viewing houses today, any tips?

[addictedisback]

We're going house hunting today, we're not local (2 hour drive) to the area we want to buy in and due to circumstances will probably put in an offer on teh one we like the best (we are seeing 15 today)

I have a check list of all the things we need and the things we are willing to compromise on (am I over thinking this!?)

What are some things I sould look out for that I may not have thought about or forgotten?

Just to put this in context, we ended up panic buying the house we currently live in, I hated it after the first 6 months and am regretting ever buying it in the first place, we've finally managed to sell it (subject to completion etc) and I just dont want to panic buy and regret it again!

We did exactly what you are just about to do. Went back the next week for second viewings on the ones that we really could not decide between and also added in a couple of new houses. Went home, slept on it, talked it through and then offered.

We completed yesterday on our 'forever' house in a completely new location to both of us (one hour away from current location but 3.5 hrs from where we previously lived in UK), although not new to PIL and couldn't be happier.

We didn't write a list down, but we had a very good idea what we wanted in our heads, and quite a few were discounted on viewing inside. I took notes as we viewed which helped a lot in the decision process.

Also note that it is very tiring viewing that many houses in a day, and if you are delayed for any reason it is probably good practise to call ahead and let the agent/vendor know. We ended up dropping one property from the list because we would never had made it round in time otherwise.

thanks financial, if we cant decide today, I will go back in the week, although I'm not ment to drive that far and viewing houses with 2 under 2 is next to impossible (we have my mum baby sitting today)

Alot of them are ones that agents have added in so I phoned up to look at one and they are taking me to view 6 they think I will like . Looking at the details I think I know which will be discounted on viewing, there are some that I like more than others.

Glad you've got a happy ending that means there is hope!

We have been viewing houses recently and these are some of the things we have used to adjudicate between them. We ended up compromising of course as houses with all these ideals are out of our price range:

Downstairs WC?
Window(s) in bathroom(s)?
Side/Back access to house and garden?
Parking/Garage?
No steps to front door? (Thinking of prams etc)
Ability to have a table and eat in kitchen?
Direction of garden, degree to which it is overlooked?
Whether property is semi or detached?
How much work needs doing (think boiler, electrics, roof as well as the more visible state of the internal decor, kitchen, bathroom(s))?

Overiding all of these though was location - how it would work for us living in a house with regards to schools, shops, getting to work - this might be more tricky to determine if you are moving into a new area but on your second viewings try to take time to work out distances to bus stops/train stations, local shops, parks and playgrounds and anything else important to you.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

when you arrive and before you rush in stand across the street. look at the condition of the roof and chimneys. are the gutters ok? are there damp patches or any greenery growing on/out of the building to indicate damp? check the condition of windows front garden etc. note the condition of neighbouring properties (consider knocking on doors next to really nice houses). do the same thing at the back by standing at the bottom of the garden. google japanese knotweed and check the garden/adjacent properties for it. ask owners about permissions/planning if any obvious alterations have been carried out. this is a mini survey which will help avoid nasty surprises at survey time.

my big thing is making sure that there is a decent amount of sun in the garden