Location

Being on the top floor. Nothing worse than footsteps overhead.

I figure that when we search for an ideal home, one of the first things we'll look at is location. The perfect home can be a nightmare if it's in an unsafe neighborhood.

Being on the floor top, good sound insulation (so that I can't hear my neighbors), built-in bookshelves... still waiting for the good insulation, which is hard to find in NYC on my salary. I'm currently on the top floor (of a walkup, too -- fine by me!) and I've had the built-in shelves. Amazing.

Also, built-in air conditioning...

@twnt1andcounting - Hear hear! I'm so glad I haven't had to deal with radiators, window units, fans, etc.

Closets and kitchen storage. I've lived without closets and with little kitchen storage before, and I am just one of those people that likes to have things PUT AWAY.

Views
Good water pressure
Good Feng-Shui
Nicely-sized kitchen with lots of drawers
An upper floor unit (Doesn't necessarily have to be on top, just not in the lower half)

Foremost location (near transport) and good plumbing. Good kitchen layout (whether large or small, as long as it's functional). Ample natural lighting!!!!!.

Top floor is a pain in very hot climates (just think of the heat that remains after a day of heatweave!!!).

Dream Apt:
1. Sunlight is a MUST! So, plentitful windows, plz.
2. Hardwood floors.
3. Built in bookcases/shelving.
4. Storage.
5. Steam heat (I hate paying insane gas bills).
6. Closet space.
7. Powerful plumbing!
8. Character. Newly renovated units rarely wow me. It's sad to see a great old school house or train station remodeled to be boring carpeted drywall boxes. Blech!
Bonus:
Breakfast nook or window seat.

Outdoor space and the indoor/outdoor connection. For me, even a small place with french doors off the living room leading onto the patio is more desirable than a larger place without.

my list is just like yours!

beautiful wooden floors (esp. herringbone!!)
substantial & well-cared for wood trim
high ceilings (at least 9ft) in good shape
large windows in good shape
unusual but functional design

IMHO, good bones has to do with basic room size, how sturdy walls etc are and the layout of pipes (to add baths, etc), and if it's made in a way that i can add CAC.
Bones, are the BASICS of a house and how good/sturdy/reliable they are.

In order of preference...

1. Lots of sunlight
2. Hardwood Floors
3. Central heat/ac
4. Outdoor space/balcony

Everything else I feel can be worked with or around, but these are the most important ones for me....

Hardwood floors, built-in shelving, plenty of natural light.... Although with my budget being what it is, I tend to start with 'no infestations' and work my way down.

a good layout is key as is a high enough ceiling... those are harder or impossible to change. i also love the west light that i currently get in my apt. i have a little decorative bookshelf niche in my foyer, but prefer to add any other bookshelves as needed for a particular space...

Must haves:
Top floor
Good insulation/quiet neighbors

Love to have:
High ceilings
Open, spacious rooms
Plenty of light
Central air/heat(no clunky heaters!)

Very nice to have:
Hardwood floors(second choice: attractive tile. third: plush, CLEAN, neutral carpet)
Attractive wood trim
Storage

Mine are:
Windows on enough sides to allow for adequate cross breeze (interesting, original windows are a bonus).
Wood floors (any condition, since we bought and can refinish--as long as they are there).
Lots of unpainted trim/moulding (though painted moulding is preferable to none).
Nice doors. Not the newer hollow core type. They could be replaced, of course, but it would be a substantial expense.
Old house charm. Not sure how to say that better, but all the things that give old houses character. Our last house was a renovated/remodeled turn of the century farmhouse. It had all the old house issues, but very little old house charm.
Functional kitchen. It can be dated (as ours is), but it has to be big enough to cook comfortably in and have an efficient layout.

- Natural light is a must!
- Functional layout. I've seen some unusual layouts here and there.
- Some sort of outdoor space.
- Closets.
- I also hate having footsteps overhead. Top floor if living in an apartment.

Location, ample storage (kitchen and otherwise) and outdoor space are musts for me. I will sacrifice almost any other detail for big closets, a pantry, and a balcony, within walking distance of food, drink, and entertainment.

Good neighborhood/location
Architectural details/charm
Hardwood floors
Great natural lighting/lots of windows
Closets/storage

A view would be nice or outdoor space!

Floorplan.

Windows. I alway look for lots of large windows. It helps if there is something nice to look at outside those windows too.

1. Built-in bookshelves are nice in a rental, especially short-term, where you aren't going to be doing work on the apartment. Looking to buy (and to rent longer term), I've seen poorly built in shelves, or shelves in places I don't want them, that I'd want to remove. I've also seen gorgeously done wood shelves that just are a different style from all my furniture that wouldn't go well at all - but that would be a shame to rip out (like would new fancy kitchen done expensivey in a style I find hideous.) So they can also be a negative, even a deal-breaker, unless perfect (like built when the building was built in some 30's buildings, as part of the walls.)

2. While like everybody, I like and need lots of closets, I've also seen closets built into spaces they don't belong in, wrecking a nice room's character completely - that I'd want to remove if I bought the place (and I was looking for a place I wouldn't have to do such renovation projects on at the time - so, deal-breaker). What's essential is enough space for stuff - in some rooms, a cabinet or armoire, whether antique or modern in style, will look way better than a built-in closet ever will, just due to the size, shape, window placement, and other characteristics of the room.

So, if rooms are big enough for the furniture, lack of enough closets can be overcome. And if there aren't built-in shelves, they can be built in, or you can use freestanding ones. Of course, this means you have to want to buy furniture. For a shorter-term rental where you don't want to buy stuff to suit the space, only to have to sell it because it doesn't fit the next one, built-in is nice.

Other items, like light, location, high ceilings, some aspects of layout and room sizes can't be changed. Hardwood floors are a must. Workable kitchen layout with ample storage a must, too (even if I'd someday renovate.)

Will never again live in a place with a kitchen without lots of natural light - learned that the hard way. I need a kitchen with light, so that I enjoy puttering around in and being in my kitchen. Otherwise, I don't feel like cooking in it.

Radiator heat gets a bad rap from some - it is really the best kind of heat to have, in my opinion. I find forced air too dry.

I also like top floors (despite the heat - but where I live you need AC anyway, whatever floor you are on). Top is great for light and noise - even worth walking up to the fourth floor (but not the sixth, like some NYers do, to me), if you can walk and lug stuff. Though noise, I've discovered, can also come from below, or from the side. In some very old, well-built buildings with concrete floors under that wood, you'll never hear as much as a footstep from above, but may hear your neighbors below or on the side if they are noisy.

Also, smoke. Definitely can't live with cigarette smoke wafting into my apartment from others. Glad non-smoking buildings are becoming a reality.

I just finished an apartment search and ended up moving into a house with two housemates. In the search I ended up crossing a lot of things off of my "must have" list simply because I realized other things were more important, like:

kitchen storage
water pressure
good windows that actually open
central air & a good heating system

Things that give a place a significant edge:
dishwasher
built in shelving
fireplace
hardwood floors
outdoor space (huge yard is totally worth roommates!)

Ooh, and a gas stove. I have one for the first time in 3 years and I missed it so much!

Plenty of light and air
An outlook, or potential for one (a garden)
I like to demolish and remodel, so I can never be a renter, have to own...

-big balcony/rooftop garden
-top floor, I so agree with nothing worse than people stomping around above you
-big windows
-lovely view

there also no-go's:

-tiles all over
-windows as big as stamps
-merged kitchen/livingroom
- noisy streets and annoying street/shop lighting

Maybe people define "bones" differently, but lots of the above seem to be just "features and amenities", whereas I think of bones as things that can't be changed without some major structural work or contracting.

Things like ceiling height, window size (and placement), overall layout....

For me, good bones would be high ceilings (9'+), fireplaces (working or not), plaster walls, large windows, and hardwood floors. In an ideal world, what the french call an 'etoile' layout (don't know the name for it here): essentially a large foyer off of which most of the rooms flow.

Trees in the yard or at least on the street in front of the house/building
Interesting architectural elements (built-ins, woodwork, fireplaces, etc)
Good flooring
functional kitchen & bathroom, even if it isn't 100% modernized

I traded a ton of bright light for very awesome interesting windows in my current place. I don't really notice... my house stays cool (it is well shaded and in a sort of a valley,... cool air comes down the hill in the summer). There is great light in the later afternoon...its just subdued.

I live in a house that my partner picked out and bought, and it drives me nuts sometimes because it's got what I consider terrible bones.

My list:

Good ceiling height (8' minimum)
No popcorn ceilings
Decent floors
Relatively recent roof
Good flow of rooms for entertaining
Outdoor space that is either low maintenance or can be made that way
Mature trees and shade
Lots of big windows
Privacy
A kitchen that doesn't need any demolition to be made workable
Solid construction

Well, the house scores on the decent flow, but it's a late 70's tract home, so...not so much on the rest of it. We've replaced the floors, I've done a lot of work on converting the yard to need less maintenance, and in the last five years some of the trees have matured.

The kitchen is still horrible and there's nothing to be done about the 7'6" asbestos popcorn ceilings. But the big draw, when he bought the house, was the beautiful garden window into the backyard and the fact that he could get DSL. It's not a *bad* house, but I surely wish we could sell the thing and move.

1. Lots of natural light and large windows
2. Layout that will permit oodles of bookshelves -- some places are too broken up with windows, doors, architectural oddities.
3. Non-electric heat source
4. Gas stove
5. Well maintained surfaces that are easy to clean -- no crappy vinyl floor tiles!
6. Ample plant life outside
7. Bedroom away from street noise

-Location!
-Old building that's been rehabbed, but has still kept all of the vintage finishes (nothing's worse than a tear-down or a gut rehab...)
-Top floor, so I don't have to hear a neighbor stomping around upstairs
-WOOD! Floors, trim, old doors... these are important things:)
-Built in china hutches are also important... and pretty!
-Easy street parking, or an inexpensive spot to rent, is also a big deal for me.
-And finally... some space outside. It's nice to have a small balcony- especially if it faces the street instead of the alley. My apartment now has a balcony, and the building has a shared roof deck and back yard:)

1. Being on top floor
2. High ceilings
3. Hardwood floors
4. Good light

After years of dealing with terrible upstairs neighbors (never again!) I finally got a top floor apartment. And I have 2, 3 and 4, as well. It's heaven.

egyptians, greeks, moors, promoted a Golden Mean theory, an irrational math ratio of 1:1.1618... that we subconsciously employ when we evaluate space or subdivisions of it, like window size & placement. there are plenty of units w/ wood floors & fireplaces that have terrible bones b/c they are not laid out w/ respect for the GM & we cannot seem to arrange our stuff well in those (the GM got skewered in a lot of MCM arch). feng shui is derived separately, but could it have parallels to the GM in terms of layout, room flow, light source(s), room relationships?

1. living space opens to the outdoors
2. lots of natural sunlight
3. lots of outdoor space

everything else can be fixed

Location, without a doubt.

A nice, decent landlord.

Being allowed to paint and change fixtures.

Wood floors (we have two kids, a dog and a cat, so carpet is not our friend)

I would like abject quiet but I haven't it gotten it yet.

Other Deal breakers
-Pet smells
-Cigarette odors
-tiny kitchen
-lack of closets
-traffic sounds
-huge yards that are a lot of maintenance