Viewing a house the questions to ask?

Iamdave

Going to view a house tomorrow, just wondering what the invaluable questions are to ask the vendor?

The house is currently in the process of being built and it just about up to 1st floor level.

Currently all I'm aware of in my naeivity is to ask if all the 'white goods' will be included (dish washer, cooker etc) and whether there is a preservation order on the trees in the garden as they will block out sunlight in the summer and it could be useful to have them cut down.

Help please.......

Thanks

LandyAndy

The warranty?

LydiaJ

When will they finish building it? When will they expect you to exchange contracts? If they want you to sign before they finish building (which they probably will) then what assurance do you have that they will actually finish on time? Do not exchange contracts on a property that may not be finished before your mortgage offer runs out - see many anguished threads on here from people who found they were tied into a contract with no means of getting a mortgage to fulfil it.

Also (and less importantly) how much say do you get about the finish - colours etc? Is there a show house that they have already finished that you can see? In what ways is it different from the one you are considering buying? How big is the development going to be in total? How long would you be living in a building site for if you moved in once yours was complete?

mbga9pgf

Has the boiler got a service record?

what paperwork do you have on the electrical system?

Has the property had any issues with damp?

What council tax band is it in?

What are the neighbours like (in fact, I went round, knocked on their door and found out).

How much was your gas bill over christmas?

DO you have a chain?

What is the lowest offer you will acccept (joking).

A search on https://www.police.uk will indicate if you live around windsor castle or a crack den.

PasturesNew

How much is social housing, which plots?

If the trees are protected they'll already have individual tags on them, so you might like to look for yourself before asking questions.

Are there any rules/regulations, such as not being able to park a commercial vehicle on the road, or not being allowed to have a garden shed.

googler

If it's a one-off project by a small builder, look at the local council's website (planning portal), and consult the planning application for the site.

Does the planning app correspond to what you see?

Were there any objections by the neighbours to the development?

Are there any reserved matters on which the council has yet to pass judgement, and which may hold up the build?

Did the builder have any difficulty gaining permission?

etc.

originalmiscellany

Look at previous houses built by these people on a different site...
Go round late at night evening, say a Fri PM and see how it is. It could be a full on disco!

googler

originalmiscellany wrote: »

Look at previous houses built by these people on a different site...

Or, establish whether or not this is the vendor's first build.

Is the vendor the builder? If not, establish who the vendor has hired for the build (if it's not displayed on-site). Have they had more than one builder?

If it's a plot sub-divided from someone's garden, is the vendor the owner of the house with the rest of the garden? How do you feel about being their neighbour? If there's any dispute over the build, how will this affect your relationship with them later?

What's the construction type of the house? Are they building it brick-and-block style, double-skinned cavity walls, or is it a timber-framed kit build? Are you particular about which type it is?

Do you get to customise the internals, such as bathroom suites, style of bathroom, kitchen appliances, layout in the kitchen, do you want any customised electrics - specialist AV installation, cabling for audio or video feeds in most rooms, will the builder be running satellite cable in the walls, or will you have to do this later, etc? There's no point in them plastering everything up, only for you to rip it out in the first few months to install your wall-mount TV....

If there's a garage, do you want power, light, water supplies in there? Do you get an option of a powered garage door?

I could go on all day, but there's too much to type .....

googler

Do you get any choice of window design? Can you choose/are you bothered if certain windows are left-handed or right-handed opening?

So many questions to ask...