First ever house viewing! Advice please!
Discussion
BRISTOL86 said:
I've been informed that the seller is still looking to find a place to buy,
Try and get a sense for how serious they are - what's driving their move?One house we were looking at was taken off the market as "the kids don't want to move". The kids were 2 & 4.
I don't think anyone else has mentioned this, but look at which way the house faces regarding the sun. A north/east facing patio won't be much use, for example.
Seeing are you are exited then I'd definately look at 2 visits.
1st visit can be discarded as you wont "see" anything
2nd visit. Check everything others have said but also check behind the loo for water leaks. also under the kitchen sink. Is the tiles around the bath/shower in good condition?
If the silicone is poor then tap the bottom row of tiles. If they feel loose then you need to strip the wall back and redo all of it. Then its a case of IF you can get those tiles again or just start over.
Wall paper falling down?
don't worry about scuffs. you will probably redecorate anyway
1st visit can be discarded as you wont "see" anything
2nd visit. Check everything others have said but also check behind the loo for water leaks. also under the kitchen sink. Is the tiles around the bath/shower in good condition?
If the silicone is poor then tap the bottom row of tiles. If they feel loose then you need to strip the wall back and redo all of it. Then its a case of IF you can get those tiles again or just start over.
Wall paper falling down?
don't worry about scuffs. you will probably redecorate anyway
Phew, finally back from work and can answer some of the good points you guys made! We had a little drive-by on the way home from work, such was our excitement!
- The property is 15 years old, in what seems to be a lovely quiet residential neighbourhood. It's a 3 bed semi.
- Driveway for 2 cars in addition to incredibly deep garage which extends the length of the garden. Off street parking was a must for me, absolutely non-negotiable.
- All windows double glazed
- Decorated to a very good standard (superficial, but important for me as I'm a bit OCD about things being just so). Subject to viewing in the flesh to confirm, but nothing that would want any attention straight away (and I'm particular).
- Separate living and dining room rather than open plan, which was something I wanted after living in a fairly small flat with open plan living/dining/kitchen
- Reasonable sized kitchen, in a very good decorative order, with built in dishwasher and washing machine. Good for us moving from a furnished flat as we need to buy any kitchen appliances that we would need.
- Living room leads through to dining room which leads through to small conservatory (something that was on my "ideal" wishlist but never thought we'd get in our price range). Really happy about that. Love the idea of having a little conservatory to chill out in!
- Is served by a bus route to and from the centre of Bristol, stops on both side of the line within 2 minutes walking. Massive plus as the OH doesn't drive and I'm fed up of being a taxi!
- Living room is almost perfectly square, big plus for me. I have plans to wallmount my TV and AV kit, and a lot of living rooms are just oddly shaped and don't give you much flexibility with how you layout the room. Plenty of options there.
- Bathroom is a bit smaller than we have now (but least important room in the house for me, personally in terms of size). Flooring and bathroom suite look showroom new from the picture, TBC in real life!
- No pubs in the immediate vicinity. Works for us. We are the stay at home and stick a film on with a bottle of wine types, rather than the go down the pub types. We'll also be looking to start a family in the next 2-3 years so a quiet neighbourhood is ideal.
- There is a wide range of schools in the 1-2 mile radius, will have to look into them to see how good they are! But the house is 5 minutes up the road from where my niece and nephew live, and they go to a very nearby primary school which according to my brother is very good.
Looking forward to the viewing now. I think we've answered almost all the questions we can until we actually see the place and get onto the stuff like the boiler, electrics and co.
In case anyone's interested, here's a top down view of the immediate neighbourhood. The house is in the red circle
- The property is 15 years old, in what seems to be a lovely quiet residential neighbourhood. It's a 3 bed semi.
- Driveway for 2 cars in addition to incredibly deep garage which extends the length of the garden. Off street parking was a must for me, absolutely non-negotiable.
- All windows double glazed
- Decorated to a very good standard (superficial, but important for me as I'm a bit OCD about things being just so). Subject to viewing in the flesh to confirm, but nothing that would want any attention straight away (and I'm particular).
- Separate living and dining room rather than open plan, which was something I wanted after living in a fairly small flat with open plan living/dining/kitchen
- Reasonable sized kitchen, in a very good decorative order, with built in dishwasher and washing machine. Good for us moving from a furnished flat as we need to buy any kitchen appliances that we would need.
- Living room leads through to dining room which leads through to small conservatory (something that was on my "ideal" wishlist but never thought we'd get in our price range). Really happy about that. Love the idea of having a little conservatory to chill out in!
- Is served by a bus route to and from the centre of Bristol, stops on both side of the line within 2 minutes walking. Massive plus as the OH doesn't drive and I'm fed up of being a taxi!
- Living room is almost perfectly square, big plus for me. I have plans to wallmount my TV and AV kit, and a lot of living rooms are just oddly shaped and don't give you much flexibility with how you layout the room. Plenty of options there.
- Bathroom is a bit smaller than we have now (but least important room in the house for me, personally in terms of size). Flooring and bathroom suite look showroom new from the picture, TBC in real life!
- No pubs in the immediate vicinity. Works for us. We are the stay at home and stick a film on with a bottle of wine types, rather than the go down the pub types. We'll also be looking to start a family in the next 2-3 years so a quiet neighbourhood is ideal.
- There is a wide range of schools in the 1-2 mile radius, will have to look into them to see how good they are! But the house is 5 minutes up the road from where my niece and nephew live, and they go to a very nearby primary school which according to my brother is very good.
Looking forward to the viewing now. I think we've answered almost all the questions we can until we actually see the place and get onto the stuff like the boiler, electrics and co.
In case anyone's interested, here's a top down view of the immediate neighbourhood. The house is in the red circle
Sheepshanks said:
Try and get a sense for how serious they are - what's driving their move?
One house we were looking at was taken off the market as "the kids don't want to move". The kids were 2 & 4.
I don't think anyone else has mentioned this, but look at which way the house faces regarding the sun. A north/east facing patio won't be much use, for example.
Interesting point about the patio. What's the reason for not wanting a north/east facing patio if it's not a stupid question!?One house we were looking at was taken off the market as "the kids don't want to move". The kids were 2 & 4.
I don't think anyone else has mentioned this, but look at which way the house faces regarding the sun. A north/east facing patio won't be much use, for example.
BRISTOL86 said:
DoubleSix said:
No sun!
I thought the sun rose in the east! So wouldn't an east facing patio get the sun in the AM/early PM?OTOH you mentioned chilling out on the conservatory. You won't be doing that if it faces south or west!
Sheepshanks said:
That's fine if you want to have family BBQ's in the morning.
OTOH you mentioned chilling out on the conservatory. You won't be doing that if it faces south or west!
Ha, good point! Meh, who are we kidding. We get about 6 weeks of sun a year, the rest of the time it's going to be in one of three states:OTOH you mentioned chilling out on the conservatory. You won't be doing that if it faces south or west!
- About to rain
- Raining
- Just stopped raining
BRISTOL86 said:
Ha, good point! Meh, who are we kidding. We get about 6 weeks of sun a year, the rest of the time it's going to be in one of three states:
- About to rain
- Raining
- Just stopped raining
You're already overlooking major downsides aren't you?? I can almost hear the agent rubbing his hands together! - About to rain
- Raining
- Just stopped raining
Seriously though, I wouldn't buy a family home without a S or SW facing garden. The fact that we get little sun in this country makes it all the more valuable tbh.
It's one of those less immediate things that you need to have lived with/without to appreciate I suppose.
Check out the neighbours. You'll be stuck with them if you decide to move in.
I generally knock on the door, apologise for bothering them, say that I'm thinking of putting in an offer on the house next door, explain that I'm new to the area, and can they tell me anything about it.
I've never been refused yet: most people take pride in their home and will happily spend 5 minutes chatting.
5 minutes should be enough to tell you what type of people they are, and moreover get an insight into the seller.
I generally knock on the door, apologise for bothering them, say that I'm thinking of putting in an offer on the house next door, explain that I'm new to the area, and can they tell me anything about it.
I've never been refused yet: most people take pride in their home and will happily spend 5 minutes chatting.
5 minutes should be enough to tell you what type of people they are, and moreover get an insight into the seller.
DoubleSix said:
You're already overlooking major downsides aren't you?? I can almost hear the agent rubbing his hands together!
Seriously though, I wouldn't buy a family home without a S or SW facing garden. The fact that we get little sun in this country makes it all the more valuable tbh.
It's one of those less immediate things that you need to have lived with/without to appreciate I suppose.
Haha no I'm going to be very rational and calm when the time comes Seriously though, I wouldn't buy a family home without a S or SW facing garden. The fact that we get little sun in this country makes it all the more valuable tbh.
It's one of those less immediate things that you need to have lived with/without to appreciate I suppose.
I must admit that's something I didn't give a second thought to, so appreciate you raising that. I'm not sure it's something that would actually stop me buying a house that I otherwise loved in all honesty, but it's one more thing to consider. I'll be sure to whip out the iPhone compass when we're there!
Mobile Chicane said:
Check out the neighbours. You'll be stuck with them if you decide to move in.
I generally knock on the door, apologise for bothering them, say that I'm thinking of putting in an offer on the house next door, explain that I'm new to the area, and can they tell me anything about it.
I've never been refused yet: most people take pride in their home and will happily spend 5 minutes chatting.
5 minutes should be enough to tell you what type of people they are, and moreover get an insight into the seller.
Yep that's definitely part of the plan! Luckily it's only immediately adjoining one house, so fingers crossed they're not psychopathic lunatics with a penchant for 3am raves!I generally knock on the door, apologise for bothering them, say that I'm thinking of putting in an offer on the house next door, explain that I'm new to the area, and can they tell me anything about it.
I've never been refused yet: most people take pride in their home and will happily spend 5 minutes chatting.
5 minutes should be enough to tell you what type of people they are, and moreover get an insight into the seller.
We're waiting for a call back tomorrow from the mortgage broker confirming that we can borrow what we want to borrow.
Our deposit funds will be in place in 19 days from now (when I receive my bonus)
I'm hoping that it won't be a stumbling block that we will potentially be ready to make an offer whilst only having 95% of our deposit in place. We're talking about a matter of a few days by the time we get to that point - if we do at all - so I'm sure (hope) it won't be an issue!
Our deposit funds will be in place in 19 days from now (when I receive my bonus)
I'm hoping that it won't be a stumbling block that we will potentially be ready to make an offer whilst only having 95% of our deposit in place. We're talking about a matter of a few days by the time we get to that point - if we do at all - so I'm sure (hope) it won't be an issue!
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