Viewing of the house

GinaI

Hi,

I have an approval in principal and I am going to view a house soon. Any tips on what to pay attention to, what to ask and what not tell?

Thank you

Atlantic Dawn

This might be a start, probably others to be added too...

• Ask what modifications if any have been done to the house from when it was originally built.
• If the house is lower than the road outside ask if it's prone to flooding and also check on www.floodmaps.ie to see if there's a record of flooding.
• Check the energy rating, external windows and doors, and enquire when the plumbing system was fitted.
• Check outside the property to see if there's any boundary issues where either the house your looking at or one of the neighbours properties overhangs.
• Check for planning permission notices in the area at the local authority to see nothing new is going to be built that will devalue the house or impact on your quality of life.
• If it's an old house factor in rewiring.

iainBB

check the neighbors gardens are the well kept have a a dog that will bark all night. how many kids do they have kids toys on the front lawn.
Check plumbing, heating wires etc see how old it is windows. attic cracks in walls. check road traffic parking
road lights , area at night

What you are trying to do is value the property + all repair work required.
Try to value to cost of getting up to standard.
and value the house compered to other house you have seen. and what you will pay for it.
take pictures, and write down pros and cons for each room, outside, etc. ( will fill forget this later if you don't write it down)

and what the others have said above.

whiskeyman

Ask if owner occupied or rented - may incur issues with tenants moving out if rented.
Ask situation of sellers - are they in a 'chain'? i.e. waiting on other seller to move out or moving abroad / new build etc...
Be sure you read the spec well and understand what you'd be looking for in a house - side entrance / downstairs wc etc...

best of luck!

spaceHopper

Why are they selling, are they in a chain. Any offers, was it on the market before and sale agreed, if so why is it back.

Is it in negative equity, do they need bank agreement to sell. Is it bank sale, Any know structural issues with the house?

What is included in the sale?

Francisco64

Just from my own experience of what I'd look out for again:
If the heating is not on when you go in ask for it to be switched on while you view. As its warm this time of year turn the thermostat up so you can feel if all the radiators are heating properly and listen for noises of pipes clanking. Its a sign of badly fitted pipes and used to wake us up early when the heating came on in the morning. I ended up refitting most of the heating pipes.
Check for signs of leaking water/stains in the ceilings under bathrooms and ensuites. If something looks iffy stand on a chair and gently poke the plaster to see if its soft or crumbly.
With your hand feel around closed doors and windows for drafts.
Black mould in the bathroom or in the plaster on walls can be a nuisance to remove.
Check if any recent painting might be covering up something.
As said above definitely try and suss out the neighbours/dogs etc. You can fix the house...
Even before you view take a drive by/walk by at different times of the day/night to see what activity is going on. eg are there gangs of teenagers sitting on the garden wall, loud music etc.
Arrange a second viewing in case you miss something first time around.

GinaI

I viewed some properties today and I was surprised to learn how little the agents knew about the properties they were shown.they could not answer questions about the age of the house, management fees etc. Also electricity was cut off in all of the house, so even though a fridge, a cooker etc was included in sale I couldn't check if they actually worked..

tuisginideach

Not sure if totally acceptable but on a second time to view, client took photos in every room. She did end up buying the house so it paid off.

GinaI

Can electricity connection, wires etc be checked as a part of a structural survey?

Teyla Emmagan

Drive by the house night, noon and morning to see what it is like at various times of the day. And get out and have a check for noise etc each time. Traffic and hordes of kids can really affect a house depending on the time of day.

Don't buy near a church, a school or a sports ground. Especially Croke park.

size5

Maybe not on first viewing BUT check the attic (a) To make sure seller is not going to leave any unwanted rubbish up there for you and (b) That any extractors fans are vented out through the roof(and not into the attic as I had come across!!).

GinaI

What stage a structural survey is usually done at? Before or after making an offer?

sKeith

I would not buy a house with disconnected electricity. I'd tell the seller that if they wanted to sell the house, they should get the electricity reconnected or expect a huge discount to be gotten.

GinaI

sKeith wrote: »

I would not buy a house with disconnected electricity. I'd tell the seller that if they wanted to sell the house, they should get the electricity reconnected or expect a huge discount to be gotten.

I am on a very limited budget and it looks like there is plenty of interest in the house even with electricity disconnected. So I am not really in position to negotiate, I think :-(

SB_Part2

GinaI wrote: »

Can electricity connection, wires etc be checked as a part of a structural survey?

If the electricity has been disconnected for more than 6 months you need an electrician to certify it's working properly before ESB will turn it back on.

GinaI

SB_Part2 wrote: »

If the electricity has been disconnected for more than 6 months you need an electrician to certify it's working properly before ESB will turn it back on.

thanks. would you know how much such certification can cost? ( excluding the cost of repair if necessary)

SB_Part2

GinaI wrote: »

thanks. would you know how much such certification can cost? ( excluding the cost of repair if necessary)

Depends on the electrician and where in the country you are.

GinaI

SB_Part2 wrote: »

Depends on the electrician and where in the country you are.

I am looking to buy in Co Wexford

SB_Part2

GinaI wrote: »

I am looking to buy in Co Wexford

I'm not going to be able to give you a quote. You'll need to contact a local electrician.

tuisginideach

OP says the electricity was cut off in all of the houses she viewed and she couldn't check if fridge/cooker etc worked - that seems very strange - I presume it's not just that the fridge was unplugged/main cooker switch turned off?

GinaI

tuisginideach wrote: »

OP says the electricity was cut off in all of the houses she viewed and she couldn't check if fridge/cooker etc worked - that seems very strange - I presume it's not just that the fridge was unplugged/main cooker switch turned off?

Yes, it was in all 4 houses I've viewed. I did ask the agents and got similar answers like "nobody has been leaving in the house for a while".