For me, it’s location, location, location. Short commute, nice neighbourhood.
I can fix up most anything, so I guess I’d say more space, 'cause that’s tough to add on the cheap. Right now, I’m at about 1000 square feet with the four of us, but once the kids get older, I think I’d like to have some more private space. Somthing close to 2000 square feet would be about perfect, I think.
Must:
Ground Floor.
Washer/Dryer hookups.
NO street light right outside bedroom windows.
NOT near public areas (pool, playground, etc.).
Cable hookups/DSL jacks in every bedroom.
Nice:
Ceiling fans in bedroom(s).
Storage space.
It all depends on your lifestyle. When you’re me and have a giant hairy dog, an elderly cat, and two small kids, carpet rapidly becomes a biohazard. In the past week alone, I’ve wiped up cat barf in my bedroom, kid barf in both kid bedrooms, a juice spill in the living room, and muddy dog paw prints from pretty much everywhere (she got past me when I let her in).
Non-Negotiable:
Basement (tornadoes, don’t ya know)
Central air conditioning
In the city limits of Springfield*
Would be nice, but not a deal-breaker:
Garage
Fireplace
*Unless I win the lottery/score a huge book contract, wherein I can live wherever I please, property taxes be damned.
We have three dogs. It’s easier to control the hair and mess with hardwood, tile, or other hard surfaces. We use rugs in certain areas for warmth and comfort. However, the advantage of rugs over carpeting is that we can send the rugs out for a thorough cleaning every so often. They seem cleaner all the way through, not just on the surface. And this controls the dog smell better, IMO.
I’ve lived in an apartment that is great for me. Since I’ve been here so long, the rent is way way way below market value. The only thing that is missing is that I would love to have a clothes washer/drier in the apartment. They don’t allow them and I’m tired of having to take my laundry out to do.
Ensuite laundry.
We were in the same situation; great apartment, great rent, great landlords (we lived in a duplex above 'em), but no laundry. That was a major reason for moving on to our own house when the kid was due - having a baby with no laundry facilities handy was too much like work!
A lot of you have mentioned laundry. When I was young, around eight or nine, our washer and dryer broke within two weeks of each other; they were both over 15 years old. Now, my parents were decidedly upper middle class, their house and cars paid in full, and I never wanted for anything, but they also were dirt poor for brief parts of their childhood, and as such, are very frugal.
So for three weeks we hiked to the laundromat until the local big box store had a washer and dryer on sale. I absolutely hated the whole experience, and years later when I scoped out apartments (many, many apartments) to choose where to live off campus in college, I immediately tossed out any that didn’t have laundry on-site. It’s the very first thing I ask a landlord or rental agency.
Also, some of you have mentioned insulation. I grew up in a brick house, and later a very tightly insulated home, and had never experienced a home with poor or no insulation. The SO’s family home is in a suburb outside of the city that boomed right after WWII, so they threw up tons of cheap, poorly constructed homes with little insulation. Even with the SO’s mom adding extra insulation, it’s still not well insulated. I hate hate hate how cold you feel next to a wall in the winter. It’s bizarre and uncomfortable and makes me feel strangely unprotected.
Insulation, insulation, insulation.
At least 1/2 bath more. We only have one now.
Those are the two most important, that we don’t have now. Closet space would be nice, with somewhere for storage besides the carport.
Oh, and a family room.
At least a 1/2 bath on the first floor.
And (he said, looking out the window) a garage. Shoveling out a car from street parking after a blizzard is something I would absolutely love to say goodbye forever to.
No one living above me and/or soundproofing. Seriously, why is 99% of apartment/condo stock built so shoddily? I know soundproofing can be done; I never hear people in other rooms in most commercial office buildings and in good hotels.
Other than that, nothing I don’t have although these would be nice:
garage
2+ bedrooms
multiple floors
2 bathrooms
Not planning on moving, but if I did I would want a home with a smaller section, 2 bathrooms & lots of storage.
High speed internet access, of course!
If the cost is as good as it sounds, perhaps you should consider springing for a new refrigerator/freezer. The landlord would probably give some credit for this.
Hardwood floors. God, how I HATE icky wall to wall - I’ve even seen shag carpet in apartments - new! I didn’t know they still made it. Filthy filthy stuff. I once lived in a flat and ripped out the carpet piece by piece and hauled it to the curb piece by piece every week. Then I put down beautiful area rugs.
Air conditioning. Even in one room. Don’t need it blasting every day, but on some days, it’s a necessity, you know?
I’d like to open up a window and look out at anything except a parking lot/dumpsters/directly into a neighbor’s window. You know, a patch of woods, a tree, a garden. But if I could have the first two, I guess I could live with no great view.
[ul]
[li]Wood-burning fireplace (Gas fireplaces are for the birds) [/li][li]Gas heat (not electric)[/li][li]Lots of natural light[/li][li]2+ car garage[/li][li]Large kitchen[/li][li]Basement[/li][li]Two bathrooms[/li][/ul]
An address about 300 miles further south so it never snows.
Otherwise, the current one is just about perfect.
We’re currently building a house. Some of the things we wanted:
My next apartment will probably be whatever I can get, but the house…
Insulation. Thermal mass inside the insulation to hold the heat. Big sun-facing windows to capture sunlight during the winter (and cunningly-arranged so that they reflect a lot of it during the summer). Inslulation. Solar/wind/hydro electric power, sufficient to run a significant computing and workshop installation, with grid intertie so that I can sell to them. Interior planters or connction to greenhouse so I can pick lemons in midwinter. (My friends have this.) Insulation. Greywater recycling. Non-awkward arrangements for material recycling. Composting toilet. High-speed internet. Did I mention insulation?
Big friendly kitchen. Tile floors (helps to capture that solar heat, y’know). Gas or wood stove. Large, well-lit, easy-to-clean bathrooms. Pantry. Root cellar. Laundry. Well-insulated thermal-mass fridge. Workshop (mechanical/electronics). Bedrooms with skylights closeable by insulated shutters. Art studio. Exercise room. Library. Office. Garage connected to workshop. Living room with kick-ass home theatre system. Plenty of storage (closets, etc).