.13.20
    Candy said:

    Sarah, you are so inspirational..I love your Wish List for your new house hunting. May God bless you and your family in finding your dream home..

  15. 3.13.20
    Glen said:

    I was going to say the same as others. As you age if you think you will be there forever…. you may want to consider a bedroom downstairs for you and hubby. One of the things we desired was all 1 level and had to build to get it. We love it… no steps anywhere! Also a kitchen window to hand out food on back patio for cookouts. Small yard… woodsy area … hot tub on back patio! It’s a necessity tho for my disabled husband but enjoyable too

  16. 3.14.20
    Leandra said:

    We had a very similar list! Minus the 60/40. We were ready to tackle a complete Reno, since we are keeping our home to rent out, we could work on the new home and still have a place to live, haha! However, 3 years searching, we bought land 7.3 acres instead. My husband is a builder (which we thought was amazing) but the banks here in NY don’t like to do owner builder construction loans. So we are at the stage of trying to find a way around that 🤦‍♀️. Good Luck lady, I love scrolling Zillow!

    • 3.16.20
      Sarah said:

      oh wow! That’s so cool your husband is a builder. Good luck getting it done!! xoxo