Viewing houses- what to ask?

[FattyMcButterskirt]

Give me your tips!!! When you’re viewing a house, what do you ask/ look for?
We are viewing 4 houses this week. All old (pre WW2) all detached. We are not looking to do any major renovation works, so all 4 look in move in condition with minor cosmetic work. Is it ok to ask how old the boiler is or when the wiring was done?

ask if the seller has had a survey done yet and if so what flagged up usual is needs an electric / gas check , ask what is incl;uded in the sale as in carpets white goods etc, and as you look round just look for stuff that stands out ie cracks in outside or inside walls,

You’ll need to know about the age of the boiler and whether it’s been regularly serviced. Are the windows, doors in good condition and secure?

Wiring and electrics certainly with guarantees and safety certificates.

Central heating in good working order. Guarantees for any replacement stuff and work done.

If you don’t want any work other than cosmetic, you’ll need to be sure that everything is up to date, in good working order and safe. You’re paying a lot of money and you don’t want to fork out extra for hidden problems.

If you find a house and have an offer accepted, have a full survey, particularly on an old house.

Roof and brickwork in good condition

I don’t think that’s right about the survey, in England (and wales?) the buyer gets it done, in Scotland the seller does but you should have looked at it before viewing. Not sure about NI.

@isseywithcats it's the buyers who conduct surveys not the sellers.

That's assuming not in Scotland as PP pointed out.

Our buyer on last property didn't have a survey taken out on our house. They ended up demanding we have the boiler serviced. Electrical test and burglar alarm recommissioned.

We told them we were not prepared to pay or legally responsible for their survey costs. We did suggest that they could arrange these all to be done at their expense and at a time of convenient with us.

Tips-

Council tax band
What type of boiler
Mains Gas/Electric

Thank you- that all makes sense! Hadn’t thought about the burglar alarm.
Any ideas on how to spot if there’s damp?

Make a list of things you want to ask/check before you go. It's very easy to get a bit over excited when viewing properties.
I always go very much on the feel of a property too; I know it's a bit subjective, but some places can feel gloomy and unhappy even on a summers day. Ask yourself if you would feel at home.
Unless you are an expert, you are not going to spot some potentially serious problems, however, any signs of damp or mould, some cracks (depending on location) or uneven floors and walls could all be indications not all is well.Poor maintenance or evidence of bodged diy may indicate the property hasn't been cared for over the years generally.
You can check that the windows open, the taps work, and you could also take some binoculars to check the tiles on the roof.
Ask if the boiler has been regularly serviced and see it in operation. However, if you want it checked, along with the wiring and gas installations, it's up to you to pay for it, not the vendor.

Rising damp can just look like a wet mark up the walls, or it may also have a crumbly texture that with come off on your hand. It could be mouldy as well if it is behind a piece of furniture. Random damp patches above floor level could be caused by leaking/poorly maintained rainwater goods, so check round the outside of the property (good idea anyway, even if there's no damp). Brown marks on a ceiling could mean a leaking roof.
Honestly though, if you like a property and it looks okay, a full survey (not a mortgage valuation report or a homebuyers report) will tell you what you need to know.

If looking at 4 i would tend to look in detail and only ask questions that i think of at the time.

Then, if really interested, follow up with a list of questions by email via agent before making an offer and try and get answers in writing.

First viewing for me is to get that initial reaction of it being a home to me. Ive only ever bought two houses and made offers on four. All four we fell in love with and knew we wanted to live there.

Sadly two fell through, one further down chain and the other because searches found the very large extension had no planning or building regulations!

Ask if they have found somewhere else to live and what the chain above is like.

Make your list and take along a copy to fill in for every viewing (I did this on actual paper but I expect that lots of "techno" options/apps are available these days )

I also added a row of smilies - like you get in customer surveys - and put a mark by the one which most represented my initial feeling about the house.

Obviously you can also add some free text e.g."stinks of dog"

It is amazing how quickly the properties all merge into one, especially if you are doing multiple viewings in a short space of time.

dottie i know normally the buyer pays for the survey but the house we are looking at the seller has had a survey done as well as the buyers one flagged a couple of things

Presumably they are all freehold? Some older properties are still leasehold (as are many newer ones) so you need to check. If leasehold, how long left on the lease, any ground rent applicable, and any restrictions such as being able to extend etc.

If they are definitely freehold, whether there are any restrictive covenants and whether the seller is aware of any breaches. Our house is freehold and I asked these questions, only to be told there was no restrictive covenant. There was. The seller had breached it. All he had done was to plant a laurel hedge at the front edge of the front garden for greater privacy but the RC said the garden had to remain open plan. And even though the RC had been put in place fifty years ago by a long-deceased builder, I still had to buy an indemnity policy in case he rose up like Lazarus to sue me.

Ask what the neighbours are like - I wouldn't consider a property with a neighbour dispute.
Also, are there any parking issues as these can often lead to ill feeling.

I’ve got my notepad out and making a list. Thanks all. And I will be adding a row of smiles to rate the properties!

Forst viewing is mostly first impression and to see if you broadly like it, so don’t worry too much.
Also, absolutely yes ok to ask about boiler and wiring.