Tips for viewing houses to buy

MaryNB

Not on a main road (rented a place by a busy road once, never again). Not in a student area. Downstairs bathroom only isnt a deal breaker but if I had to go through the kitchen to get to it that would be less than ideal. The house I'm buying has one but it's at the bottom of the stairs so didn't bother me (the larger second room was a bigger priority). I do know it put a few people off. Low water pressure would be an issue for me. 

I checked transport links, nearby supermarkets (some places I saw online were a half hour walk from a decent supermarket and I don't have a car), checked the crime stats (police.uk), and flood zones (flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk). I walked around the area the day of the viewing (Saturday morning) and during evening rush hour mid week. 

A house with a south facing garden would obviously be ideal but then it would probably be out of my budget (for the area I'm buying in). The house I'm buying has a NE facing garden that goes back far enough so it just about gets the sun at the back. 

When viewing a house I'm in the process of buying I asked
- age and condition of boiler
- what the neighbours are like (also had a peek at their back garden over the wall - it was immaculate!)
- any known structural issues, any recent work carried out 
- what other offers have they had (and how much). 
- there was a lane by the side of the house so I asked about boundary/party walls, access etc. 

I checked the water pressure and took a laser distance measurer with me to check some missing or misleading dimensions.

Can't remember what else I asked but the EA was useless. Most of the info was on a page left by the owners.  

cooltt

GingerLs said:

Would love to know your key questions, things to look out for, or any tips in general when viewing a house to buy? 

What do you look for in a house? Is there anything you find off putting and won't compromise on?

Pay attention to how clean the house is some people just live in filth, says everything you need to know about the maintenance of the property.

Any social housing near by? 96.4% of the time will be unpleasant neighbours, don't listen to any do-gooders on here. 

Plug sockets in the right place in rooms

Water pressure

Location of phone socket, Ariel cable lights and light switches. 

Animals? fur / hair wedged into every nook and cranny?

Has the boiler, heating hot water system been maintained?

Any obvious bodged DIY repairs

Are there suspended floors downstairs

Evidence of leaks or damp!

How straight are the walls 

Noise insulation from next door

State of windows, filthy and old or clean and well maintained, do they open correctly?

Make a massive list and go through it ticking things off. 

GBNI

I wouldn't compromise on parking, it must be a private driveway. A back garden that gets the sun most (if not all day) as well. A big thing to look out for is who others park in the area as well. Whilst all houses on my street have their own drives, some aren't big enough for the amount of cars they own and they park very inconsiderately around other houses!

Davesnave

cooltt said:

GingerLs said:

Would love to know your key questions, things to look out for, or any tips in general when viewing a house to buy? 

What do you look for in a house? Is there anything you find off putting and won't compromise on?

Make a massive list and go through it ticking things off. 

Then, when it's only half filled-in,  go back to your rented flat and complain on the internet that there's nothing out there at 'reasonable prices.'  

ChewyyBacca

Choice of house is a very personal business. What I may like in a house, might not be for you. All the points said above are though very basic and extremely important to look for in a new purchase.

- For me, just a downstairs bathroom and no bathroom/toilet on first floor is a deal breaker. A downstairs cloakroom is a plus though.
- Also I m not keen on houses that have a garden that backs on a train line or an open park easily accessible by people, for security reasons.

- My personal taste: I feel extremely claustrophobic in those 1st-floor rooms with slanted walls at 45 degrees, for me its makes no sense to reduce the livable area by half - you cant walk there, you can't put full length wardrobes (I can't put a bed there, seeing wall/ ceiling closing on me will make me go bonkers)

- A house right next to a school would mean lots of cars in and out and also idling waiting for the kids. That means higher ppm of pollutants.
- My partner dislikes the house layout, where rooms are stacked one after the other like a train compartment. We have way too many of these houses in London, and sadly they are the ones we can afford

MalMonroe

cooltt said:

GingerLs said:

Would love to know your key questions, things to look out for, or any tips in general when viewing a house to buy? 

What do you look for in a house? Is there anything you find off putting and won't compromise on?

Pay attention to how clean the house is some people just live in filth, says everything you need to know about the maintenance of the property.

Any social housing near by? 96.4% of the time will be unpleasant neighbours, don't listen to any do-gooders on here. 

Plug sockets in the right place in rooms

Water pressure

Location of phone socket, Ariel cable lights and light switches. 

Animals? fur / hair wedged into every nook and cranny?

Has the boiler, heating hot water system been maintained?

Any obvious bodged DIY repairs

Are there suspended floors downstairs

Evidence of leaks or damp!

How straight are the walls 

Noise insulation from next door

State of windows, filthy and old or clean and well maintained, do they open correctly?

Make a massive list and go through it ticking things off. 

What a weird list.

If the house is 'filthy' then it's the fault of the people who live there, nothing else. Filth can be cleaned!

As someone who lives in social housing I really resent your comment about unpleasant neighbours. My one-in-a-block-of-only-two flat is in a cosy cul-de-sac of only 14 properties where I know all my neighbours who are very kind, considerate and most important of all (according to you), clean.

Water pressure?

And my particular favourite : Animals? fur / hair wedged into every nook and cranny?
What the hey?

You do have some very strange priorities, most of them to do with filth.

MalMonroe

For me, neighbours are top priority. I've lived in places where neighbours are noisy, thoughtless and downright inconsiderate. I don't want it. And where I now live (in social housing) is the most peaceful place I've ever been. We have woodland out of the back door and lovely neighbours at the front. 

I've made all kinds of mistakes in the past, and have loved houses and moved in only to discover that the neighbours were absolute hell. Not social housing neighbours either.

But these days, sellers have to report anything which could be described as detrimental. Many people fail to do so but they can be challenged, even after you move in, so there's a bit of a safeguard there.

Although I'm in social housing right now and I love where I live, I'm saving up a deposit so I can move to my own property. I'd like to get a new build because well, it's new! Any snags, report to the builder. 'course, they can't do anything about rubbish neighbours but at least most properties have soundproofing these days. And I plan to be as detached as possible.

lincroft1710

MalMonroe said:

Although I'm in social housing right now and I love where I live, I'm saving up a deposit so I can move to my own property. I'd like to get a new build because well, it's new! Any snags, report to the builder. 'course, they can't do anything about rubbish neighbours but at least most properties have soundproofing these days. And I plan to be as detached as possible.

As in an unrelated post you said you were 70 years old and self employed, won't getting a mortgage be a problem?

Paully28

Follow my advice,
spend 10 minutes looking round a house,
buy said house,
spend (so far) 8 happy years in said house. 

CatieE

Buying a property was new to us too and there was much to learn along the way . To start with I had a really long wish list, but eventually realised that compromise must become a keyword or a property would never be purchased .