Essential features for a Garrison starter home?

The Garrison/Cold Spring area offers loads of variation with regards to living. Cold Spring Village is the only section offering municipal services of water and sewer. The surrounding areas all have well and septic, so that is most common and very easy to live with. The outside areas still offer easy access most with 10-15 minute rides to trains, school and shopping. We have many locations with dirt roads that are town maintained and very charming as the traffic runs slower and those locations are somewhat more country in feel and quieter. As with anything there is always a plus or minus to everything. Country settings and dirt roads are quiet and peaceful, but come with mud in wet weather. Homes that are historic have a tenancy to be closer to main roads, village life offers the ease of walking to everything but less privacy and smaller historic homes. Living by the river means also living by the train line, which is convenient but comes with some noise.
All are personal preferences. Most buyers need to "try on" a few settings to see what feels best for them.
The most common heat source is oil, and either hot water baseboard or forced air. The newer radiant floor heating systems are wonderful and very cost efficient, but rare and mostly found in newer construction. Those systems are fueled by propane