When you’re starting to look for a place, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of making a NEED vs. WANT list. This was huge for me! It really helped streamline what I was looking for and saved me time in my search, especially while broadly perusing websites like Realtor.com and Zillow. With my list in mind, I was able to quickly see which places I wanted to send to my realtor so that he could set up a showing. 

 

Something that I had on my “NEED” list when I was searching for a place was 2 bedrooms. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I was going to look for a roommate, but I wanted to have the option to earn some extra income in that way if possible. Although I didn’t end up choosing to have a roommate, I am so glad I have that second bedroom – because that has turned into the room where I run my Poshmark business! I’m still able to use that space to make extra income, even if in a completely different way than originally envisioned. Here’s the NEED vs. WANT list I put together when I was property searching:

 

NEED

• 2 BEDROOM (for roommate or office)
• 1 BATH
• GARAGE (after having my car outside the past 7 winters, this was a MUST)
• IN-UNIT LAUNDRY (no more college dorm life era laundry sharing please)
• DAYLIGHT/WINDOWS (I’ve lived in the basement for the last 9 years!)
• ROOM IN BUDGET FOR SMALL IMPROVEMENTS (ya girl loves her DIY)
• CENTRAL LOCATION IN THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA (for potential roommate or job changes)
• OWN ENTRANCE (so even if it’s not a house, it feels like my own place)

 

WANT

• 2^ND BATHROOM (for a roommate or for guests)
• TOP FLOOR LOCATION (so there’s no noise on my ceiling!)
• STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES (meaning that the kitchen has been updated)
• DECK/PORCH (so that I might set foot outside #indoorsy)
• FIREPLACE (my dad put this on the list, not me. considering I keep my condo at a balmy 60 degrees, I don’t think this one needed to be on the list, lol)
• HARD FLOORS (no mangy carpet plz)
• NICE SIZED CLOSET (I maaaaay have a clothes obsession)
• SOMEWHAT FIXER UPPER OK (hello daddy-daughter projects!)
• GAS STOVE (cooking is already hard enough for me, don’t complicate that with an electric stove I don’t know how to use!)
• NEARBY GUEST PARKING (for having friends and family over)
• END UNIT (again, for less noise/foot traffic)

 

Obviously it’s going to be really hard to come across a place that checks off all the boxes. BUT, I was lucky enough to be able to find a place that had a bunch of the boxes checked off, with just a few things I needed to compromise on.

 

It is a first floor unit, BUT it’s on the end of the building, meaning no foot traffic past my door. And with a side entrance to the building just 10 steps away, it feels like a private entrance. So, for being in a multi-level building, it was as close to the “NEED vs. WANT” list as I could get on that! And since it is an end unit, I have a whole extra wall of windows that internal units do not have – such a WIN.

 

The main thing on the NEEDS that did not get checked off was in-unit laundry. I’ve owned this place for 1 year and 10 months and I’ve set foot in the laundry room once…on the day of my initial showing. I’m sorry, but I’m just too frugal to spend $2 to do 1 load of laundry every week. Guess that just means I get to spend some quality time with the fam when I bring home laundry to do at my parents’ house. I’ve already saved $150+, so don’t judge me 😉  

 

I’m so glad that I didn’t just ignore this place because it didn’t have in-unit laundry. Being open-minded with your NEEDS/WANTS will make the search so much more manageable & less defeating for you! I knew which things I could compromise on (in-unit laundry, top floor, own entrance) and which things I couldn’t (2 bedrooms, central location, garage). Especially in a market where you need to make an offer ASAP or you’re going to miss out on the place, it was so good to already have my need & want list figured out. I felt like I was going into “battle” fully prepared! Here are some before & after shots of the work we did in the guest bedroom: 

B E F O R E