5 ‘Must-Haves’ Homeowners Say You Actually Won’t Care That Much About

published Aug 21, 2019

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After they set a budget and decide exactly where to looking, home shoppers will usually spend time coming up with their “wish list.” From things as vague as “2.5 baths minimum” to oddly specific requirements like “original fixtures in an old house ONLY,” wish lists can be a big factor in determining what house you actually end up purchasing. On the flip side, they can be very limiting—especially in the beginning of the home search. As necessary as they are, wish lists are often just best guesses to what you’ll really value in a home. Many times, home searchers can get overly fixated on a requirement—only to realize that, in the end, it didn’t really matter all that much.

If you’re putting together your wish list as a first-time homebuyer, you might want to hear from those who’ve gone through the wringer themselves. (It’s so important to learn from other’s mistakes, after all!) On that note, we asked some recent homeowners what things on their home wish list they were once excited about, only to realize after move-in that they weren’t all that important. Here’s what they had to say:

A single-family home

“My husband and I bought our first house a little less than two years ago in San Diego. I thought I wanted a single-family home. We were pregnant with our first child at the time so both my husband and I had these romantic visions of owning a home like the ones we grew up in. It turned out that it was going to stretch our budget, so we ended up in one half of a duplex instead.

“So far, this has been no issue at all! We still have a private garage, a big backyard, bright windows everywhere we need them, and are located on a cul-de-sac. Plus because we saved money on the cost of the house we were able to spend more on personalized updates like new hard floors and baseboards throughout.

“I also learned that I like living in a home with less than 1500 square feet. It’s so much easier to keep clean than a huge home and encourages me to be very thoughtful about what ‘stuff’ I want to buy.”—Kait Schulhof, founder of the cleaning blog A Clean Bee.

An attached garage

“I thought I had the home wish list down by my third go-round, this time settling in the Chicago suburbs. One of my non-negotiable items was an attached garage—protection from the winters didn’t seem like too much to ask. It turns out, it was. It bewildered me, but the Chicago suburbs believe in detached garages where you have to carry your groceries through rain, sleet, or snow. I’m pretty sure it’s something about building that Midwestern resilience. I didn’t want to give in, but everything else about the house was perfect for our family, so I did.

“As it turns out, I love our detached garage. It means that our house is on a tree-lined street with sidewalks and no garages where cars can pull out and surprise a kid on a bike. Plus, I get outside every day, even if it’s a sprint through rain showers as the kids and I race to see who gets inside first. Maybe I’ve built up that Midwestern resilience after all. Thanks, detached garage.” —Ali Wenzke, author of The Art of Happy Moving.

Central air and heat

“After years and years of living in places with clanging radiators and clunky window AC units, I really wanted central air. Then we bought a place with central air only to discover that it’s really dumb when there aren’t zones (if our living room is comfortable, our bedroom is freezing cold, etc.) I really, really wish we hadn’t written off all the places we saw with split HVAC systems (the kind where there’s one unit in each room and they’re kind of mounted up on the ceiling). They’re so much more efficient and allow you to heat or cool an individual room instead of a whole dang apartment.” —Anna, a Brooklyn, NY-based editor.

A fireplace

“When purchasing [our new home], I really wanted a fireplace. There is nothing that reminds me of camping with my father and brother during childhood more than the smell of burning wood. I imagined my wife and I sitting by the fireplace regularly and enjoying the smell and beauty of the fire.

“But since we live in Tucson, Arizona, where our winters are almost as hot as our summers, the fireplace ended being a permanent decoration that takes up space. We haven’t used it once in the year we’ve been here. Luckily, it hasn’t cost us any additional money to maintain, but it’s an item I wish I had not opted for.” —Dillan Thompson, co-owner of Easy-Man Buys Houses in Tucson, Arizona.

“My one-and-only non-negotiable wishlist item was a fireplace. There was no convincing me otherwise. The home I grew up in had a fireplace and for so many of my wonderful memories—holidays, cold snowy nights, even random Thursdays—the fire was always roaring. Luckily, after searching for what felt like forever, my husband and I found the perfect home that included a wood-burning fireplace.

“About a year went by before we actually used the fireplace. It turns out that there is a reason my memories of the fireplace were so wonderful: I didn’t have to do any of the work involved. From cleaning it to making sure the fire was out before going to sleep for the night, the appeal of having a fireplace faded quickly. My sweet dog was even so terrified of it that he’d hide whenever the fire was going. But don’t get me wrong though: It is fun to decorate for the holidays”—Cate Griffing, West Magnolia Charm, a paint-focused blog.

Extra rooms for future children

“I wanted a huge home with at least four rooms because I thought I was going to have a big family. [But] my first pregnancy was extremely difficult… My husband and I decided not to have any more children and my son is now three years old. We use two of the bedrooms, but the other two are ‘guest’ rooms. However, we never have any guests!” —Becky Beach, founder of Mom Beach, an online work-from-home resource for mothers.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.