Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 60 total)
  • your top tips for viewing a house
  • philconsequence
    Free Member

    apart from trying to keep the wife under control so she doesn’t run around shouting ‘i want this one, this one, it has to be this one, we’ll pay anything… i want this one!’ of course…

    going to check out some properties tomorrow as first time buyers, thank you for any advise, tips, etc 🙂

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Viewings are best conducted naked. Gives you a much better feel for the space.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    Ignore the furniture, decoration and floor coverings.

    Concentrate on structure, layout, kitchen and bathroom.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    take your time. sit down.

    look at the quality of workmanship on things- this will be a clue to how well it’s really been looked after.

    take your time.

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    It’s a cliche, but make sure you prioritise your list of your wants, needs and desires. It’s no good being wow’d by the interior of a period town house on a busy road if what you really wanted was off-road parking and a peaceful garden.

    Make sure you have somewhere to keep your bike(s) safe 🙂

    ski
    Free Member

    get your mrs to start in the house, while you check out the garage for storage and security, agree to meet up in a neutral location (garden) to compare notes, avoid any talk about ‘this will be big enough for more children’

    Then check out distance to a good local pub

    😉

    ski
    Free Member

    Forget what I posted CF comment is far more sensible

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    look at the quality of workmanship on things

    😆 Don’t do that with any relatively recent new builds. It will put you off buying anything. We live in a 60s detached “housing estate” house. It’s quiet and with a decent garden which is what we wanted above all else, but it’s built out of cardboard (probably literally).

    wallop
    Full Member

    Just accept the fact that the house you end up buying will be the wife’s decision.

    honeybadgerx
    Full Member

    Check silicone sealant around Bath and shower, check all windows and doors open/close/lock ok, check double glazing not breached, all to run hot water for a few minutes to check pressure and boiler Ok, all last time boiler was serviced, and as noted above out of everything the floodplain is probably the most important as you can change everything else relatively cheaply/easily.

    jekkyl
    Full Member

    Take loads of pictures, take your camera and just snap away at everything. After you’ve looked at a few houses it all starts to blur in your mind and having pics on your hard drive can help decide which one you like, try to get the owner in one snidey pic helps you to remember even more. Don’t forget to ask first though just to be polite. When we were doing it this woman asked me not to take pics in the bathroom?!!! her manner put us right off. You see some sights looking round houses. Don’t forget to ask about the loft and whats up there. No question is a stupid one.

    Marin
    Free Member

    Go look at it a few times if you think you want it and go and see the immeadiate area on several occasions at different times. As said above look at the kitchen, bathroom and layout, you are not buying the contents and be realistic on the work you can do or would have to pay for. Ask them why they are selling and see if they get a nervous tick before they start telling fibs.

    mattzzzzzz
    Free Member

    Make notes and take pictures, don’t give too much away if really interested ( ask if ok to take pics
    )have a list of must haves and nice to haves
    Take personal phone number of vendor and give them a call (next day once you and partner have compared notes etc)when you have viewed the place to tell them that you liked their house and will be contacting estate agent to put in an offer
    Do a mental picture /price of what work will need doing

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Don’t get too anal about the details!

    IMO the feel of the house is way more important – go back for a second viewing and look in detail then if it feels right.

    toby1
    Full Member

    As Marin says, go back to the error later at night, early in the day, see what the location is like and not just the house, the house you can change, the location you can’t.

    Use the facilities, check water pressure, switches, windows, doors etc etc. Also, look behind bigger pieces of furniture for damp. Lofts are fun places too 🙂

    Then also go to the local pub, shop anything really just to see what the people and area are like.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    You’ll know when you walk into the one in which you’re destined to live and raise mini consequence cubs.

    toys19
    Free Member

    Wot darcy said. But also remember to play it cool.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    1. if its got built in cupboards look in them.

    2. check the aspect, where it sits in relation to sun. if you want sunny evenings in the summer to cook sausages on a bbq, check it.

    3. location, location, location!

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    Walk. See what the area is like, what the neighbours are like, you might be able to fix up a house but the neighbourhood is probably beyond you.

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    Storage.
    It’s no use looking at the house of your dreams if there’s nowhere to put equipment (wink), clothes, kitchen gubbins, laundry stuff and general rubbish that all people collect over the years.

    View the property, then ask if you can take a look around without the owners leaning over your shoulder.

    Oh and take a tape measure.

    crikey
    Free Member

    Location, location, location.

    It’s a massive and over-used clichéd phrase, but remains the most important one when buying a house.

    Crappy house in a nice place can be made nicer, but nice house in crappy place is as good as it’s ever going to be, unless you buy on the cusp of gentrification.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Taking notes and (if possible) photos is a great idea, after you’ve seen three or four houses the details really start to blur…

    In order of importance, to me at any rate:
    1. Location
    2. Neighbourhood
    3. Orientation
    4. Kitchen
    5. Bathrooms
    6. Garage/garden
    7. The rest

    And be prepared to see some seriously weird interior design decisions, which the owner will proudly point out as a particularly desirable feature.

    crikey
    Free Member

    Orientation?

    You mean upside down houses are no good?

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Some strange things to be looked at here.

    Silicone sealant round the bath and shower ???? When looking at a house.

    Location

    Room for expansion or is it occupying all of its space

    Access – too many new builds are built with 1 or 2 car drive ways and no way to get round the back bar a narrow passage.

    Neighbours

    Potential new developements in the area

    Schools you have access to from the house

    Most of the house can be changed quite easily but make sure layour works for you as thats more dificult to change. look out for major cracking/signs of movement /damp

    Play it cool , dont fall in love with it in front of the owners

    crikey
    Free Member

    One more time for emphasis; location.

    Houses are built things and can be built and re-built. Locations cannot be changed.

    With a view to re-selling in the future, location is even more important.

    Oh, and get a cat or two. Or three. In fact, get 4.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    All good advice and all but both houses I’ve bought I’ve decided I was going to buy within minutes of walking through the door.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Orientation?

    You mean upside down houses are no good?

    😀

    2nd entry: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orientation

    (The 6th would be weird.)

    crikey
    Free Member

    You mean like feng shui, but really big?

    crikey
    Free Member

    Another location related tip; not on any kind of native American burial ground.

    mightymule
    Free Member

    My top tip would be to have a father who is an architect and qualified surveyor, although I realise that this may not be entirely helpful….

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    What jambos said…..

    Aided by not looking houses in the wrong locations.

    When we saw our house advert we both wrote it off as too small based on photos and sizes.

    How ever we walked in and went wow – this is what we want 🙂

    sugdenr
    Free Member

    You should always sleep with a place before buying (just like any partnership really), so take a sleeping bag with you.

    To summarise: present yourself naked with a sleeping bag

    DezB
    Free Member

    Don’t get too anal about the details!

    IMO the feel of the house is way more important – go back for a second viewing and look in detail then if it feels right.

    This! When you’ve found the place that feels right, pop back to the street at various times of the day. See what goes on. If nothing … great!

    project
    Free Member

    Neighbourhood, just because there is a settee in the garden and a car parked on the lawn, doesnt make it affluent,

    visit on different days and at weekend and at night, if seriously intrested.

    Enter the address in nethouseprices.com, to see how many times it and its neighbours have been sold and what they went for.

    check car parking, and how many cars allowed if a private estate.

    Use the tiolet, lock the door and see if the floor sinks,usually a sign of a leak as chipboard floorin soaks up water, should also be green in colour.

    Avoid if it has white shag pile carpets and you have to take your shoes of on entry.

    Check attic for trusses or open space.

    look for misted up double glazing or poorly painted wooden windows.

    Are there any animals, worked in two houses and they used the spare bedroom to breed dogs, the bitches urine smell took ages to disapear, even when we laid a new floor and new fitted new doors and skirts .

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    Flush the toilets. Even better if you can have a shit first.

    Hang off the architraves and hum Jerusalem while you do it.

    Masturbate where you’re most likely to have your PC located. Does it feel right?

    Have a good sniff under the present owners’ bed.

    All these things will give you a good feel for the property.

    project
    Free Member

    Flush the toilets. Even better if you can have a shit first.

    Hang off the architraves and hum Jerusalem while you do it.

    Masturbate where you’re most likely to have your PC located. Does it feel right?

    Have a good sniff under the present owners’ bed.

    All these things will give you a good feel for the property.

    and dont get caught. 😳

    piemonster
    Full Member

    Take a camera, try and get as many photos of the vender as you can. Really push it.

    HTH

    Rockape63
    Free Member

    Check out the heating system on the swimming pool.

    mightymule
    Free Member

    Is the vendor selling due to a relationship break up?

    If so, check how recently the patio was laid….

    mudshark
    Free Member

    If I’ve learnt one thing from STW it’s that good neighbours are important – so check ’em out.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 60 total)

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