How to conduct a property viewing.
Looking at potential properties can be an exciting venture. But there's more to property viewing than what you can see.
Go in prepared with our property viewing checklist:
When viewing a property for the first time it is important not to get too carried away and excited with what you see. Of course the vibe you get from what could be your future home is important, but keep the below checklist at hand to make sure that you can truly tick all the boxes before you make an offer.
Is the home within easy reach of important amenities, main routes and good schools?
Do you know what qualifies as fixtures and what qualifies as fittings and do you know exactly what will stay and what the owner will take with him/her once the sale is concluded?
Ensure that you make a list of the home’s patent defects and ask the owner and agents to give you a list of the latent defects as well – and use this when deciding whether to buy the property or not.
Do a thorough inspection of the kitchen and bathrooms. It is important to manually check the plumbing and water pressure by opening the taps and flushing the toilets.
Are there enough plug points in the home?
Does the home smell damp? If so, why?
Does the property match the ad? And does the ad match your criteria of what you are looking for in a home?
Parking is important. Is there enough off-street parking for your guests who won’t have parking on the property
Is the area very noisy and if so is it something you can get used to?
What are the neighbors like? Have there been any complaints lodged against them? Knowing this can give you a good idea of who you will be moving in next to.