Viewing a house for the first time

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

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, wheelchair, crutches' ...


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

FTFY

 

[Globalti]

luckily most of what we are interested in is built between 1850 and 1880

So you need to be concerned about rising damp, condensation and insulation. Victorian houses were built when coal was cheap and plentiful and many families had a maid who ran up and down with buckets of it to feed the fires, which warmed the structure and sucked massive volumes of air up the flues, ventilating the house. Nowadays it's the vogue to block chimneys, meaning air turnover is poor and condensation happens when moist air hits cold walls. Use your nose; if the place smells damp it will be damp especially in the roof and the cellar where there are plenty of timbers. Consider the cost of dry-lining the house and adding insulation to the roof, which means pulling down the ceilings if you have attic rooms.

I would certainly go along at 9 pm and hang around outside to check for gangs of annoying teenagers as we have a problem with them at the moment.

 

[Scoosh]

I would certainly go along at 9 pm and hang around outside to check for gangs of annoying teenagers flies or other bugs as .............

... might be more relevant to you ruralites !

 

[Col5632]

Also ask what is included in the sale, we ended up with two tv's the owners couldnt be bothered taking of the walls

 

[MichaelW2]

Victorian foundations can be minimal. Check for subsidence, made ground (rubble piled up to level a site), cracks in brickwork, brick repairs, underpinning. If a house has stood for 120 years, chances are it has passed the test even with some movement.
Check the flood risk and don't rely on "I've been living here 20 years and it's never flooded". Flood events are classed by time frequency as one in 20 year events, one in 100 year events etc.

 

[sight-pin]

Also look for dropped or wonky top door frames.....floor dropping away from skirting boards.......cracks outside and inside being newish........dropped window frames,.....take notice of outside drains dropping down and looking wet around that area etc, (basic check for foundation problems)

Edit, Although a survey should throw up any problems like that.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

thanks everyone, all very useful.

We now have 3 houses lined up for tomorrow morning. 2 are next door to each other (made life easier) and one about 5 mins away. All rural/semi rural... all with good points and bad point. Then the afternoon will be spent driving around a new area to look at possibles up there and decide if we like the area at all. Plus there are a few rental options in the same (new) area which we are considering as an option if we decide we like the area because amongst other things house prices are more sensible there...

I can see why we have rented for so many years now!

 

[Ganymede]

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 ...

This really worked for me and my sister-in-law recently, viewing a house for her. It was a very elderly couple and the wife had dementia. Both sis and I have experience talking with people with dementia and we had a genuinely lovely chat with both owners. We were ready to buy quickly and they treated us very well and agreed to a slightly lower price. We treated them very well in return in terms of quickly sorting the signing and exchange.

ALSO - I live in a house which is lovely in summer and a bit horrid in winter. It has tall trees behind which the sun disappears in mid-September, keeping the house and much of the garden in gloom and making the paths slippery. I love the house and we just go with the flow - and the cosy evenings can make up for it! (wood burners) - but it's something to be aware of. "Aspect" is probably the right name. I had a flat once in Australia that got the morning sun... straight into the bedroom... ....

Good luck SNSSO. It's exciting!

 

[GM]

Most important, is it near a Waitrose!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Never buy a house that backs onto a park or public land, easy rear access and a possible hangout for yobs. Never buy a corner house, nice blank walls make for perfect street football goals.

 

[SWSteve]

Open, and close, all doors and windows. You wouldn't know there's a problem with them unless you check

 

[hopless500]

That has been our first step with each house so far, though admittedly only the once for each place. We have been to all of them beforehand and dismissed most as a result - cycled passed 2 of them last weekend and established that the ice-cream farm at Tattenhall is exceptionally busy and the houses just down the road from it are as a result not for us which was a real shame, but there we go.


the ones in the area we don't know are the ones that are going to be problematic... we will have to visit them several times I suspect. And I have the landranger maps ready to sacrifice to hand... they will be going on to the wall shortly with areas crossed off and houses marked and dismissed (so I can keep track of things). It is rather like selling everything I own and going off to cycle....

We staked out our current place many many times at different times of the day. Basically listening out for dogs as we had a nightmare situation at our last place. It was fine. For a few years until someone moved in with 3 yappy dogs which she apparently couldn't hear.

 

[steveindenmark]

I am living in my 14 th privatly owned house and have actually viewed dozens of houses. Here is my two pennys worth.

Stop panicing, the Ball is entirely in your court.

You are under no obligation to buy this house, or even the next half dozen you look at. You are going to look.

If it doesnt "feel" right, dont buy it.

Dont make up your mind there and then and dont be pressurised by the estate agent. They will say anything to make a sale. Things like there is a lot of interest, an offer has been made but they will accept a higher offer. You are in control.

I am always suspicious of smells in houses Im viewing. Not just musty smells, but also detergents, bleach etc and even the smell of fresh baking. What are these smells trying to mask.

Look in the neighbouring gardens. If they are neat and tidy there is a good chance you will have good neighbours. If they are a total tip, I personally, would not like to live near it.

View more than one house. It gives you a better idea of what is available in your price range.

Dont rush making your mind up. This can be a lifetime decision and certainly the most expensive. Do not be afraid of saying "No thanks".

I have walked into entrance halls and told the estate agent "No thanks, I dont like it" and have not bothered looking at the rest of the house. You either feel it or you dont. On the other hand I have walked into entrance halls and said "I think I will have this" and ended up buying them. Ive never lost money on a house and never regretted any of the houses I have bought.

Rule number 1. You are in charge.

 

[jonny jeez]

Really good suggestions here .

I would add, that, as well as asking about the neighbours, if you like the house...and see the neighbours then try to talk to them.

Bad neighbours, or just not particularly nice ones are close to the worst things to look out for in a house. They can (and from personal experience will) cause complete misery and have a rotten effect on your entire life.

Good neighbours (again from my experience) are a joy. A few of my mates are ex neighbours that I now know better since we each ultimaltey moved on, than when we lived next door to one another.

I consider myself lucky that I have only ever had one bad neighbour, she was a total nightmare for 3 years.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

From my experience you've got to make a list of what you want and stick to it, if there's something on your list the house hasn't got then forget it - there's always something else.