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apart from trying to keep the wife under control so she doesn't run around shouting 'i want this one, this one, it has to be this one, we'll pay anything... i want this one!' of course...
going to check out some properties tomorrow as first time buyers, thank you for any advise, tips, etc 🙂
Viewings are best conducted naked. Gives you a much better feel for the space.
Ignore the furniture, decoration and floor coverings.
Concentrate on structure, layout, kitchen and bathroom.
take your time. sit down.
look at the quality of workmanship on things- this will be a clue to how well it's really been looked after.
take your time.
It's a cliche, but make sure you prioritise your list of your wants, needs and desires. It's no good being wow'd by the interior of a period town house on a busy road if what you really wanted was off-road parking and a peaceful garden.
Make sure you have somewhere to keep your bike(s) safe 🙂
get your mrs to start in the house, while you check out the garage for storage and security, agree to meet up in a neutral location (garden) to compare notes, avoid any talk about 'this will be big enough for more children'
Then check out distance to a good local pub
😉
Forget what I posted CF comment is far more sensible
look at the quality of workmanship on things
😆 Don't do that with any relatively recent new builds. It will put you off buying anything. We live in a 60s detached "housing estate" house. It's quiet and with a decent garden which is what we wanted above all else, but it's built out of cardboard (probably literally).
Just accept the fact that the house you end up buying will be the wife's decision.
Check silicone sealant around Bath and shower, check all windows and doors open/close/lock ok, check double glazing not breached, all to run hot water for a few minutes to check pressure and boiler Ok, all last time boiler was serviced, and as noted above out of everything the floodplain is probably the most important as you can change everything else relatively cheaply/easily.
Take loads of pictures, take your camera and just snap away at everything. After you've looked at a few houses it all starts to blur in your mind and having pics on your hard drive can help decide which one you like, try to get the owner in one snidey pic helps you to remember even more. Don't forget to ask first though just to be polite. When we were doing it this woman asked me not to take pics in the bathroom?!!! her manner put us right off. You see some sights looking round houses. Don't forget to ask about the loft and whats up there. No question is a stupid one.
Go look at it a few times if you think you want it and go and see the immeadiate area on several occasions at different times. As said above look at the kitchen, bathroom and layout, you are not buying the contents and be realistic on the work you can do or would have to pay for. Ask them why they are selling and see if they get a nervous tick before they start telling fibs.
Make notes and take pictures, don't give too much away if really interested ( ask if ok to take pics
)have a list of must haves and nice to haves
Take personal phone number of vendor and give them a call (next day once you and partner have compared notes etc)when you have viewed the place to tell them that you liked their house and will be contacting estate agent to put in an offer
Do a mental picture /price of what work will need doing
Don't get too anal about the details!
IMO the feel of the house is way more important - go back for a second viewing and look in detail then if it feels right.
As Marin says, go back to the error later at night, early in the day, see what the location is like and not just the house, the house you can change, the location you can't.
Use the facilities, check water pressure, switches, windows, doors etc etc. Also, look behind bigger pieces of furniture for damp. Lofts are fun places too 🙂
Then also go to the local pub, shop anything really just to see what the people and area are like.
You'll know when you walk into the one in which you're destined to live and raise mini consequence cubs.
Wot darcy said. But also remember to play it cool.
1. if its got built in cupboards look in them.
2. check the aspect, where it sits in relation to sun. if you want sunny evenings in the summer to cook sausages on a bbq, check it.
3. location, location, location!
Walk. See what the area is like, what the neighbours are like, you might be able to fix up a house but the neighbourhood is probably beyond you.
Storage.
It's no use looking at the house of your dreams if there's nowhere to put equipment (wink), clothes, kitchen gubbins, laundry stuff and general rubbish that all people collect over the years.
View the property, then ask if you can take a look around without the owners leaning over your shoulder.
Oh and take a tape measure.
Location, location, location.
It's a massive and over-used clichéd phrase, but remains the most important one when buying a house.
Crappy house in a nice place can be made nicer, but nice house in crappy place is as good as it's ever going to be, unless you buy on the cusp of gentrification.
Taking notes and (if possible) photos is a great idea, after you've seen three or four houses the details really start to blur...
In order of importance, to me at any rate:
1. Location
2. Neighbourhood
3. Orientation
4. Kitchen
5. Bathrooms
6. Garage/garden
7. The rest
And be prepared to see some seriously weird interior design decisions, which the owner will proudly point out as a particularly desirable feature.
Orientation?
You mean upside down houses are no good?
Some strange things to be looked at here.
Silicone sealant round the bath and shower ???? When looking at a house.
Location
Room for expansion or is it occupying all of its space
Access - too many new builds are built with 1 or 2 car drive ways and no way to get round the back bar a narrow passage.
Neighbours
Potential new developements in the area
Schools you have access to from the house
Most of the house can be changed quite easily but make sure layour works for you as thats more dificult to change. look out for major cracking/signs of movement /damp
Play it cool , dont fall in love with it in front of the owners
One more time for emphasis; location.
Houses are built things and can be built and re-built. Locations cannot be changed.
With a view to re-selling in the future, location is even more important.
Oh, and get a cat or two. Or three. In fact, get 4.
All good advice and all but both houses I've bought I've decided I was going to buy within minutes of walking through the door.
Orientation?You mean upside down houses are no good?
😀
2nd entry: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orientation
(The 6th would be weird.)
You mean like feng shui, but really big?
Another location related tip; not on any kind of native American burial ground.
My top tip would be to have a father who is an architect and qualified surveyor, although I realise that this may not be entirely helpful....
What jambos said.....
Aided by not looking houses in the wrong locations.
When we saw our house advert we both wrote it off as too small based on photos and sizes.
How ever we walked in and went wow - this is what we want 🙂
You should always sleep with a place before buying (just like any partnership really), so take a sleeping bag with you.
To summarise: present yourself naked with a sleeping bag
[i]Don't get too anal about the details!
IMO the feel of the house is way more important - go back for a second viewing and look in detail then if it feels right.
[/i]
This! When you've found the place that feels right, pop back to the street at various times of the day. See what goes on. If nothing ... great!
Neighbourhood, just because there is a settee in the garden and a car parked on the lawn, doesnt make it affluent,
visit on different days and at weekend and at night, if seriously intrested.
Enter the address in nethouseprices.com, to see how many times it and its neighbours have been sold and what they went for.
check car parking, and how many cars allowed if a private estate.
Use the tiolet, lock the door and see if the floor sinks,usually a sign of a leak as chipboard floorin soaks up water, should also be green in colour.
Avoid if it has white shag pile carpets and you have to take your shoes of on entry.
Check attic for trusses or open space.
look for misted up double glazing or poorly painted wooden windows.
Are there any animals, worked in two houses and they used the spare bedroom to breed dogs, the bitches urine smell took ages to disapear, even when we laid a new floor and new fitted new doors and skirts .
Flush the toilets. Even better if you can have a shit first.
Hang off the architraves and hum Jerusalem while you do it.
Masturbate where you're most likely to have your PC located. Does it feel right?
Have a good sniff under the present owners' bed.
All these things will give you a good feel for the property.
Flush the toilets. Even better if you can have a shit first.Hang off the architraves and hum Jerusalem while you do it.
Masturbate where you're most likely to have your PC located. Does it feel right?
Have a good sniff under the present owners' bed.
All these things will give you a good feel for the property.
and dont get caught. 😳
Take a camera, try and get as many photos of the vender as you can. Really push it.
HTH
Check out the heating system on the swimming pool.
Is the vendor selling due to a relationship break up?
If so, check how recently the patio was laid....
If I've learnt one thing from STW it's that good neighbours are important - so check 'em out.
lol. Some good thoughts here. I think 🙂
Very general advice.... first visit should be led with your heart, second visit should be ALWAYS be led by your wallet.
Always have more than one viewing.
If you're serious about buying, get separate contractors in to check the electrics, plumbing, etc. Surveyors can be utterly useless. It will likely save you money and give you negotiating power.
Also, make sure if you want to be taken seriously when putting in an offer, that you have a mortgage in principle agreed.
Have fun 🙂
Check out any bookshelves, one we viewed had an amazing array of sexual technique books on a dedicated shelf in the bedroom. Seriously the shelf must have been 3 foot long and not one other subject made the selection. Really chintzy middle aged couple too, I gave her the sly old fox wink as we passed in the hallway.
More usefully. Check any obvious flaws in the structure, you don't need to an engineer to spot loose tiles, guttering, poor pointing or brickwork. Any areas of discolouration on or around window frames. On second viewing check neighbours and the wider area, neighbours can make any house a hell hole.
The take lots of photos thing is good, take at least one ofte outside at the start of each visit so that you have a marker of what photos belong to which property.
Have a little vision, if the basic structure is solid then most everything else you'll see in the house will be gone by the time you come to move in.
After the location thing, which you now know is important...
Remember this;
[b][u]IT'S A BUSINESS DEAL[/u][/b]
There is very little room for emotion, feeling, sympathy, humanity or any other touchy feelyness.
Get your RaceFace on.
Your attitude to the house makes no difference whatsoever. You do not need to have a poker face. The vendors will have an amount in mind which, regardless of posturing, if you don't hit will not be accepted. Remember that the lower your offer, the less room there is for negotiation at a later stage if anything is amiss.
I've gone through this recently as a buyer and seller.
Also check very early on if they have building regs paperwork for any alterations, particularly loft conversions. No docs; no bedroom.
Check the area before booking a visit, you might save wasting time. And then do so morning and late.
Take a compass to check the orientation. Ideally south or south west rear facing garden to get sun in the afternoon Iideal for relaxing after work. Got some funny looks getting the compass out. But you will be suprised how many people say oh yes we get the sun in the afternoon and compass comes out and it's north facing. So don believe anything they say.
For us the first visits were all about feel. Layout, flow, light, proportions.
Second visit was detail. Tape measure, neighbours, wider area, quality, obvious work required etc. This is basically a case of working out if you will fit in it and if you can afford it.
Blah blah blah.
It will just feel right the instant you walk in the house. Both of you will look at each other, smile and know it's the one.
This is the golden rule.
It will just feel right the instant you walk in the house. Both of you will look at each other, smile and know it's the one.
Phil, and his good lady, are the sort of soppy bastards who look over and smile at each other when buying worming tablets for the dog. So not sure that method could be applicable here.
Crime stats for the area can be useful to look at and also car insurance postcode risk rating as believe me living in an f* area is not something I'd ever do again. The money you could save on two cars insurance would go a long way on a mortgage.
We have just bought a new place, I'd decided I wanted it from right move but had to look at a few others to keep mrs b happy. Just have vision and buy somewhere you want to be not somewhere nicely decorated in a crap location, been there done it and you will never settle as you want the shit house in the nice place to get your teeth into!
also check if theyre leaving the light fitings, worked at one house ,and the people who had just bought it failed to realise the light fittings had all been cut at the ceiling roses,also take pictures of the doors,worked at another house, the lady bought the house with 4 pannel doors, moved in and they had been replaced with badly painted old doors.
[i]Phil, and his good lady, are the sort of soppy bastards who look over and smile at each other when buying worming tablets for the dog. So not sure that method could be applicable here. [/i]
It still matters. You do all that smiling at each other and you just know. Like the worming tablets. You can check out what the neighbours and crime is like later but unless you both go gooey at the knees when you walk in, you're wasting your time. Buying a house is the wrong phrase.
You're buying a place to have lots of sex in.
Try out all the beds, and the porridge
Every post on here is most helpful, heres my thoughts
Do you wanna house to move straight into without any renovations or do wanna wreck to do up, this of course will be much cheaper. You will also need some vision of what it could look like, and you will need a ruck of mates to put your dreams together. At least if it is a wreck then you can put your own style into your home.
Slight thread hijack.
If a house has been on the market a few months, where is a good starting point for offers (in terms of % of asking price)?
Go low, they can only say no.
After my recent experience I would strongly suggest asking to see the central heating working using timer and thermostat. Then go round every radiator to see if heat in equal measure comes from every single one.
I would also look at the shower head, run the water to see if it comes out and/or drains away.
Just remember that some sellers are lying dishonest gits.
Try the bathroom taps to check the water pressure.
Ask if all the documentation is to hand. We are in the process of buying a house and the deeds are missing:-/
If there's wallpaper bear in mind if you take it off it could be a "[b]FML[/b]" moment as you realise theres stress cracks and work to do to get it smooth to paint on
It will be an fml moment - even in modern houses just outsde 10 years old shrinkage cracks
Its not that hard to sort just a bit of manual graft. Been taping a celing this morning in my third room of plaster work hell.
Go too low on yor offer an you risk being branded time waste.
Also be ware the smoker. Te only way youll get rid of a smokers smell is o strip back to bare plaster. Paper and woodwork all hold the stench badly.
It will be an fml moment - even in modern houses just outsde 10 years old shrinkage cracksIts not that hard to sort just a bit of manual graft. Been taping a celing this morning in my third room of plaster work hell.
Yeah agree completely trail_rat..
Its a serious commitment time wise that should definitely be factored in