House checklist

Formation

When deciding on which area to purchase a house what are your criteria?

Schools, restaurants, proximity to work, public transport, ect.

Also for bonus points what areas have you found that meet these criteria?

silja

Schools
park/ close to nature
enough bedrooms or expandable to fit the family we have planned
good public transport
2 bathrooms or more
large bathtub or ability to install same
garden with grass, not just pavement
mature tree(s) in garden
Plenty of storage space, be that wardrobes or utility room/ pantry etc

NOT necessarily close to work, as work location can change every few years.

Ranelagh is pretty close to ideal.

Cool Rider

I am currently looking as well and had worked out a basic check-list for ourselves. It might be useful for you plus you and others can add on to it and help me as well

the_syco

Regarding the garden; room for a shed of some type, even a small wooden on, but preferably a brick one at the end of the garden (esp if you're the DIY type).

If near a major city, transport to it.
A (local) pub within 40 minutes walk.

enough bedrooms or expandable to fit the family we have planned

Also, to add to the above; if you don't plan to have a family, to have a spare bedroom in case one appears.

blueturnip

Currently buying a house in Lucan... But this was some of our things.

Good area
Good public transport
Shops within walking distance (pub also a bonus)
Big kitchen (love cooking / baking)
Sitting room big enough to play the Kinect

Ideally somewhere where we don't HAVE to do any work for the first few months.

Schools definitely a plus for waaay in the future.

Plain garden so we can do what we like with it!

StillWaters

Location location, South facing garden, ideally south west. No major roads to cross on way to school, insulation, manageable garden, ample parking for me and visitors.

engineermike

StillWaters wrote: »

Location location, South facing garden, ideally south west. No major roads to cross on way to school, insulation, manageable garden, ample parking for me and visitors.

Location, location, location :

Schools (decent one's) nearby, public transport accessible
Good area that is not known for anti social behavior
Noise pollution issues taken into account (i.e. adjacent roads, or shops / pubs etc.)

The property / building itself - energy (BER) rating is v. important - as the running costs for a house are going to be horrendous going forward in the years to come -
As stillwaters mentioned - south facing garden - bringing natural light and passive solar gain, options for solar system, we'll insulated and or/ something with retro fit options for new energy systems & room at rear to extend should your family get bigger.
Mike F

true

if in an area of the country where radon gas is a problem, then a radon gas barrier fitted, or at least testing done for radon gas. It literally can be a killer.

gurramok

engineermike wrote: »

Location, location, location :

Good area that is not known for anti social behavior
Noise pollution issues taken into account (i.e. adjacent roads, or shops / pubs etc.)

Good area is important.

Plus as said walking distance to shops(even a convenience shop) and to a bus stop\train is vital, isolation in one of those estates away from civilisation is not good for your mental health. I'd consider these priority(based on location) and then next is line would be the usual features of the house itself.

the_syco

gurramok wrote: »

Good area is important.

Something for the youngsters to do as well, preferably not right outside your house. This help stop some of the ant-social behaviour as it gives them something to do, and gives your family something to do in the future.