Questions to ask previous occupants before you move!

MSE_Jenny

Hi folks

We’re writing a new house buying guide and including a list of questions to ask the previous occupier before you move into your new pad.

This is what we’ve come up with so far … If there are any other questions you wished you’d asked your home’s previous occupants, let me know and I’ll add them to the list. Thanks! :-)


Where’s the main stopcock (to shut off the water)?
Where are the gas and electricity meters?
Who supplies broadband and home phone?
Do any surfaces need special cleaning products, for example, wooden floors?
Do you have any old tins of paint in the same colour as the walls?
What will happen with the home phone and the number? Is it being switched off?
If any appliances are left, please could we get copies of any manuals and still-in-date warranties?
Which is our wheelie bin and when are collection days?
Where did the kitchen and bathroom tiles and wallpaper come from?
Where did any fixed furniture come from?

Milliewilly

MSE_Jenny wrote: »

Hi folks

We’re writing a new house buying guide and including a list of questions to ask the previous occupier before you move into your new pad.

This is what we’ve come up with so far … If there are any other questions you wished you’d asked your home’s previous occupants, let me know and I’ll add them to the list. Thanks! :-)


Where’s the main stopcock (to shut off the water)?
Where are the gas and electricity meters?
Who supplies broadband and home phone?
Do any surfaces need special cleaning products, for example, wooden floors?
Do you have any old tins of paint in the same colour as the walls?
What will happen with the home phone and the number? Is it being switched off?
If any appliances are left, please could we get copies of any manuals and still-in-date warranties?
Which is our wheelie bin and when are collection days?
Where did the kitchen and bathroom tiles and wallpaper come from?
Where did any fixed furniture come from?

The first 3 are on the sellers property information form anyway.

Anew

Where is the thermostat - took us 3 weeks to find ours behind a door that was always open.Luckily it was summer so we hadn't hunted for it yet.

lovethymini

Ask if they've buried any of their pets in the garden!

Sammy85_2

A forwarding address for any post

slbhill

Why on earth would you care where the wallpaper came from? You can never match it anyway because the batch numbers will have moved on. Or am I missing something?

Other questions:
Who are the gas & electricity suppliers and what are their phone numbers? (To call with entry readings).

Roughly how much do you pay per month/year for gas / electricity.

Who owns &/or maintains the boundary fences?

Any issues with the neighbours, or any particular useful for anything? (We have an electrician a few doors up, always useful to know! Even things like the local babysitter, person with long ladders or whatever)

Are you leaving the garden shed / furniture / carpets / curtains (yes this should all be in the contract but isn't always).

What sort of door & window locks are there? (Assuming you will want to arrange home insurance before you move in, this is one of the questions they ask - specifically are they 5 lever mortice deadlocks).

evening_all

Can we have all the spare keys for doors, windows etc....Some people forget!

timmyt

be careful withthe quantity as you might scare off a seller with your own list of questions as they have already gone to the trouble of answering the set in the contract papers.

and no seller likes a high maintenance buyer.

eileenfromplaistow

How do you re-program the Central Heating!
(My OH changed ours to digital, and even with the instructions I'm stuck, especially when the weather/clocks change)

Sammy85_2

Who the window cleaner is and how much it costs, if he's going to continue or you need to call him first.

evening_all

What's the code for the house alarm?