To ask what things you look for/questions you ask when viewing a house?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Trying to move atm and have viewed a few houses- it always goes the same, we’re sort of rushed round by the EA, in and out in 10 minutes, and leave feeling like we barely saw the place and didn’t find anything out.

We’re on our way to view somewhere we’re quite hopeful about so I want to go in pre-armed with a list of thinking points and pertinent questions- help me out? Any suggestions very gratefully received!

Who lives next door? Would be a good one although that can obvs change at any point

To be honest for initial first viewings I never bothered with a long list of questions, unless the house grabbed me.

From experience, question carefully any extensions, surrounding land if it’s not properties, are there any covenants on the land/restrictions are there rights of access etc. look carefully at quality of renovation work.

When you’ve found something you like dig deeper.

I always just stick to practical questions about the property itself. Any covenants, or restrictions etc. Age of boiler, windows, roof etc so I can gauge whether I’d need to make the outlay. No seller is going to tell you that the neighbours are assholes, that the house is under a flight path, that it’s impossible to park nearby on weekends, or that they’re worried by the recent planning permission to build a halfway house at the end of the road, so that’s just due diligence you need to do yourself by other means.

Do you think of it's a mad person they're going to tell you? They'll tell you what you want to hear.

Ask questions to slow the EA down? That's part of their job. Don't wait for them to ask if you have questions. Say, can I have another look at x room etc. They are trying to sell to you, you are the customer. It's your place to ask. The older I get, the more questions I ask (about anything).

Edit spelling

I’m more interested in the facts rather than their opinion on them so ‘an elderly couple/ a couple with 4 XL bulldogs/ a young family/ it’s a rental with a group of students’

With houses, I'd have thought whether it's one of those leasehold rip offs, with ever rising ground rent attached. And if you're looking at flats, level/history of service charges.

Check for:

Damp.

Security problems - quality of windows & exterior doors.
Stains in ceilings implying there have been water leaks.
Insulation in the loft.
The age of the wiring & distribution board
Whether there are sufficient sockets in the kitchen
Whether your furniture will fit
The state of the carpets or flooring
Is there enough storage
The age of the boiler
Structural stuff like the roof - are there any slates/tiles missing
Are the gutters well maintained
Is there sufficient Private parking

Check the water pressure by turning the taps on.

We've been looking at properties for our daughter recently.
We asked whether the property is freehold or leasehold, what type of heating and hot water does the property have, what are the neighbours like, how old the windows are, when was the wiring last replaced, how old is the boiler, has the property ever suffered subsidence or damp, etc.
As we're looking round, my husband starts knocking on the walls, opening and closing interior doors and turning taps on and off, which is embarrassing.

Signs of subsidence/ movement (diagonal cracks a good indicator). Size of main rooms and bedrooms. Scope for improvements if needed. Size of plot. Neighbours.

Look at the boiler/ age/ type etc.

Run the taps and flush the toilet at the same time.
See if you can get one of you chatting to the EA downstairs whilst the other is upstairs and see how much noise travels.
Look at quality of windows and if any mould present on windows.