Viewing first ever properties this weekend - Any hints/tips?

[AngryFeet]

I am so excited! At 33 years old we are finally in a position to start looking to buy and I have been scanning rightmove for a few months. Two houses have come up on the same road which is near a good secondary school (both mine already in Primary) and the area is really nice with fairly good transport links (good enough for what we need anyway). We are going to look at them this Saturday. For the first viewing is there anything I should be watching out for or do you just tend to glance around to get an idea?

Check parking (can you get out of your car when it's on the drive!) - our drive is sandwiched between the house wall and next door's drive, luckily the right way around to open the driver's door but not so lucky for other houses in our street!

Ask about neighbours, maybe do a drive by at different times of the day and at weekend. Is parking busy, lots of kids in the street etc?

I also check the shower pressure (a bit mad) but I don't want a dribble of a shower!

A big tip, don't let on to the EA which is your favourite. We loved our house when we first saw it but I pretended to like another we saw (which we didn't like) and then used it when negotiating the purchasing price... "Well, let the vendor get back to me after the weekend (after giving them our offer), we did afterall see several houses we really liked" EA rang back in 30mins as they'd accepted our offer!

What purple said. But also, write everything down that you notice/remember about the house. After several viewings it is easy to forget which was the house with the horrid bathroom and which was the one with the noisy neighbours...

Agree, make notes - and I'd always go with instinct to start with. Go back for a second viewing to check the details. We are instinctive creatures and our instincts are not just random feelings - they are processing stuff that our conscious brain doesn't deal with. Walk round and see how the hosue makes you feel.

Don't forget to look up. Cracks in the ceilings, condition of the roof etc.

Look at the floor plans first to see how you might use the space, then you can check your thoughts when you see the real thing. Also, if you already have ideas, you'll be less likely to be swayed by their decor (awful or amazing). Enjoy it!

We are starting next week so I will lurk and pick up some tips, if you don't mind.

make a list of things you like and things you don't for each house
check how old the boiler is and how long ago it was rewired
think practically- can you park, will the layout work, how far are the shops etc
ask lots of questions

check things like electric sockets/ cupboard do they look old etc
Any marks on the cielings and walls- re is it damp?
I check the handles on cupboards, internal doors- check the quality
Is there a garage? Shed? where will you keep bike? lawn mower?
Under the stairs is it storage? if not where will you keep your hoover?
Windows?
where will your wardrobes go- I find a lot of houses have a spare room with just a bed- if it will be your childrens room you need to think storage.
Attick- just because there is one doesnt mean its boarded- check this.
Guttering
Proximity to park etc.

Can you tell we are looking too

Look past the nasty wallpaper/carpet/paint colour etc. That's something you can change, but it's amazing how many people will dislike a house just for that. Visualise yourself and your stuff in there, and look at the space and storage potential.
Good luck!

Definitely second writing everything down. I printed off an A4 sheet with a photo of the house (with address) and wrote on the back , so I knew which one was which. It's really easy to forget which one you're thinking about otherwise. We asked the EA to give us 10 mins in the car before leaving so I could just jot down our thoughts before going to the next property.

If you're doing an all day house viewing run, check out local places to eat for lunch at the same time. Gets you driving around the local area and checking out what the place is like. Obviously more useful if you're moving somewhere unknown.

We moved from London to South Wales so had to blitz the house viewings on Saturdays so did 6-8 houses in a day... made your head spin but we found some nice pubs :)

Also have a good think about what you will compromise on and what is nice to have. This makes it easy to disregard houses that don't meet your requirements.