Things to look out for when buying a Flat - I made big mistakes

elsien

If you’re aiming to do a guide for other buyers, it helps to be precise. Otherwise there’s little point if they have to be guessing at your intended meaning. 

Ash_29

elsien said:

If you’re aiming to do a guide for other buyers, it helps to be precise. Otherwise there’s little point if they have to be guessing at your intended meaning. 

Usually it wouldn't require guessing. Similar to "keep no stone unturned", you surely don't think I mean that literally?

Anyway I will change my phrasing to provide more clarity if that helps. 

cymruchris

My parents have both recently passed away after fully renovating the kitchen with all new appliances. They are top brand, and have barely been used. Your rule about not touching kitchen appliances because they are most likely broken doesn't apply to everyone, and in fact probably only applies to a very small percentage of sellers. I appreciate it might be what 'you' experienced - but that's not what everyone else is guaranteed to experience.

You've no doubt learned a lot from your purchase, and in any subsequent property deal you'll likely be a lot more careful, but there's being careful, and being extreme. Buying any house that's been lived in (and in fact even a new build) is likely, (I won't say guaranteed because it's not 100%! See what I did there?) to have some kind of fault or defect that needs rectifying that will come out of your own pockets. 

It can be good to put together a helpful checklist of things to think about - but not back them up with blanket statements that don't really apply to the whole market. 

Lunchbox

Was it the window frame or window glass that was broken?

x_gemms_x

Quote from OP:
"What I will ask is for their opinion, if they have children or pets. Obviously this is not a fool proof way of understanding your neighbour, but if you find that your neighbours have young kids, chances are they will create a lot of disturbance." 

Surely now that is a unicorn..... having neighbours without any kids or pets.

Is this tarring all parents and pet owners that you will be a noisy bad neighbour?

Murphybear

Irishpearce26 said:

Story

Hi I've come to view your house *starts ripping up the carpet*

!!!!!! are you doing, get out of my house and here is a bill for the damaged carpet.

We bought a lovely bungalow a while ago.  We didn’t look under the lounge carpet as we thought that was taking things a bit far.  When we moved in we took up the lounge carpet and couldn’t believe our eyes.  The original parquet flooring was there in virtually perfect condition.  We paid a small sum to get it sanded and polished.  

Carpets don’t just hide negative things. 

Irishpearce26

Ash_29 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

Story

Hi I've come to view your house *starts ripping up the carpet*

!!!!!! are you doing, get out of my house and here is a bill for the damaged carpet.

Damn you take everything literally don't you. 

When someone is offering a guide and clearly stating that you should be lifting up carpets (with no reference to not doing this literally) then yes I will post based on what they say. I would 100% be confident that the OP actually thinks it would be ok to lift up carpets when viewing a house because of their experience. 

doingitanyway

You are getting a lot a flack and I understand why. Perhaps you could have worded a few things differently?

However, I am sure there are many who will be grateful to you for your detailed and helpful post.
You sound fatigued and hurt from the house buying process, but you will recover.

I wish you every happiness in your future home. 

fiveacre

Ash_29 said:

Unfortunately, it seems like honesty is thrown out of the window when money is involved. 

At least we found out how the window got broken.

Salemicus

The problem is that the converse of every negative isn't necessarily a positive - it's a different kind of negative. Young children and pets can certainly be noisy, but they can also be well-behaved. Meanwhile an area where no-one has children or pets is probably full of students. You have to take a middle road.