Help! What do I need to look at when viewing properties?

[Chocaholics]

I have just accepted accepted an offer on my house, very unexpected and haven't really looked at any houses as didn't think I would be able to sell mine.

So now I have loads of viewings set up and need some advice...what kind if things do I need check/look out for? I have to be honest when I bought my current home I was young and clueless and just liked the look of it and was lucky there were no issues.

I'm now older and still clueless so please help! Does anyone know what I should I be checking for and asking when I look at them?

You probably need to make a list of what your ideal home would be like and then decide where you can make compromises. For us we wanted an area and abig garden. We'd put up with a lot to get that.

What age house are you looking at?

If it's reasonable old have a look at the fuse box and the boiler. Both will give you a hint if it needs rewiring, etc. Our house had bakelite (brown early plastic) plug in fuses. They had to go! Don't let it immediately put you off. Replacing central heating, blown double glazing units, etc is often less expensive than you fear. It's the faff that's more of a pain. Get ball park quotes before making an offer.

On a redeveloped property try to look beyond the surface. We saw one house with new carpets, but no underlay.

On all houses (particularly new ones) look at room sizes. It might be worth measuring your house to give you something to compare yo.

Do you have a friend to come for second viewings on any houses you liked? Good luck.

I have a DH but he is very much ruled by his heart and will fall in love with a property and not think anything practical. We will be buying this house together but I know that he will think things like new boilers, electrics etc aren't to be worried about if the house is right while I want a house that won't need loads of work as we have a young DD and wanted some thoughts on what to look out for.

That advice is great thank you, The houses we are looking at range from about 90 to 40 years old so will check out the electrics a that is not something I would think to ask about and tbh no one has asked us!

ask how old the boiler is and if they have had bolier cover on it and when it was serviced last
when it was re-wired
how old the kitchen is
how much is the council tax
what have the vendors done since they moved in

not deal breakers but it can give you a bargaining tool if the house needs work doing

I had a huge tick box list of things, that ranged from, what can I see when I sit in the lounge, in what condition is the sealant around the sink in the bathroom and kitchen, do the radiators have thermostatic valves, what can I see from the kitchen window when at the sink etc How old is the boiler, is there an alarm system. Will I need to change the bathroom/kitchen, how much redecorating will need to be done.

They were all the things that mattered to me at the time I bought this house 2 years ago. I had a very practical head on. Our last house was a rush buy as we were relocating and I wish someone had told me how cold the lounge would be when you have stairs in the lounge. Upstairs constantly hot, downstairs freezing.

I knew that the house was the right size for us in terms of bedrooms, downstairs space, opportunity to create a playroom from the garage, big enough garden etc,

There was a house identical to this one not for sale but it had a planning permission application so I downloaded their floor plan, and obviously knew the size of the rooms for this house so drew in furniture into each room so I knew everything would fit anal

Parking - check you can open the car doors when parked (not the case for all drives in our close!). Same for tiny garages.

Definitely measure your rooms as a room with no furniture looks a lot bigger than it will with stuff in. Maybe take a tape measure or simply pace out the size of a double bed etc.

Drive by at different times of day. Are parking/roads busy after work?

Drawing the furniture on is a nice idea. I taped out the dimenions for our bathroom in the extension on the floor of another room and arranged cardboard cut outs to see if the suite fitted in!

Think about what you can change and what you cannot. Replacing bathroom sealant is actually a pretty easy diy job. Replacing an ugly view is impossible!

I would ask the current owners why they are moving. They might lie if they think the truth will spook you - but it is always worth asking.