2nd Viewings

rich68

I have never bought a house yet, but when looking at rental properties I always do at least 2 viewings unless the property is especially bad.

The reason is that there are always things I miss on the first viewing. Simple as that really. If I've visited a lot of properties around the same time then I become more observant. But usually even after moving in there will be something I hadn't noticed so it's a case of minimising the !!!!-ups.

So even if the property looks perfect on the first viewing I will go again, if only for a formality because that's what I do (just in case). However, I have both accepted and turned down properties at the 2nd viewing.

If you are buying a house then that's a hell of a lot of money and very inconvenient to move again if you get it wrong.

SquatNow

2nd viewing became uncommon during the panic-buying of the last couple of years... people would have a quick look then make an offer hoping to beat the others. In some cases people made offers without even seeing the house.

Those days are over, it's a buyers market.

Expect smart people to come and view several times before making an offer and then they'll start bargaining the price down.

Expect stupid people to turn up and make an offer after the first viewing, then find they can't either sell their house or get a mortgage.

Argyll_2

I made that mistake a few years back when I was buying a flat. I bought it at the first viewing. When I moved in I realised I should have spent more time looking about.

Such as:

• Three double glazing windows with the seals blown.
• mouldy carpets in the corners.
• A complete central heating system which had to be replaced! I claimed that back through my homebuyers survey though, phew!
• Needed a complete rewire (didn't do it though)

I have a few properties now and I always view them about 3-4 times at different parts of the day. I also sit outside in my car for a couple of hours at night to look out for anti-social behaviour.

I also take a damp meter out with me.

I hope you didn't hide any faults though because that would have been morally wrong!!!:D:D

seven-day-weekend

tincat wrote: »

Hi - we're also renting a 'semi' which is on the end of 6 terraced houses. Is this not really a semi?

Just interested as it was advertised as a semi.

Thanks

I don't know what i'ts 'officially' classed as, but for planning permission purposes it's a terrace (different allowances than for a semi or detached).

debbymcc

hi iv only rented but wanted 2nd viewing to measure windows, appliance gaps etc. Spose cos Iv had to move 4 times in 4 years with 3 children iv needed to fit what furniture I had in space available.

Aiko_2

I once changed my mind on the third viewing. The first two times I loved it!

Badger_Lady

When I sold my flat, I had 4 second-viewings, 2 of which made offers.

When I was buying my house, I second-viewed 5 properties, but didn't offer on any of them.

I actually offered on two houses, both on the day I first saw them (so no second viewing at all). I'd heavily researched them beforehand and had seen some 50-odd comparables by this time.

It's all good news though, good luck with your viewing!

Strapped

Curv wrote: »

Just wondering what your views are of second viewings? Do they generally (always?) lead to offers?


What do you think of second viewings? Have you ever decided against a property based on what you saw the second time around?

Well, congrats on the offer. To answer your original question, we made a second viewing of a bungalow which was in an area that we really liked and had a huge garden, but the current owners had made some strange (to us) decisions on the layout (like having to walk through the 3rd bedroom to get to the utility room yet there was a window from the kitchen which could have been a door, etc). On the second viewing we came armed with measuring tape, digital camera and note taking equipment. I felt really bad because in the end we decided that we couldn't make it work for us, at the price that the sellers wanted. We might have still made an offer if the EA had hinted that they would drop but we found the place that we DID move to shortly afterwards, so they lost out. (And they sold about 6 months later, at the price that we might have offered lol). So I'd say that if there is work to be done on a place, that it's more likely that the 2nd viewing isn't "a formality". We've had the same thing happen to us, when FTB were really keen on a (run down) house we were selling, and came back with one of their dads, who was a builder, and ran away screaming once they realised the full costs of doing it up.