first house viewing

Zola.

Hi all

We are going for our first house viewing on monday evening. From the pics we really like it.

We are first time buyers, the house is 15k above what we planned, but still affordable.

Any tips on what to do, what not to do etc?

Old_Git

check right move to see what houses are selling for ,not just the asking price .

Loopy28

Underplay how much you like it, if you do.

Even if you want to make an offer, tell them you have some more to view and will get back to them if you want to make an offer. Maybe tell them to let you know if they get any other offers in the meantime in case you do decide to make an offer.

We loved a property, offered just after viewing it at asking price and then the vendor said he wanted 5k above asking price for us to secure it. We walked away.

The second time we didn't make the same mistake when we saw a house we liked, we said we had others to look at and booked a second viewing. We showed an interest but didn't appear really keen and went back a few days after the second viewing with an offer and got it below asking price.

I_have_spoken

Usual stuff -

+ As you go from room to room, exchange OMG! looks with your partner
+ Casually say to the vendor 'The local crime stats are certainly eye-opening!'
+ As you go into the bathroom, sniff and say 'Can anyone else smell damp'
+ In the bedroom appear to have considerable trouble edging around the bed to get the window
+ Loudly whisper to your partner, 'Are you sure we want to takeon a "project" house'?
+ Casually say to the vendor "I don't blame you for wanting to move, this area has gone downhill fast!"
+ Laugh and say, 'I can hear more dogs barking down this street than at Crufts!'
+ Rattle a door in its frame and ask 'subsidence?'
+ Look all around and say, 'I can see DIY is quite a hobby of yours!'
+ Inspect the boiler and laugh, 'That's a museum piece, and no mistake!'
+ In the kitchen sniff and gag, 'We'd love pets too, but it's just not practical...'
+ As you leave, say 'We'll be in touch about a 2nd viewing, unless that roof comes off in the next good blow!'

plumfin

No no no, they are all wrong! Do as I did, go in with your heart on your sleeve, tell the vendor how much you love it, go dotty over the blinds (I know!), get the vendor to lie on the floor to show you a bed will fit, let them know you are totally in love with the house. THEN try to negotiate on price. Not!

To be fair, we got the house for the right price in the end, but I struggled to be objective, so a good stern talking to will help before hand. Perhaps, look for your dream house on Rightmove, no matter what the price, so you go in armed with your ideal desires and perhaps it will highlight the negatives.

Either way, good luck, hope it goes ok.

steve2005

Take photos, of everything.
I usually take as many photos as I can of each room, then take a 'blank photo' so that I know the next lot are from another room.

Slayerx

I've only viewed a few properties but it depends if it's the owner showing you around or an agent.

If it's the owner let them guide you round and ask them about each room and build rapport.

If it's the agent they generally leave you to wonder and will answer questions you might have.

Timeflies

Think about what you want to be able to do and put in each room as you go round - visualise where your current stuff (or stuff you want to have) will go. Make a list before you go of things you want to check - your own check list will be different to anyone else's, but you might want to check space for things like:

• where will we put our cars/clothes/books/pets/music equipment/kids' toys/surfing gear/ironing board - is there enough space?
• is there space for a dishwasher/washing machine/fridge freezer? (Open the kitchen cupboards - are half of them actually full of the boiler/fusebox/plumbing and you have no room for food storage?)
• Try and equate the space to what you're used to - e.g. the equivalent in your current home - if you're used to having a huge understairs cupboard/garage/spare room, and this place doesn't have one, where will you put the stuff you currently put there? If you have room dimensions, compare them to your existing rooms - e.g. is the kitchen 40% smaller, but the main bedroom is 25% bigger?

Do the rooms have a good vibe? Can you "see yourself" cooking in that kitchen, waking up in that bedroom, chilling out in that lounge - does it seem homey to you?

Tot up the jobs you can see need doing as you walk round - the windows that need fixing, boiler that looks ancient, the skirting board that's missing, which rooms you need to re-floor, whether units need replacing etc. Then once you've viewed you can think about whether this is the level of work you want to take on, from both a time and money perspective.

Try not to be too swayed by how nice or horrible the furnishings are - they'll all be gone by moving day. if the room is especially cluttered or diverting, try looking at the ceiling to give you an idea of the shape and size of the empty room. Look at the ceilings anyway, is the floor plan misleading, because not all the room is full height?

Ask what position the vendors are in: has the house been on the market long, have there been any offers, have they found somewhere to move to - if so what is the chain like? This should give you a good idea of if they are going to be difficult, if they're serious about moving etc. The EA may give away some useful information like they need an offer on this place to offer on their dream house they've found. They may tell you they've had 5 people round today and 4 of them are back tomorrow for a 2nd viewing. Take this with a pinch of salt, as they'll try to make the place seem in demand, but if it's right for you and you want it, you want to know how the land lies.

Good luck!

Owain_Moneysaver

Ask what extras the seller is prepared to leave. The seller might actually not be wanting all his furniture. I got a washing machine, lounge suite, and big telly. Fridge and beds were the only big things I had to buy.

Snakey

Turn on a tap to check that the water pressure is OK, as that's something that's really difficult to sort. I really hate having low water pressure.

Check how many plug sockets are in each room - enough for your needs?

Probably not an issue with a house (compared with a flat), but try to view at least once during the day to check that the rooms you'll be spending your weekends in will have enough natural light - a gloomy living room can be a downer.

Take a good look out of all the windows, even if it's dark and the curtains are drawn. My first house, many years ago, was effectively constantly overlooked because the opposite neighbours had a bench outside their front door which one or more of them, and their many and various visitors, seemed to be sitting on all day and night every day while the weather was nice enough. Although they obviously weren't deliberately doing it in order to stare at my house and watch me coming and going, it certainly felt like I was under constant surveillance and although it's a small thing we'd probably have bought a different house if we'd realised.

Also, don't go too overboard with the "this house is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, it stinks, it's ugly" theme. Yes it's a business transaction and you want to get a good price, but it is also highly emotional for most people. Your sellers are human beings, this is their home and their decor and their smell, you are unlikely to be the only potential buyer, and although I have very little experience of selling houses I don't think I'd feel inclined to react by thinking "oh dear, I'd better let them have it for less than market value" like some little old lady about to be conned into selling her antiques for a fiver. If you were rude about my delightful avocado bathroom I'd probably think "what a horrible couple" and keep my fingers crossed that someone else made an offer so I didn't have to sell to you at any price.

I don't really have an avocado bathroom, but I did once view a house with a purple one. And purple tiles.

The_Druid

Make a checklist of all the things you want to see/ask about (there are some excellent suggestions in previous posts, such as number of electricity sockets, water pressure in the shower) and scribble brief notes on the checklist as you go round the house.

Look over the outside of the house from the other side of the road and the bottom of the garden - are there slipped tiles on the roof, crumbling bricks, broken drainpipes, sagging guttering, cracks, discoloured rendering, moss growing up an external wall?

Open and shut all the internal and external doors, and all the windows (or ask the owner to do so, and watch while they do). Stuck windows may just indicate that they've been painted and not allowed to dry before closing, but any of the above could in themselves suggest more serious problems - and all of them show that the present owners have not bothered to look after important issues.