It was a rancher like I grew up in, needed some work (I love the challenge), and was situated on 4.6 acres -- lots of privacy.

In my previous home, the cathedral ceiling in the great room and the screened-in back porch grabbed me.

I bought my first home a year ago in LA. It was a very trying experience because even though the market has dropped, homes are still expensive in LA. To get into something I could afford with adequate space I chose to purchase a home that needed alot cosmetic work. My thought was that I am going to want to put my stamp on it and make changes anyway, so I might as well save some $$$ too. Nothing is perfect, but I made the best choice for my lifestyle.

This is what sold me on my home:
* Price
* Size (bedrooms, bathrooms, storage)
* Location (in priority -- close to work, close to friends and
family, close to major freeways, no major traffic/parking
congestion, short drive to ocean, mountain trails and parks)
* The fixes were things I could mostly do - paint, tons of
cleaning, popcorn ceiling removal (no asbestos),
wallpaper removal. I am saving the larger more expansive
redo's for later down the road.
* Huge windows and tons of light in all rooms
* Front yard with trees

Below are some of the compromises I made:
* The kitchen is old and needs to be redone.
* I have an HOA, which is good and bad. Good because they
mow my front yard and tend to flowers. Bad because they
control what the outside of your home looks like (no
painting, etc)
* Had to purchase appliances (more upfront costs)
* My backyard is small and mostly patio
* The AC is old and it will likely need to be replaced within
the next 5 years, which is a large cost.

I'm a renter, but I am a very picky renter and looked at a ton of places before I picked one. What sold me on it was:

1. Location. The town itself is just kind of 'meh', but it's right in the middle of everything. I have the Bolingbrook, IL IKEA less than five minutes away, several major expressways on my doorstep, and it's a great area to run my cleaning service in. Everything I need is five minutes away.

2. Price. I didn't have to pay a security deposit and they also gave me 1/2 off my first months rent. Rent includes all utilities except electric. Hot water heat (very important to me, as I'm always cold) that is included in the rent as well. It was the cheapest in the area while still feeling somewhat safe and not too run down.

3. Quality. This was what really clinched the deal. First the leasing agent tried to get me to take an outdated grungy apartment that was a mishmash of 1980's and 1970's cheap. I wouldn't even consider it, so they offered to renovate a unit for me....new hardwood floors, new kitchen, new bathroom, new everything. The floorplan is great, making the 650 sq ft unit feel bigger than it is. I have a patio off the living room AND the kitchen. The only way it could be any better is if they hadn't allowed my low class upstairs neighbors to move in right after I did! That is the only unrenovated unit left in the building....which attracted the wrong element because the rent is super cheap...and I suffer for it.

My next place, top floor will be important, as will lots of light. Good, solid construction. I can change the cosmetics myself as long as I own it.

I considered what I liked and didn't like about my last home and made sure that the house I bought overcame most of the bad without sacrificing all of the good from before.

I think you need to be able to listen to your gut and not have to depend on others to tell you if you should buy. If it's right, you'll know. And right doesn't mean perfect - just a house you can work with.

I wanted a house in a specific area convenient to major roads that would make it easy to commute to different parts of the city. At the time that I bought, it was actually an overlooked neighborhood with low prices, but with gas costs rising, it's now quite desirable.

I ended up buying the first house I saw after checking out a number of others. It's a one-owner 1960s ranch on a quiet street and incredibly well-maintained. I thought the layout was the best -- it makes the place feel much larger than its square footage. It has big closets and plenty of storage. There are windows in every room so it gets great light. The one main negative is that it has very limited counter space in the kitchen, but I can work around it.

I had many practical reasons for choosing my house -- excellent resale potential, easy to update, great location, fair price -- but ultimately I went with a gut feeling. It just seemed like the right house even though there were others that were very similar (since all of the houses were made by the same builder). It just felt very welcoming.

To me, there are first the prereqs, outside of which I'd never even consider a place: location, price range, basic rooms/layout/ammenties you require. Until you can define this, you're silly to even be looking.

Beyond that, I was sold on my current place because it has great light (SE corner unit 9 floors up), it has historic features that can't be replicated by the piles of new construction in the area, it had great potential for someone who could see beyond the original state, and I could do everything I wanted in it without moving any walls.

A year later, I'm getting close to achieving that original vision. It's been a lot of hard work, but to me that's half the fun. My advice, however, for folks looking for a weekend project as much as a home would be to have a clear plan before you even move in for what you're going to do and what you're going to hire out. I could have saved a lot of time and headaches if I had arranged for more work to be done before I even moved in (got the floors refinished, but wish I had also had the whole place primed and painted white for a fresh palette).

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

I bought my house 4 years ago purely based on location. It was the only house I could afford in the neighborhood I wanted to be in. I saw and bid on other houses, much nicer and BIGGER in other parts of town but I am so happy that I got the house I live in now. If I had to do it all over again, I would pick LOCATION as the number one criteria. There are so many things wrong and weird things with this house but I think for the most part it's fixable. Location however isn't.

A number of things made me love this old money pit:

* c 1860 Victorian mansion with original plaster work, marble fireplaces and American cherry floors

* transitional town, meaning it is not quite gentrified but not a crappy either

* house is not next to a crack den

* kitchen & bathrooms need work (read: places to build equity, and make them exactly as I wanted)

* size

* proximity to work school (school:10 min by bus; work: go to other room and telecommute)

* no vinyl siding

I walked in the front door of my apartment and knew instantly that I would buy it. I was with a friend, who had the same reaction - before we were two feet inside she "just knew" that it was my apartment and I would end up buying it. I looked at TONS of other places, but none were right for one reason or another, even though some were okay. But when I saw this one, I truly thought that I could not go on living without it. Probably an unfortunate way to buy a first home, because it will forever be my yardstick, but I don't think I could buy a home that I wasn't so in love with. A home is a big commitment, and I think you should love it and just sense that it fits you, or could fit you with some work.

My parents bought a house last year, and because they were living out of state, I did "first visits" for them, and found a house for them that gave the same first reaction-walked in, loved it; they bought it and still love it a year later.

My friend was absolutely horrified by the whole experience; by the time we walked through the apartment, I asked the real estate agent (not mine at the time) how to put together an offer and how fast we could get it done, because I had to own it. Melinda thought I was insane, but as it turns out, had I not jumped so quickly (an hour after it hit the market), I wouldn't own my dream apartment today. I think you should never ignore gut feelings, but especially when it comes to home purchases--you literally have to live with it, so if it's not "the one," keep looking!

@ kittykatz: I totally agree! I stalked this apartment for a couple months before I could buy it. Miraculously it was still for sale, and I now I have my little light-filled city pad, complete with mysterious built-in devices and lovely crown moulding.

This was the clincher for me: when I realized I would have pushed my budget for my house, or that I could not believe it was not _more_expensive. Meaning, it was the right house for me, I thought it should have have cost double, only because it fit my needs and requirements so nearly perfectly.

I looked at 10 - 15 places, some pretty scary. The gut gets fine-tuned on these outings, starts collaborating with your brain, until they are on the same page.

But, considering that I bought a house from 1840, some of the things that made me feel good about it: someone had clearly done some structural work in the past 10 years (marrying joists(?) in the basement), the basement was clean and clear, there was a sump pump and washer dryer hookup, newer deck, new water and electric meters. The house was exactly where I needed it to be, so LOCATION, and it had the hard wood floors and molding I wanted. The outside was peeling paint something awful and I had to have it painted immediately.

I was only half serious about buying when I found my condo.

Coming from the midwest where my price range could have afforded me an entire house with a yard ... in a great neighborhood across from a huge park - I was dismayed at the price of one and two bedroom condos in this city (Denver).

But when I walked it - I think I felt at home. More likely, the compromises I had to make were compromises I was willing to make. There was no second bedroom, but there was an abundance of large closets, one of which I knew I would turn into an 'office' before I even told the realtor I wanted to start the buying process!

There was no balcony or patio... but there was an abundance of windows letting in tons of natural light.

The only other thing I gave up was a separate dining room.
Everything else, I got.

-Beautifully finished (original) hardwood floors throughout.
-A fairly large livingroom/shared dining room.
-A decent sized bedroom.
- and tons of closet/storage space.
- Third/top floor so noone would be walking on my head.
-and a view of the huge courtyard.

Added benefit? Old world plaster work and unique coved ceilings.

I didn't expect to find a place I could afford that I would like and when I found it -- I was sort of shell shocked when I said to the realtor... "I guess I have to make an offer huh?"

I was so sad to leave our townhome and move farther into the suburbs. But we needed:

A larger home and yard to accomodate our growing family and dogs

A better school district.

We also wanted to be accessible to major highways (didn't want long commutes to work), to still be near to family and friends, and oddly enough....my husband likes to be at the top of a hill so our basement wouldn't flood!

We left a 1950 townhome and moved into a split level built in 1973. Not the older home I wanted, but pickings were slim when we bought. We did get our hardwood floors through out and a killer back yard!

Our townhouse is on the market now, so I'm really interested in this subject. We have tons of options for houses we'd like to buy, but no one is all that interested in ours (and not being independently wealthy, we do need to sell our townhouse first before buying a new house).

Since it's a townhouse, there's only so much we can do. We have very little control over "curb appeal" aspects. We've made a lot of upgrades, but in many respects it still looks like a bachelor pad (it was my husband's, and I moved in when we got married a year ago, but it still looks mostly like him).

So apart from the things that homeowners can't change about their home (location, structure, age, school district) and what townhouse owners really can't change (siding, windows, front door, landscaping), what things would be most important to you? (I'm looking for a "what we can do to get our house sold" kind of a list.)

Or, is this more of a "Good Question" that I should submit? Thoughts?

We had looked at tons of condos in Boston over the course of several months and after a final nightmarish sleeting day of depressing open houses we decided to expand to look in Cambridge and Brookline. I did an MLS search and found a handful of places to check out a few days later, including the one we bought. I knew after 10 minutes inside that it was the place for us--we made an offer before my husband had seen the inside.
-1910 building in good shape
-All the vintage details were intact--one of the only apartments in the building to still have the amazing butler's pantry and walk-in pantry
-Astonishing moldings
-Gorgeous, recently relined working wood-burning fireplace
-Great floor plan that works for the way we live
-Porch
-Amazing space compared to what we ever rented in NYC or looked at in Boston itself: Dining room and study in addition to the bedrooms, living room and kitchen. Room for a wall of bookcases.
-Quiet neighbors and street in a good neighborhood.

We compromised on things that we would never have expected in NY but seemed standard in Boston:
-Laundry in unit
-Low common charges (ours are way higher than any we'd seen)
-Elevator in a largish building (we're on the 4th floor)
-Parking (we park on street)

Mostly the apartment, despite having been less-than-loved for 12 years, gave me a great feeling. I looked around and could see what it would look like once we'd painted it and decorated. I knew how I would put in a kitchen (there wasn't a single cabinet or counter when we moved in) and how we would hold parties. The 6-story walnut trees next to the back porch made me happy even leafless, in April.

My husband and I just bought our first house, boy was it a challenge. I think I looked at least 50-60 places (condos, townhouses, apartments, row houses, and single family homes) in a 18 month period. We had 'our list' but there wasn't ever a warm fuzzy shared by both of us at the same time, for the same property.
Fortunately patience and perseverance prevailed... One rainy day, I drug my husband to an open house. We both loved it... and for different reasons. As we walked away, my husband told me it would be my fault if we didn't get it... Talk about motivation! We closed within 48 hours. With the soft market, we were able to buy the house w/in our condo budget. The house met our needs and wants with the potential to grow. The main sacrifice we made is there is no off street parking. Fortunately there is enough space/yard to fix this problem. We just have to research and budget for what we want... along with the kitchen and bath renovations.
I truly believe, 'you will know it when you see it' philosophy. I has been a true money and time commitment. The house was built in 1922, sometimes we love the uniqueness and charm but then again it's age has its' downfall as well.
We have no regrets and it was worth the wait.

For the longest time we thought we wanted to be in a charming but cramped neighborhood in our small city. Now, after living on the outskirts of town on an acre overlooking that charming neighborhood with views of the lake, and our very own pond, I can't believe I ever wanted anything else. So I guess in this case, venturing outside of what we thought we wanted proved to be the best choice for us.

HOWEVER, we knew we wanted all hardwood floors, and I think that's what REALLY sold me on our home :)

I'm still living in my first apartment that I got out of college. I chose it because it's three blocks away from work and the neighborhood is safe. There is a bus stop across the street and I'm a 15 minute walk from the light rail and 4 blocks from Penn Station (Baltimore). I'm 23 and since there are two schools around here there are plenty of people my age around here.

As far as the apartment: It's an awesome studio. I have a HUGE closet, a separate kitchen that's large enough for a table and a bathroom that's even bigger than my kitchen! There's also nice, 12' ceilings and new carpet as well as interesting moulding and a new bathroom sink and kitchen cupboards. It's on the top floor of a 4 story rowhouse from the 1880's.

My only gripes: I had mice for a while (not anymore, they went next door when they saw my new cat) and there's linoleum that matches my kitchen floor in the closet off the living room. Not bad trade offs considering the neighborhood and how close I am to work!

kls987: I think you raise a good point. My parents neighborhood (larger, 80 years old homes) has become a buyers market, as the older residents leave to down-size to smaller homes and young families look elsewhere because of the reputation of the schools. At one time, 6 out of 22 homes on the block were listed!

Unless you can undercut other home owners, I'd spend a good deal of time researching other comparable homes in your area. What is standard? What's a reasonable upgrade that you'll enjoy, that will also bring a return on your investment? In my parents neighborhood, granite counter tops and open floor plans aren't big draws, but mature landscaping and "well maintained, old house" charm.

In Boston, we knew weren't going to get a whole lot for our money. So we ultimately selected the condo with the best location and floor plan for us. Our storage space (5 closets for a one bedroom apartment) sealed the deal.

Our house had features we secretly wanted, but didn't think we'd ever be able to afford, and the layout was something that really worked for us. Also, there was a ton of unfinished space that could be a workshop for me, or could be finished to add living space.

What made it affordable was that, while the bones were good, the surface was dated and ugly. We had to look past the ugly dark paneling and "aged brass" light fixtures from the 80s to see the cool, contemporary house it could become. Most people won't look past that surface stuff, which allowed us to get a great deal on our dream house.

I'm in Boston too gquaker. The most important things to me are:

1. Price (3000 for a one bedroom, I don't think so)
2. Neighborhood (am I going to feel safe running to the corner store, or taking a trip on the T, alone, at 10 pm?)
3. Kitchen size (I cook a lot for a new grad, I've had tiny kitchens before and have not been happy)
4. Temperature control (some whole apartment buildings are controlled by one thermostat. I want to have my own control thank you)

We picked the place we are in now because it had a nice kitchen, and two floors (better separation of noise, privacy)

Trees.

Strangely trees played a big part in our decision...we looked at newer, more expensive neighborhoods (in the Denver suburbs) but the trees were all newly planted. There were no birds singing, no trees to hide your too-close neighbors.

In Littleton, where we settled, we had huge trees, birds galore and a settled friendly neighborhood.

There are a few things that had to be there or it was a dealbreaker:

1. A garage: I'm a florist and have so many vases and supplies that there's no way it would fit in a house. Plus, my husband LOVES a clean car!
2. Washer/Dryer hookups

These are some things that sealed the deal:

- huge windows with lots of natural light throughout the day
- location: wonderful Old Towne area within walking distance of coffee, library, shops, restaurants, farmers market, parks, friends, public transportation (a rarity in Orange County!)
- solar panels & other earth-friendly building products
- enough space that if we need to be here 10 years, we will be ok (even with another kid or two)
- a suitable space for my husband's photography studio
- open floorplan with lots of space for entertaining
- proximity to freeways

We love our place!

-Location (we can ride bikes to work)
-Sensible layout (smaller than our previous place, but useful)
-Small yard (enough for the dog to get some sun)
-Good for entertaining (we have dinners for 25 or so each month)
-Most annoying work was already done (plumbing, electrical, etc.)
-Cutest bathroom floor tile in the world and other darling details

kls987: Price is going to be your main draw if people aren't drawn to specific aspects of your property (upgrades, amenities, etc.).

I think you should submit your question to Good Questions with some photos -- AT usually gives excellent suggestions.

Location and price were the number one factors for me.

Secondary:
Garage
Fenced in backyard
Storage space

When I first moved in I had all carpet ripped out for hardwood floors. This was pricey (2 bedrooms, stairs, closets, and hallway - the rest of the house was all ready hardwood), but I had an allowance from the buyer the helped with most of it.

I also had to paint (still working on it...) all the walls, replace all the door locks (it adds up!!), power wash the decks (there are double decks), tile the bathroom floor (the other bathroom will come later), new master vanity, lighting in the bath and kitchen... new kitchen knobs... its been a work in progress.

I bought my first house back in January. Its a 1952 ranch with a full basement and detached 2 car garage. I bought primarily for location. It needed/s alot of work, but I seen the potential for greatness when I first walked in. My Primary draw was the huge 9 pane picture window that is essentially the length of the living room. The kitchen has original white metal cabinets that just need to be refinished, they are yellowing and rusting in spots. But i thought, wow! You rarely see these kind of cabinets. Hard wood floors in the living and bedrooms.

Only real negatives is that it needs a slew of updates for the electrical and the bathroom totally needs redone as it has plastic wall tiles.

For us, there were three main criteria:
- Price: we finally spent about 70-80% of what we could have gotten approved for with a conventional loan. I think it would be madness to stretch yourself too much at this time.
- Location: combination of reasonable commute and nice town
- Style: we wanted something "contemporary", which narrows your selection to 10-20% in the greater Boston area
- Size, defined by the number of BRs

We wanted something that was structurally sound and livable, but didn't care too much about landscaping, paint colors and even the details of the floorplan (planning to open up the kitchen/dining room wall eventually).

Strangely, the place we bought was not love at first sight. But we realized that it met all our criteria and really was at the top of the 20 or so places we looked at in detail, all things considered. Changes have been cosmetic so far: Repainted all rooms, added shelves/built-ins, lighting and wall base. So far, so good.

Thanks, gquaker and palindrome for the responses and everyone for all the good ideas. It has me thinking, and perhaps I will submit to Good Questions. The market right now requires a lot of patience, something which I'm running short on these days (having just given up caffeine....).