What I Want in My Next House

When I first contacted a realtor about buying a house her first questions to me was, "What are you looking for?" A simple enough question but I really struggled to come up with an answer. She suggested that I make a list of what I wanted in a home. After carefully consideration After five minutes I came up with this list:

Wants:
- In a specific neighborhood (I had one in mind and it helped limit my search)
- One to two bedrooms
- Within my budget
- No major damage or repairs needed (I wasn't afraid of doing cosmetic repairs but I didn't want to get stuck with a crumbling foundation or something)
- A "safe" feeling street

Although I've made a lot of cosmetic changes, this house was basically move in ready.

That was it! I couldn't think of anything else. Honestly, I got really lucky with the house I bought. Not only have I had very few problem, I actually really like this house! But after living here for 18 months I have found that I could definitely make a more complete list of 'wants' for the next time I buy. So for the sake of my memory which is failing me more regularly, here is my current list for what I want in my next house (whenever that may be):

- interior trim that is white (I love that my house has the original trim but decorating with dark trim is challenging at times)
- fenced in yard (this is Bob's only request)
- front porch (I love sitting on my front porch)
- window or door to backyard (my current house only has one window to the back yard in the second bedroom, but I think it would be really nice to have windows and a door directly into the back yard)
- hardwood floors (I love hardwood floors! They are my absolute favorite floor of choice)
- driveway (Currently I have street parking which isn't the worst thing ever but it would be nice to have my own driveway)
- garage (a garage or carport would be nice too!)
- trees (I like older homes so yards with trees is usually standard but it's on the list anyway)
- large windows (My house has pretty great windows so I'd like to keep that feature)
- deck or patio (This isn't necessary but it would be fun to have a place to hang out in the backyard)

I'd like a functional driveway in the front yard and less of a beat up
cement pad in the backyard with no car access, because that's just silly.  

Have you thought about what you want in a house? I've always dreamed about houses but when I came time to actually buy one my mind went blank!