Themes

To keep related questions under a common theme I will use the OBREDIM design process as a guide. 

• Observation
• Boundaries
• Resources
• Evaluation
• Design
• Implementation
• Maintain

Observation – I have broken observations down into four subheadings, location, garden, outside of the house, inside of the house. Each one providing their own set of questions.

Boundaries - Here I will have questions relating to what is on the other side of the property boundary, taking into consideration the impacts any observations could have currently or in the future if we were to consider buying this house.

Resources – The questions here will relate to what resources there are on the property that could add value. I will separate the questions under the subheadings, garden, and house.

Evaluation – Under the subheading garden I will put forward questions concerning using the resources if it will be possible to make use of the garden. I will follow this with questions under the subheading house to question if I am still within my resources to carry out any work that needs to be done inside the house and that I am not overstretching my finances. I will also have some questions regarding if the house fit’s my own needs.

Design – Without going deep into planning and drawing out different permaculture designs, under both the house and garden subheadings I will question the validity of some potential designs, using visualisation as a tool to help me achieve this.

Implementation – With the information gathered so far from all the questions it should be coming clear how much investment the property is going to need financially, physically, and timewise. I will again ask the relevant questions under the subheadings house and, garden.

Maintain – Under the subheading garden the question will be how much time will be involved in maintaining the design proposed. Under the subheading house, will be the same question followed by the cost of running a house this size.

Layouts

I will present this design in two layouts, one as a quick checklist of questions to be used on-site when looking at a property to prompt myself to the kinds of questions I need to be asking. The second layout will be the same list of questions that can be filled out after visiting a property allowing time to ponder and add comments to each of the questions.

For the quick checklist questions, I will save to list as a text file what can easily be copied and pasted into any text reading app on a phone. I tend to use the Evernote app due to the simplicity to add comments and with it been cloud-based I can assess these comments straight away on my computer.

For the second layout, I will save the list of questions as a PDF allowing it to be easily printed out and worked on.

Here are the questions we have added to each of the themes which will go into the final documents.

Location

• Where is the path of the summer and winter sun and what effect will it have on the property?
• Is the house in an area that floods?
• Is the house situated in a frost pocket?
• What is the direction of the prevailing wind?
• Are there any strange smells in the air, if so, are they identifiable? 
• What is the quality of the views from the house and garden?

Garden

• Are there frost pockets in the garden, if yes is there a solution for removing them?
• Is the garden overlooked, if so, would this become a problem?
• Which direction is the garden facing?
• How much sunlight does the garden get?
• What is the current state of the garden?
• What is the quality of the soil?
• Does the garden have a lawn?
• Are there trees in the garden that create shade?
• Are there large trees that could become a problem?
• Could you add a greenhouse to the garden?
• Does the property have a hedge or fence?
• If it has a fence what is the state of the fence?
• If it has a hedge how easy will it be to cut?
• Is there any standing water in the garden or signs that there has in the past?
• Is there room for a pond in the garden?
• Is there good access to the garden for bringing in materials? 
• Would it be possible to have a fire pit in the garden? 
• Are there signs of erosion in the garden?

Outside of the house

• What is the current state of the building?
• What is the current state of the windows and doors?
• Is there double glazing?
• What is the state of the guttering?
• Where are the bins kept?

Inside the house

• Are there any smells, if so, are they identifiable?
• What is the state of the decorating?
• What are the floors like – i.e., carpeted, tiled, or wood?
• Is there any visible damp inside the house or a good possibility of damp?
• Is the kitchen up to a high standard or in need of replacing?
• What is the state of the interior doors?
• Is there a bath?
• How clean are the toilet and the bathroom?
• Can you hear the neighbours?
• Are the floors and stairs noisy when walked on?
• Do the doors shut easily?
• What type of boiler and what sort of age is it?
• Is there central heating?
• What type of fire is in the living room?

• Do the neighbour’s gardens have anything that could be an issue or become a future issue regarding the property?
• Are there any trees nearby that could become a problem?
• Is there any running or standing water nearby that could flood the house or prevent you from accessing the house?
• How much room is there to park two cars?
• If the house is on a hill what is the ease of access for a car in winter?
• Is the house located on a school route?
• What activities happen local to the house that could cause noise or parking issues?

Garden

• Is there a shed, if yes, what is the size and condition of it?
• Is there a greenhouse, if yes, what is the size and condition of it?
• Is there a place to enjoy the sun during the day?
• Is there a place to enjoy the evening sun?
• Would it be possible to harvest water from the house roof?
• Is there an outside tap?
• Are there any compost heaps?
• Can I add a compost area into the garden?
• Is there a vegetable garden, if yes what state is it in?

House

• Does the house get morning sunlight?
• Does the house get evening sunlight?
• Does the house have plenty of windows for its size?
• Are there any solar panels attached to the house?
• Are there mains electric and gas connected in the house?
• What internet speeds are available in the house?
• Is the mains water on a meter?

Garden

• Can I incorporate the existing garden design into how I see the future garden?
• Do I have the resources available to create the garden of my dreams?
• What resources would we need to add to create the garden of my dreams?
• What do you like most about the garden?
• What would you like to change most in the garden?

House

• If we need to replace any major areas of the house; kitchen, bathroom, etc. do we have the available resources?
• Could I afford the mortgage if I had to take a lower-paid job?
• What resources would we need for other areas of the house? 
• Is the house large enough to fulfil all our needs?
• What are our needs with regards to the house?
• I can sit whilst working on my computer and watch the birds in the garden?
• What do you like most about the house?
• What would you like most to change about the house?

Garden

• Visualise different permaculture designs for the garden.
• Visualise how you would like to see the garden in 3 years.

House

• Visualise different permaculture designs for the house.
• Visualise how you would like to see the house in 3 years.

Garden

• How realistic are your designs for the garden?
• How realistic would it be that you could create your 3-year future garden design?
• How much time would you need to invest physically working in your garden to create it?
• Have you got the time to invest in this garden project?
• What would the finical cost be involved in implementing your garden?
• Do you have the money to invest in the garden?

House

• How realistic are your designs for the house?
• How realistic would it be that you could create your 3-year future house design?
• How much time would you need to invest physically working on your house design?
• Have you got the time to invest in this house project?
• What would the finical cost be involved in implementing your house design?
• Do you have the money to invest in the house?
• If we needed could we renovate instead of replacing it?

Garden

• How much time each day would I need to spend marinating the garden?

 House

• How much time will it take to look after a house this size?
• What would the cost be for the utility bills?