Ask Audrey: What’s Your Top Priority for Choosing a Home?

Dear Audrey: As an architect, you probably view apartment or home shopping a lot differently than everyone else does. What's the most important priority for you when choosing a new space to live in?

For me, the house itself is not what I'm concerned with, it's the location.

When I'm looking at properties, I'm thinking of them as an investment. Where is my investment safest and where will I get the highest return? When choosing between a huge house in the middle of nowhere and a tiny house accessible to the life I want to live, I'm going to choose the tiny house. But that’s because my top lifestyle priority is accessibility. If your top lifestyle priority is to be close to a lot of land, then the house in the middle of nowhere would be better for you.

The most important thing in shopping for a new place is the location.

You asked specifically about places, though. After location, I'll next look at the way the building is situated on the lot. Let's say you're choosing between two fixer uppers in a good neighborhood with equal access. Now you can compare them on a macro level. Are there good trees? Are the houses situated on the lot with room for expansion? Is there a good amount of natural light on the properties?

You can always change your property, but you’ll never be able to control or change whatever lies (or doesn't lie) adjacent to your property.

If all things were equal in the scenario above, I move on to the next priority: the bones of the house. More specifically (for me) I prefer a home that has a good layout and is well-lit.

In terms of layout, I prefer there to be both a public and private side of the home. I also place emphasis on connection to the outdoors. Even if there’s only room for a chair or small balcony - or the home is close to a park - that's okay. But there has to be some way to be outdoors.

In terms of light, I prefer a home to be filled with natural light. If not, it’s important that there be a way I can create more natural light (such as removing trees or creating more windows).

Finally, there’s one thing that I don’t like when I’m looking for a new home: recent renovations for the purpose of selling the home. While a renovate to sell means the home may not have 110 year old pipes anymore, there’s no way for me to know that the people who redid the home put the same thought into it that I would have. I’d rather have a fixer upper that I can have redone myself if necessary.

In summary, I try not to focus on the changeable specifics of a home when I’m shopping, such as the color of the walls or tile or whether or not the home has hardwood floors. I prefer to focus on the things that can’t be changed, such as the location.

Remember, there's a lot that can be changed about a living space - focus on what can't be changed to get the most out of your investment and your future home.

Image Credit: Bart Speelman