How many times did you view your house and what did you check?

[HeartOrHeadDecision]

Just that really. It feels awkward to check all the little things or not so little like windows/cupboards during the first viewing. At the second you might already get a slightly better idea of what the place really looks like.
Did you take any measurements? Or requested a viewing at some particular time? Any tips?

Hi there, I bought my home in March, I have a visual impairment so my mother checked it the first time, and I went back with her the second time. She did things like check the state of the property, or, how bright it was, she was checking the area around the property as well, including at night, the things I wish we had done, check the boiler and when it was last serviced if you can, it packed up the first month I was in here. Nobody caught it. I would have also said I wish we had measured the space so I could have started to order furniture, I ordered a huge sofa which ended up being too big, I have managed to fit it against one wall, not where I would have wanted to put it though. Does it have outdoor space? I would have also made sure you can use your outdoor space for how you want it, I have a huge balcony, but I learned a bit too late that paddling pools have to be very small and not be filled up with too much water for example. Also, maybe check for mold, that was another one that did not get picked up by anyone. If you go ahead and buy your property, you may be faced with unexpected surprises, but I think most of us are, you can never be 100% sure that everything will go as planned.

Wish I'd checked for leaky loos... ie. A container to catch dripping water, tucked away out of sight.
Was the only issue fortunately, but such an inconvenience (slow drip had soaked the floorboards of the bathroom behind the loo and, as was never quite drying out, started smelling foisty and that's point when I discovered the leak.)

Wish I'd checked which was the garden faced - north facing so other than a few hours in the morning never get any sun. I love my house but can't see me staying long-term because of this

I didn't visit near enough and have learned a lesson from it - view time and time again. Bring a second or third pair of eyes with you, ideally someone who knows more than the average of what to look for.
I really wish I focused on storage space (or lack there of) overlooking neighbours, whether the drive can fit both cars if applicable, I'd ideally have checked flushing loos, water power, storage in boiler cupboard, electrical supply to shed etc as we've had issues with all of the above

Viewed all my houses (quite a few) only once. To be honest I knew I wanted them before I even viewed. I know this is probably quite unusual.

In my defence I always do loads of research upfront and in that viewing we do check everything out. South or west facing garden is really important to me so I'd check that before arranging a viewing.

When we've sold most people have viewed twice.

We did 2 viewings of less than half an hour each. The second viewing was a bit of a formality as it was about 6 months after the first, and we had decided to make an offer after all but felt we ought to view again just to make sure nothing horrible had happened since the first.
We just looked around the rooms and out the windows really. I don't think we turned on taps or flushed the toilets. Really the foorplan and other documents told us everything we needed to know, and location was the main thing with nothing else this size coming up for sale all year. So niggles like the toilet flush, weird issue with water pressure, and non working extraction fans weren't deal breakers and not a big cost to sort out, so no need to check them really.
We didn't come back to do measurements after getting the offer accepted, just relied on the EA floorplan. Our sofa, and a cupboard didn't fit down the stairs, but not sure we could have figured it out from measurements anyway. And you just deal with it on moving day - we dismantled the cupboard, and the sofa is on a ground floor room.

I’ve bought two houses without viewing them at all, and have also bought a house DH had never seen. This one we saw once, briefly, as we were travelling internationally and cramming a lot in. I’ve never viewed twice, ever.

I normally have viewed properties once or twice before making the offer and then once again just before exchange of contracts to make sure everything still looks ok and to start buying furniture to fit the new place.

Once for 15 minutes. We only had a day in the area and had other visits to get to. This ended up being the best choice so we bought it.

It was supposed to be a holiday house though, never thought we'd move in. We've been here 20 years.

Once pre-offer, 15 minutes. It ticked most of our boxes and we were aware that there were two full days of viewings after ours. We've now moved in and are very happy with the house.

We viewed once before making an offer and then a second visit after we had a full structural survey. We asked the surveyor to check water pressure. Things like boiler service history are questions that have gone through our solicitor. We are due to exchange this week, I’m not sure if my solicitor will recommend a pre exchange visit, we sold last year and our buyers had one at the request of their solicitor. It’s only been just over a month since the last visit though. I’d like to as the sellers were present at the second visit so we couldn’t poke around as much as we would have liked and I’d like to check inside all the fitted wardrobes to see if we can get rid of some furniture before we move in.

We viewed a house on Friday afternoon for 15mins and made an offer when we got home. I have no intention of viewing again. I noticed some things that we will expect to be fixed (unfinished light fittings) and the EA said they'd be done. I'll get an electrical and plumbing survey done too. Otherwise any niggles will be for us to sort out. We're getting our boiler serviced and I'd expect the vendor to have one too. We wouldn't view a house unless the EA description showed what we want ie room sizes, location, garden size/orientation etc

I did once offer on a house before viewing. My husband was at sea and didn't see it until after we'd moved in. This was in the 80s so not even a video call lol. Good job he trusted me. House had no issues

Just to add I think some people can be too fussy and expect perfection. So what if the door is stiff or the windows don't open. If the location and structure are right everything else can be fixed. Pay for a decent survey, get an electrical and plumbing survey.

We’ve viewed our house twice. The first viewing and once after offer was accepted. Our solicitor has been really thorough though so we have all the information we need about when the boiler was last serviced, the electrics, the water etc.

I view houses twice because I tend to be wearing rose coloured glasses the first time I view them! So then go back a second time with a more level head to look more closely. One we viewed that I was adamant we needed to put an offer in on, on second viewing I found so many things I didn't like (size of rooms, weird stairs and strange layout of the extension being some of them). The house we're in now, I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just the price that was swaying me and I did genuinely want the house!

Made an offer to the EA whilst still in the garden after 1st viewing.

We viewed it 3/4x in total before we got the keys. It was derelict, and full of with furniture (to the ceiling!), so we couldn't even get into some rooms until they'd cleared it. Went back once with a relative who is a builder. The last visit was to check they had actually cleared the house/garden of all the stuff!

Twice.
Viewed it the first time with my mum and husband, then viewed it again with my dad. In addition to this I made a point of driving round the area to see how it was over weekends and late at night as well as school times. Once I was happy it was definitely a quiet, safe area we put in our offer.
12 years later it is still a lovely quiet friendly area.

I've bought 8 or 9 times and only ever viewed each property once. It's all about the location and how the house feels to me. A loo that doesn't flush or a stiff window can be sorted. Never had any regrets, and have always known within the first minute or two if I want the house.

Twice before offering and once as a pre-exchange visit to measure for furniture. I also walked past it quite a few times on my lunch break, as it wasn’t far from my old house 😊

Only ever viewed once. Always been shown round by the owners and never had an estate agent present.

First house we bought we told the owners face to face we’d like to buy it at the viewing. I suppose that’s not the done thing. They looked surprised.
Second house wasn’t on the market when I bought it so I went directly with the owners.
Third house we bought, we hated it and ruled it out completely. Then bought it but went through the estate agent as we put in an offer over 30% below asking price and we wanted to hide behind them.

Things we should have checked over the years - planning permission for an extension, costs of removing derelict outbuildings (asbestos) the surprisingly huge and expensive task of “just” putting in a driveway and “just” getting a new fence. It’s good to check if the internal and external doors shut properly in the frame, how many keys there are to doors and where they are, if the window locks have keys or if they have been lost. Open the cupboards under built in sinks. Find the stopcock. Remember to look for radiators in each room - we didn’t do that on one house because it had gas central heating and we saw radiators. What we missed is that they weren’t in every room.in fact they had only been put in the extension and never in the main house because it had concrete floors. So only half the house had central heating and nobody ever mentioned it….

I would have written exactly this! I usually only visit once to confirm my 'desk checking'. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions via your solicitor, no question is too stupid, as the vendor has to answer honestly (is supposed to!). The only unexpected things we've found have been small things, easily resolved, which is not unusual when buying a house. You usually get a gut feel when you do visit so trust this.

We're the same. Viewed our current house once, viewed our next house once too.
Our survey has lots of photos and there's a 360 degree virtual tour online so I don't feel like I need to inconvenience the sellers (they have 3 very young children and I know how much work it was tidying our own child-free house for viewings).

Our buyers have visited twice, the second time was after they'd offered and they wanted to show their parents around. We wouldn't mind if they wanted to come again but DH gave them his number in case they want any measurements before moving in too.

Check the roof ( not with an actual ladder ! ) look to see if it has any loose tiles are the capping tiles OK.
Run the water in the taps. We did and found due to a frost burst the water had been cut off , so they got that fixed before we moved in. Check the condition of guttering and down pipes , look to see if brickwork by them don't look damp / green.
Be wary of viewing house that have lots of windows open when not appropriate ( hiding smells ) likewise lots of air freshener / candles burning.

Her, twice. Once before offer, second time a 'pre-contract inspection' as it had taken over 6 months to get there and we needed to see what might have 'happened' to it before the contract-completion insurance kicked in (it had one very reluctant and tricky vendor). You can answer a surprising lot of questions by going really thoroughly through any photos the agent took.

We viewed once for around 45 minutes, then went back the next day with my dad to get his view on it. He was happy so we put in an offer. Since then we have been back maybe 3 times? Our vendors have been lovely and asked us to bring our kids to see their new rooms etc. We’ve had in depth conversations about neighbours, upkeep of the house and everything they’ve done / problems our survey threw up etc, so we’re pretty confident there won’t be any nasty surprises.