Buying a home is not something you can do on the spur of the moment – far from it. In fact, it is one of your most important decisions, especially if it’s your first time to buy property. There are a lot of factors which can influence your decision, such as the location, the neighbourhood, the condition of the property, and so on. If you are planning to buy your future dwelling, here’s your crucial guide to viewing a prospective home.
Be objective
When you see a house for the first time, try to be objective. Don’t let the house’s trappings distract you from the actual condition of the building. Even if the house seems to be the home you’ve been looking for, you have to remain objective and see the house not as a future home just yet – but as a structure. In the same vein, if you find any faults in the house, don’t let this put you off right away – you can use this to negotiate a better price based on the severity of the fault and how much you have to spend to fix it.
Check it several times
If you can spare the time to view a property once, then you can spare some extra time viewing it again. It’s best to see the property at different times of the day, not just in the morning, but also at night. The more time you spend viewing the house, the more you are likely to see any potential problems.
When you check the property, don’t just check it for 10 minutes and be done with it. Do a more thorough inspection. It has been shown that buyers who view property for over an hour and a half have a better chance at reducing the asking price since they tend to see more issues and therefore have more leeway for negotiations.
Pay attention
Whilst checking the house, pay attention not only to the interior but the exterior as well. Make it a point to walk around outside and check for cracks in the exterior walls. Assess the roof – are there any broken or missing roof tiles? How about gutters which are run-down or even broken? If there are any problems, ask whether these will be addressed. Once you decide to make an offer on the house, have it independently assessed by a good building surveyor, such as a building surveyor from Chelmsford provided by Cheke & Co. The company, located in Essex, has surveyors who can conduct customised and bespoke surveys for any type of property.
Finding your ideal home is easy if you know what to look for. By being critical and observant, you can be more confident that you have made the right decision in the end.
Image attributed to Pixabay.com