Arranging first viewing & buying a house 'on bog land'

barbiedoll

Evening viewings aren't such a problem at this time of year, when it's still daylight at 8pm but I would always advise that you see the house in natural light if possible. When my parents viewed their first house, they saw it at night. Only when they moved in did they realise that the front room had no ceiling light fitting and that the romantic wall lights were a home-made job with bare wires sticking out of the wall!

Electric lights can hide a multitude of problems, and vendors will use soft lamps, candles etc so that you don't see the lumpy walls or damp patches in the corners!

Also, you need to be really vigilant about things like doors that don't fit properly, windows that won't open/shut, this stuff can be easily fixed if it's just a matter of poor fitting, but it could be a sign of more serious matters, eg subsidence.

You really do need more than one viewing!

WasntMe_2

Well we're all booked in for a viewing. The EA is going to meet us outside the property.

The house is listed twice under 2 different EAs. We contacted the cheaper one (obviously). So guess what - yes, the other one has had their price reduced to be cheaper than the one we've contacted. Great stuff.

To be honest, we'd like to go for it. If something red flags us then we'll happily walk away, but if there's no red flags then we'd like to go for it. Unfortunate in a way because i hope our IFA doesn't try & delay us since it's the first one we've actively pursued ... but for good reason. We've actually been browsing for 8-10 months or so.

The wife was talking to a co-worker today who said she viewed one property 3 times .... 3 days in a row. So i guess there is no 'too soon'.

Ivana_Tinkle

Those kind of boggy land/subsidence rumours about newish estates are nearly always urban myths. There's a page about them on Snopes somewhere but I can't find it right now.

WasntMe_2

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Those kind of boggy land/subsidence rumours about newish estates are nearly always urban myths. There's a page about them on Snopes somewhere but I can't find it right now.

Indeed. I contacted our IFA to enquire whether he had experience of the area through his clients & had any comment to make regarding the rumours. Luckily he had - and that his clients had had no issue. He added what i knew anyway - the survey should pick this up if the problem existed at all.

WasntMe_2

Oh i knew there was something i forgot to ask....

Is it even worth asking some questions? You know the ones i mean -

* Why are you looking to sell?
* How many viewings have you had? / Have you had any real or strong interest in this so far?
* Why have you reduced the price?
* I've heard rumours that this area suffers from subsidence - is this just rumours or has any area here suffered from that?

Is it even worth asking these questions? Because i'd dare bet i could answer them...

1) looking to downsize/upgrade
2) Had a few viewings so far. One or two seemed quite keen.
3) Want to move into such & such a property & don't want to miss out, or whatever other 'reason'
4) Don't listen to rumours.

WasntMe_2

I suppose similiary our answers to any questions would be predictable too...

* What's your budget
- about £10k less than you're asking. We'd have to stretch but we're keeping an open mind
* Are you looking elsewhere?
- Yes we've got a few viewings lined up for next week. We'd ideally like [different area], but we're keeping an open mind.

Etc.


Still, while i'm thinking cat & mouse, should the questions still get asked or best to leave? Similarly with answering the above, especially if asked budget etc?

WasntMe_2

With our viewing tomorrow i suppose i should also ask -

how long are you expected to take on the first viewing? Say, 3 bedroom, living room, kitchen/diner, bathroom & garage.

If you're in & out in 5 mins i suspect everyone would think you a timewaster. 5 hours & it's taking the piddle.

If you're not testing windows, water pressure, measuring things etc then would 30mins be fair for that many rooms? Since you're only really checking the layout (inc size) then & any red flag signs.

ElkyElky

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Would you marry your girlfriend without a second date?

More seriously, what you miss on one visit, you see on the second. Pros and cons. You'll be more relaxed on the second visit, and know what you want to check. You'll have formed sensible questions to ponder. Ideally, visit at a different time of day... sunny midday, gloomy evening.. those midges and mosquitos only come out at dusk, the dodgy roof is only clearly visible at mid day.

I think a second visit (and a third, at that) an essential myself. As a seller, I'd be more worried by a buyer who didn't want a second viewing, as I'd wonder if they'd pull out on a whim at a difficult stage.

I only viewed my house once. Arrived at 1pm, looked around with a fine tooth comb and fell in love with it immediately. Told the vendor I will make an offer for the full asking price. The moment I left, I called my solicitor to put in an offer and it was accepted the same day. Didn't even bother arranging my own survey, a gamble perhaps but it paid off - the vendor had a home buyers report with a survey attached so that was good enough for me.

The vendor told me that someone else was due to view it the same day, their 7th viewing. I don't get why people want to constantly go back for more viewings, you either like the house or you don't.

Old_Git

WasntMe wrote: »

Oh i knew there was something i forgot to ask....

Is it even worth asking some questions? You know the ones i mean -

* Why are you looking to sell?
* How many viewings have you had? / Have you had any real or strong interest in this so far?
* Why have you reduced the price?
* I've heard rumours that this area suffers from subsidence - is this just rumours or has any area here suffered from that?

Is it even worth asking these questions? Because i'd dare bet i could answer them...

1) looking to downsize/upgrade
2) Had a few viewings so far. One or two seemed quite keen.
3) Want to move into such & such a property & don't want to miss out, or whatever other 'reason'
4) Don't listen to rumours.

If they have reduced and price and are using multi agents you can be reasonably sure there has been little or no interest.
My only question would be what are your plans for moving .