Viewing Tips?

The first piece of advice is that you should decide where you want to live and what you want to live in first. Do you want to live in the countryside or in a town. If in the town, which part of the town? What type of property do you want? Do you want an old property, which you can do up and make money from? Do you want a flat or a house? Do you need a large kitchen? How many bedrooms do you need, and do you want a garage, a garden, and where should the garden face? What local amenities do you want nearby?

Estate Agents will send you details of properties matching your criteria. You should tour the area, checking out the schools, public transport links, shopping etc. You should then arrange as many viewing appointments as possible. This will enable you to make comparisons. Remember than it will pay to be suspicious of anything you see and hear. The outside of the house may look nice, but could it be a fresh lick of paint? Does it hide brickwork that needs repointing? Are the walls bulging and is the woodwork rotten? These are problems that will be very expensive to rectify.

Inside the property, look out for signs of damp, and then look at all walls and ceilings for any cracks. Ask if the property has been recently rewired, and look at all of the wiring. Whilst you are doing this, count the power points in the room and work out if they'll be adequate. Should you own kitchen appliances, turn up knowing their measurements and then check whether they will fit in the kitchen. You should then ask to see last year's utility bills, so that you can see what the running costs of the property are.

If, after all this, you like what you see, you should go back to the property at a different time of day. The best time for this would be in either the morning or evening rush hours, so you can see if the road is used by commuters as a short cut.

Should you be happy with all of the this, you can make an offer on the property. Don't go straight in at the asking price, unless you are desperate to buy or need to move very quickly. The asking price is how much the seller is hoping for, not what they expect to get. Your offer should be made subject to a survey and contract, which gives you a chance to withdraw it should any problems arise.

Should the valuation and survey suggest that the property is worth the price, and local searches don't bring up any problems you can proceed to exchange contracts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© AskFinancially.com 2009

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