House viewing checklist

• 🚌 Look at transport links, and what your commute will be like.
• 🏫 Look at the quality and location of nearby schools using Admission Day if you have children (or plan to).
• 🛒 If you don’t know the area, think about local amenities such as shops, gyms, theatres etc.
• 📶 It can be worth double checking Wifi speeds and mobile coverage.
• ✈️ For noise, you can check whether the property is under common flight paths. Check out Flightradar24 or Flightaware for live locations of planes over a map.
• 🚨 You could also check the local crime rates, and for flood risk. Flood risk will be officially checked by your conveyancer later on in the buying process too.

• 🏠 Compare the price to those of similar properties nearby which have sold recently (not just listed prices). You can find sold prices via these links for the Land Registry, Rightmove or Zoopla.
• 📈 Consider property price trends in the area, which you can find by local authority or region from the Land Registry. Price trends are important to consider if your property is an investment, or a stepping stone to a bigger property in the future.

• 🏦 Consider how affordable your monthly mortgage payments would be using an online mortgage calculator, and also how high they could rise if the interest rate rose in future.
• 💰 Find out the council tax for the property. The council tax band will be listed on the property portal, then google what that band pays for that council.
• ⚡Consider energy bills. The EPC (energy performance certificate) rating on the property portal will give you an indication of its energy efficiency, but you might want to ask the estate agent or seller for a rough indication of the actual bill.
• 💵 Remember you’ll start paying buildings insurance for a freehold property, and contents insurance.
• See the next drop-down section for costs specific to leasehold, share of freehold, and freehold properties on estates.

• ⌛For leasehold or share of freehold properties, you should check the lease length, as there could also be a one off cost of extending the lease in future. You don’t want to be buying a property with a lease of less than about 90 years, as renewing the lease can be very expensive if there’s 80 years or less left, and you have to wait 2 years after buying a property before you can apply to renew a lease.
• 💵 For leasehold or share of freehold properties, check if there’s any ground rent. This will be written into the lease document, which the estate agent or seller should have seen. You should also check whether this ground rent increases over time or not.
• 🛠️ For leasehold, share of freehold, or freehold properties on estates, ask if there’s any service charge or maintenance charge, and/or sinking fund/reserve fund. These are all different ways of paying for maintenance of the building or communal areas, and costs will vary over time.

• 🌳Garden (including whether it gets sunlight)
• 🚗 Room for parking
• 📦Storage space & space for fitting in furniture
• 🔌Plug sockets - number and location
• 🍽️ Dishwasher
• 👖Tumble dryer, or another way to dry clothes
• 🚨Burglar & smoke alarm
• 🖥️ Space for an office at home
• 📣Noise from the road or neighbours - if possible, visit the area at different times of day, and on friday evening or the weekend to get a feel for this. For flats, check for noisy floorboards - if the flat’s own floorboards are noisy, the ones in the flat above could be noisy too.

Check:

• 🏚️ For obvious repairs needed. Particularly look out for big cracks in the walls, which could be a sign of structural problems, or tiles falling off the roof.
• 🌊 For any signs of mould, damp, or leaking. Look for black patches on walls, discoloration of inside or outside walls, and gutters that are wonky or overgrown (as this could have caused damp).
• 💡All lights & taps work, and the toilets flush
• 🚰The water pressure
• 🪟 The bathroom has an extractor fan or window
• 🤳Phone signal is decent throughout the property
• 🔐If the windows lock - you might need to ask if the seller still has the keys even if there are locks present

• 🗓️ What is the age of the boiler & when it was last serviced?
• ⚡Are the boiler & hob gas or electric? (if it’s not obvious. Electric boilers can be more expensive to run.)
• ❓What type of boiler is it? (combi, heat-only, or system. Combi boilers are the most space efficient and produce heated water instantly, but the other types can be better if multiple people want to use hot water at the same time)
• 🎛️ Where are the heating controls? (if it’s not obvious)
• 💰 What do utilities tend to cost?

Ask:

• 🛠️ Has any work done on the property in the last 10 years? (to get an idea of maintenance & repairs, but also to see if your solicitor will need to look into the planning permission of conversions or extensions)
• 🏘️ Is there any building work planned by neighbours that the seller or estate agent are aware of?
• 🔨When was the roof last replaced or maintained? (the roof could be a big medium term cost)
• 🗓️ What’s the age of the house? (needed for things like insurance)
• ❓What’s the insulation type in the loft? (if applicable)
• 📨 If it’s a flat, how is the post delivered? Does everyone’s post go in a pile by the front door?
• 📃 If it’s leasehold or share of freehold, what is the length of lease, and are there any restrictions of the lease? Also ask if there is any ground rent, service charge, or a sinking fund, and who is responsible for keeping up the communal areas.

Ask:

• What is their reason for selling?
• Is the seller buying another property?
• If so, are they actively house hunting already? (this could help speed up the transaction)
• If the seller is buying, would they consider breaking the chain in any situation? (this means they’d complete the sale to you, move into temporary accommodation, and later complete their onward purchase. This can help remove the need for lots of different people to coordinate, which often causes problems. Lots of sellers wouldn’t be able to do this, but if they are willing to, it shows they are very dedicated to selling the property).
• Are the sellers in a hurry or do they have a particular deadline?

Ask the estate agent:

• What would a reasonable offer be? (though they might not be willing to answer)
• Have there been any offers already? Have any offers been accepted but fallen through? If so, why?
• Have any surveys been done on the property recently, either by other prospective buyers or by the seller when they first bought? What issues did those surveys find? (the estate agent has a duty to tell you anything that might affect your decision to buy)