House buying top tips
House buying top tips for home buyers
Please find a whole host of interesting, odd, quirky, pedantic but most of useful tips for buying your property!
This list is by no means exhaustive, we really value your contributions. Any snippet of information you may think will be useful please email us and send them in.
Tips for property viewings
What do I need to take with me on a property viewing?
- Torch. This is for getting into those dark corners
- Compass. Check the direction of the sun. Is it a south facing garden? What rooms get the sun in the morning and the evening? Get your compass out to double check!
- Property viewing list.
- List questions to ask.
- Camera. make sure you ask the vendor’s permission first though.
- Tape measure. Can the property fit in your king size bed and favourite sofa?
- Pen and paper.* Make notes to jog the memory
Before you go and view the property, try to get yourself in an objective frame of mind.
- Look beyond the décor; do not be put off by garishly coloured walls or dodgy furniture. This is the cheapest thing to change.
- Do not be wowed either by minimalist or trendy designer furniture. Remember you are buying the building and not the contents.
- Do not be afraid to be direct with your questioning. If you don’t ask you will never know, and you may end up missing a potentially expensive problem.
More Tips:-What should you look for when viewing the outside of a property?
- Are the foundations OK? Look for cracks in brickwork, masonry and paving. Larger cracks could mean the house is suffering from subsidence
- Is there any damp? Is there a mushroomy smell in any rooms? Mouldy patches on walls and ceilings? Check carefully around windowsills to see if there is any sign of condensation damage. Are those freshly painted walls hiding anything more sinister?
- Is the brickwork good? Look for any gaps where cement has fallen out – or worse bricks are missing?
- Look at the roof tiles. Stand back on the other side of the road and compare your house to the other neighbours in the street. How does the roof compare to a newer roof. Are there tiles missing or damaged?
- Is the chimney UK standard?
- Check the guttering for missing gaps, blockages and check for leakages.
- Check the sofits and fascias, as these can be expensive to replace.
What to look for on the driveway?
- Is there off road parking on a driveway or in a garage. This is not only practical but it can also help reduce your car insurance premium and save you money. Check if there is a resident permit scheme and find out how much it costs.
- What’s the general condition of the driveway ? If there is car on the driveway have a look underneath to see if it’s hiding any holes.
- Have you seen any tree roots growing upwards and cracking the driveway?
What should you look for when viewing the Windows?
- Look at the windowsills carefully. If they are wooden, is the wood rotting anywhere? If so the paint will usually be peeling and flaky.
- Is there double-glazing in place? If so is it aluminium or PVC? Is there any condensation trapped between the panes? This may mean the seal is compromised.
What should you look for when viewing the Garden?
- Is it south facing? South facing means you get the best of the sun all day as the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. Use your compass to check the estate agent’s calculations.
- Check the patio for cracks, is this hiding another problem with tree roots or even the drains?
- If decking is present , check the condition, is it mouldy?
- Look for mature shrubs and trees, this is good because it will mean you will have little work to do in the garden and creating a garden from scratch takes a lot of hard work and expense.
- Is the Lawn in good condition or covered in weeds, again it can be a labour of love and time investing in a good quality lawn.
- Is there a Shed? Everyman’s dream!
- Is there an outside water tap?
- Look out for trees too close to the house as these can cause damage to the foundations.
- What is the Condition of the fences? What side would you be responsible for?
- Security, are you overlooked ?, is there external access?
- Look out for neighbours’ trees blocking out your sunlight.
How do I check for noise and general pollution?
- Check do the neighbours have dogs, babies, drum playing children?
- Are you under a flight path?
- Can you hear the main road or motorway?
- Is there a sewage works nearby or working farm that may give off a bad odour in the summer months?
- Is there a mobile phone mast nearby?
More house buying tips: What to look for when viewing the property inside
What should you look for when viewing the Hallway?
- How many light fittings are there? If you wanted spotlights and you have an old fitting this could need rewiring
- Is there a telephone or plug sockets?
- What is the floor, real wooden floor , laminate or carpet? Light carpets can get worn and dirty in the hallway.
- Any original features, e.g. coving, tiles etc.
- Check if the stair case is particularly creaky
- Check under the stairs, if there is a cupboard, look for woodworm and damp, also check the fuse box , if it is old and has old wire fuses then this probably means the wiring is old and needs attention, which can be very costly.
What should you look for when viewing the Lounge?
- Where are the sockets? Is there a telephone socket?
- Where is the TV aerial?
- Is cable TV or satellite installed already?
- Spaces for shelving
- Check how modern and how many light fittings there are
- How much seating can be put in the room? What do the owners have in place currently? Remember that quite often new home builders will put patio furniture into their lounges to make rooms appear more spacious!
What should you look for when viewing the Kitchen?
- Built in kitchen, is it new, does it have expensive finishes such as marble top?
- Check the age of the cooker, washing machine, dish washer, extractor fan. Are they included in sale? Are they still under guarantee
- Test all appliances
- Check the lighting
- Look under sink for signs of damp
- Look in all units, look in the back of cupboards for any signs of damp, loose fixtures and poor workmanship. Also look for a sign of mouse droppings
- Check all windows
What should you look for when viewing the Bathroom?
- Is there a separate toilet room?
- How good is the tiling? Check the grouting is it green? This may be a sign of damp below the tiles
- What make of shower is it? What is the pressure like? Is it tall enough for you?
- Is there a bath present? Remember families with young children like a bath.
- Check water pressure, turn on upstairs taps and downstairs taps together, any noticeable drop in pressure?
- Check for damp
- Flush the loo, does it refill quickly?
What should you look for when viewing the Bedrooms?
- Which way does the sun hit the room in the morning?
- Are there power sockets for beside tables
- Phone and TV sockets / aerial?
- Can a double bed or king-size fit into the bedroom?
- Is there an in built wardrobe?
- Is there a space for a wardrobe, drawers, bedside tables, dressing table?
- Curtains
- Test the floorboards
Other key viewing tips
- If you are not happy about the room dimensions and you are wondering if you can knock through. Try banging on the wall, which you’d like to remove. If it sounds hollow then it’s probably not a supporting wall.
- What condition are the carpets and flooring in?
- Is there an Internet connection?
- If the property has a loft then take a look. Is it insulated? Is it boarded out? Have a look at the underside at the roof for signs of damage or damp.
- Is there a fireplace? Is it an original piece?
Tips on finding the perfect area to live
House buying tips on choosing the right area
Start with an Estate Agent. They will be very helpful as they want to sell you property. Ask them the following:-
- What are the well sought after roads? Why are they sought after?
- What roads are in the catchment areas for good schools?
- What area always sell well and why does it?
- What is the average age of homebuyers in the area?
- Do any areas have ASBOS or problems with youths, crime and graffiti?
- Where are nearest train stations? How longs does it take to walk?
- What main road links are nearby, where are the major bus routes?
Do Your Own research
Remember the estate agent is keen to sell you property and may put a gloss on everything. You cannot beat doing your own research. Here are some things to look out for in a new area. Firstly get out and walk. You cannot beat exploring an area on foot to get a real feel for what it is like.
- Visit the local supermarket:- This is a perfect way to check out all your neighbours in one go. Is it more olive bar, and Waitrose or frozen food and Lidol?
- Is it open 24 hours? If you live a busy life then this could be good for your hectic schedule.
- Go and visit at day and night. Is it busy? noisy? too quiet?
- Do a lot of retired people live there? Or is it a commuter town with little life in the day?
- Walk the streets – What are the shops like? Are their many bars, pubs and restaurants? Check the price and a menu of the local Fish and Chips, Chinese and Indian takeaway. If Fish and chips cost a tenner you know you are in an expensive boutique area!
- Nip to the local pub for drink. It will give you a flavour for the area, and the people and also can be very relaxing after long day house hunting!
- Walk up and down the streets – are there lots of sale boards? If so then this could tell you two things – firstly what’s wrong with the area? Or secondly you are in a good position as a buyer to negotiate, as it appears many people are selling at the same time.
- What cars to people drive? Lots of 4×4’s and estates could mean families, whilst plenty of sports cars could mean affluent young professionals.
- What are the properties like in the street are they well maintained? Are they being gentrified ? are the lawns and drives well looked after? All these factors can tell if you an area is on the up, is well looked after or is perhaps in decline.
- Check to see if each property is a house or a flat. Are there a lot of properties with entry phones and doorbells? This could mean that there are lots of flats. Perhaps you could even deduce that you maybe an owner-occupier surrounded by letting tenants.
- Check the newsagent windows for community related events? Look at the interests and activities. This gives you a flavour for an area.
- Are there any new developments going up? New home developers will be building in an area that will give them a good return on their investment. This could be a good sign. Is this an up and coming area?
- What is the age of the area? is it all young? Great for now maybe, but what about 5 years time when perhaps you might want a family? Alternatively Is it too old?, are you not ready for washing your car in the drive and sharing sugar with the neighbours!
- What other local facilities are there? e.g. Leisure centre, Gym, Cinema, community groups and clubs etc.
- What is the traffic like? Check in rush hour and check during the day.
- Are their any bad areas nearby? Look out for tower blocks, graffiti, burn out cars.
