Things to look for when viewing a house

Getting on the property ladder is a hard enough job without factoring in actually going and viewing houses that you might like the look of. If you are working on buying your first time house, you might not know what you should be looking for in a potential property. Here are some things to look for when viewing a house:

Have multiple viewings

It’s important to make sure you view a house more than once so that you can experience it at different times of the day. In the winter months it gets dark quite early and this could mean you missing out on a good view of the gardens, bad lighting inside the house and not being able to see what the area us really like.

Electrics

Older houses especially can definitely have issues when it comes to the electrics. When you are viewing the house keep ask to look at the main switchboard to make sure that it’s modern and up to date. You can also look at what condition the plug sockets are in as you look around and decide whether you would need to replace any. You might also look for if you will need to add any new sockets to make sure there are enough and in the right place.

Location, location, location

It’s so important to get to know the location of the house you’re looking at. Take some time to walk around and find out where the nearest shops are, where the public transport is and if there are any schools close by. You could end up with a packed street both in the morning and at pick up time. Of course, you might want to be close to a school too.

Plumbing problems

There are quite a few things that you could look at when it comes to the plumbing. Maybe you want to make sure that there is a combo boiler and central heating. Maybe your bathroom needs a shower with decent water pressure. You might also want to ask how old things like the boiler are so that you can factor in a replacement if needed.

Storage space

Need somewhere to store the vacuum cleaner or maybe the house you’re moving from has a large kitchen. Be sure to really look at storage options in the house you’re looking at as you don’t want to end up with less space than you need. Think about the things you already own and where they might fit in the new house.

Damp

Damp can obviously be a really big problem in some houses and it can be easily hidden by the sellers. A coat of paint can hide quite a lot for a while. If a room has been recently painted this might be a sign. Be sure to look at ceilings and the condition of the plaster too.

It might be handy to go in with a list of things you want to look at or ask while you’re looking around a property.