Home Selection - what are your requirements?

[mitunnelrat]

It struck me that I'm unlikely to be the only one with storage and shelter requirements the average person could take or leave, so I'm wondering what some of the rest of you view as criteria in selecting a home/ property?

One of the things I go back and forth with my fiancee on is my insistence on a basement. They're very common in Michigan, and offer an excellent blend of privacy, protection, and storage. Since this is only going to be an interim home for us I've been open to anything else, from location, to layout, to amenities.

What's your dream home though?

Mine has the aforementioned basement, with alternative/ renewable energy and water sources, and composting toilets for conservation. I have ideas for a central power and pump house to accommodate my home and all outbuildings. I want it landscaped to assist in passive climate control, food production, and property defense. It'll have an indoor pool/ greenhouse combination on the south side, and a 3 car attached garage with a loading dock (I'm inherently lazy) on the north (coldest winds from there). The basement will have a walkout under the back porch for storage and access to the compost tank. I figure I could double the storm doors as an exterior ramp/ door leading to my garage's loading dock.

Since I'm looking at raising livestock, I'd like to produce methane for heating, so I'd want a good size storage tank for that. My livestock barn would meet the requirements for an earth sheltered, above ground NBC shelter - if local building codes allow it, which I'm guessing would also help in climate control.

I want two other barn size outbuildings. One will be a skilled trades shop for wood, metal, and auto working. The other will be my property front as a storage building with one story side additions for my general store, a commercial greenhouse, and food processing plants.

I've determined I need roughly 40 acres to meet my needs, only two will be developed - with a small orchard and pond sharing the space, 4 wooded, and the rest will be crop/ pastureland. I might do 50 though, to allow for more development of homes for my family on the property without sacrificing anything. I want it 100 miles from the largest cities in MI, 50 miles from mid sized cities, 25 miles from the interstate, and 10 miles from established towns. I want it 5 miles from a state highway, if I can, but on a paved road is ok to meet my business needs. I may even be able to set up alongside state/ federal forests if I get lucky.

That's my primary plan. My alternate is to have property and a vacation cabin in a separate, removed region of the state. Contingency locations are relative's home's and emergency shelter's will be a camper or tents/ field expedient types.

[The Stig]

Wow...that's very ambitious and clearly well thought out plan.

My thought process goes like this:

Practicality of the layout. I'm not a fan of wasted space and unneeded rooms.

Storage: a big fan of large amounts of storage.

Ease of defending the home. Not from being beiged by zombies but rather the ability to deal with burglers and getting the family together safely.

Garage space: enough for vehicles and workspace.

Design and construction that is conducive to keeping utility costs low.

Enough exterior doors to provide several means of egress and make it easy to move in large appliances.

Construction materials designed to last.

Easy access to plumbing, electrical, cable, internet cables

Natural drainage to get water away from home.

[beginner]

Well, I bought this house about 3 years ago in an older area of a suburb of a large city. Back then, my only requirements were a large fenced backyard for my dog and a garage. It's a pretty non descript 3 bedroom bungalow (circa 1965) 1033 sq. ft. on main floor and the same in the basement. Basement is about 40% complete. (A tv / living room with wood burning fireplace) So, PLENTY of storage in the basement. The backyard is large enough to pland a garden which is my plan for this spring. Aside from that, it's not a bad ol home. I'd love a set-up like the OP posted but, it's well beyond my means. As this is the house I own now, I plan on making the best of what I have.

[Mjollnir]

LAND......... was our biggest requirement. We wanted enough and in a location free from zoning restrictions that would allow us to be able raise livestock, shoot when we wanted, hunt, have a sustainable year round pond, garden, managable woodlot for renewable source of firewood all in an area that wasn't in danger of being too built up anytime soon.

As far as the house goes, we decided we could build it to suit our needs over time. We are currently working on converting an old barn into a green house. Going to be adding a couple new barns and a rain catchment system for each building before the end of the year.

[mitunnelrat]

We are currently working on converting an old barn into a green house. Going to be adding a couple new barns and a rain catchment system for each building before the end of the year.

If there's any of that you're willing to share and show the progress on, I'd love to see it.

[Mjollnir]

If there's any of that you're willing to share and show the progress on, I'd love to see it.

No problem!