Viewing a house for the first time

[Fnaar]

I was once visiting a house that was already vacated... estate agent was busy, and gave me the key. I needed a dump...there was bog paper there... no harm done

 

[User6179]

I was once visiting a house that was already vacated... estate agent was busy, and gave me the key. I needed a dump...there was bog paper there... no harm done

Don't they usually turn the water off in a vacated house

 

[Fnaar]

Don't they usually turn the water off in a vacated house

Thankfully, not in this one

 

[Pale Rider]

One way to spot a repossession is plastic tape 'sealing' the toilet.

 

[Fnaar]

The trip got odder still, as I met the neighbour, who was at pains to really try to put me off buying it (told me it was noisy, had a dodgy roof, etc) I mentioned this to the estate agent who said she was making it up, as she wanted to buy the house herself at a knock-down price in order to knock through toi her own property.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

so in no particular order I have the following, so far

general area/neighbourhood
access regarding bikes/trikes
walks in and around the area
Water meter?
Age of boiler
Where is boiler
Gas central heating
Age of carpets/state of carpets
Neighbours issues?
Shed
Garage
Access to rear garden for trike?
Roof state of
Roof how old
Roof insulated?
Roof boarded over for storage?
Why are they selling?
Garden size
Kitchen size
bedroom size
open fire
woodburning stove
water pressure (shower issues)
shower
telephone line
broadband speed
mobile phone signal (not that my last place had any, so no big deal)

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Council Tax? Energy Bills?

Just in case I missed those when I skimmed through

 

[bikingdad90]

Don't be positive. Be critical and say this is wrong, this is broken, I would need to do this because of this. Anything to make the owner feel like they need to negotiate down on the price!
Don't be afraid to wait to put an offer in, build the suspense.

On the construction side look at the base of the house, does it look damp? When was the last time the boiler serviced? Is the corner of the building straight or bent as it could indicate problems with the subsidence? Try, open and shut windows, don't be afraid to look in wardrobes and cupboards, pull and push, turn taps on and off, flush toilets etc (hiding places for crap and cover up repairs).

Any damage to guttering, any cracks in the bricks etc?

 

[User6179]

Check the floors , especially bathroom and kitchen for signs of rot , check the walls for damp , a newly decorated wall might be hiding signs of damp.

 

[Pale Rider]

You may also have a problem asking too many questions, if the seller is answering them.

Sellers take offence very easily, so the more you ask, the more chance there is of unintentionally causing offence.

Does this matter?

In the strange world of house buying it does.

Ultimately, unless yours is the only offer, you will want the seller to prefer your offer to others.

They are less likely to do that if they took the hump with you at the viewing.

This can also work in reverse.

I bought my current place from a charming - and very bonny - young lass.

As a shallow male, I had to remind myself she would not be included in the sale.

You are buying a shell, not the lifestyle of the current occupiers.

Things are simpler if the house is vacant and you are dealing with the estate agent.

Even then, you are relying on the agent recommending your offer to his client.

 

[Milkfloat]

Your list is very detailed for a first viewing, most of that I would reserve for second viewings and some I would not care about at all. If you get too caught up in the details you may forget about the important stuff life, layout, ambiance and crucially location.

 

[Chris S]

If the house was built between 1950 and 1980 it will probably contain asbestos. It's only a problem if it's damaged or you want to do some DIY that will disturb it. Even so, sales have fallen through because of it (like my flat).

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

If the house was built between 1950 and 1980 it will probably contain asbestos. It's only a problem if it's damaged or you want to do some DIY that will disturb it. Even so, sales have fallen through because of it (like my flat).

luckily most of what we are interested in is built between 1850 and 1880.... but I will bear that in mind should be consider a younger property. It is well worth knowing.

Your list is very detailed for a first viewing, most of that I would reserve for second viewings and some I would not care about at all. If you get too caught up in the details you may forget about the important stuff life, layout, ambiance and crucially location.

For us it is already a 2nd viewing because we have been to see the houses from the outside already (as well as knowing them because we cycle past them with a reasonable degree of frequency).

The list is more a prompt and ideas, things to consider, things to ignore, but location has already been taken into account - we don't even view properties in places we don't like. And important stuff to us, like garden, shed/garage or space for shed, access to garden, kitchen (size) have already been taken into account before we have reached this stage. But I understand what you mean.

 

[Fnaar]

Miss Goodbody usually suggests a "liaison" with the current owners, so that she can check for loose floorboards.

 

[Scoosh]

Try to establish some sort of 'connection' with the seller if they are showing you round. Then, if it comes to them needing to decide whose offer they will accept - guess who comes across as 'that nice lady with all the bikes' ...


Edit:
Cross-posted with @Fnaar - well, sort of ...