Nice-to-Have vs. Need-to-Have

Currently, we are on the hunt for a new home and let’s just say there is nothing crazier than the housing market of 2021. Home inventory is at record lows and home prices are selling for record highs. If you are actively searching for a home, be ready to put up a fight in order to get it. Homes are being purchased at record rates the moment they hit the market and nearly all have competing offers which make the chances of winning the bid for the home of your dreams that much harder.

To help narrow your search and keep yourself on track when it comes to what you’re looking for in a home, it always helps to have a list of nice-to-have’s. These are the things you would love to have come with your new home, but you don’t necessarily require them. The need-to-have’s…they are just that, you need them. This is the criteria you’ve identified as the required necessities that your home must have. Here is a list of our must-have’s and nice-to-have’s we’re looking for in a home.

Our Nice-to-Have’s…

• Community Pool

• 4+ Bedrooms

• 3+ Bathrooms

• Detached garage

• 1 acre + of property

• Updated HVAC, roof, gutters

• New windows

• Finished basement

• Shed

• Waterfront and/or water access community

• Oversized laundry area

• Mud room

• In-law suite

Our Need-to-Have’s…

• Good school district

• 3 bedrooms

• 2 bathrooms

• Office

• Garage

• Ample storage space

• Spacious, flat yard

• Needs updating

• Sensible layout and good bones

• Safe community

• Within a reasonable driving distance to Washington D.C.

• Good resale opportunity

• Kid-friendly community with lots of kids

• Fireplace

• Free from major structural or system issues

What are your must-have’s and nice-to-have’s in a home? Share with us in the comments below.