Being a home buyer should only be a temporary state. You’re moving home, and you’re currently in the process of searching for a new house. Viewing homes can be a nightmare, or it can be a great experience. Sometimes the seller will try to avoid answering certain questions and other times you’ll see that what they have said previously on the phone isn’t true. Very rarely will a home that looks too good to be true turn out to be that way. Viewing a home and getting an accurate picture of the home in just a few minutes takes skill. Most of all it takes a sharp eye to see behind the curtain and figure out what kind of home it really is. On the surface it could look strong and sturdy, but during the winter the floorboards might creak and crack underneath the pressure. So what do you need to do to get the most amount of information from a viewing in the quickest time?
Never trust face value
It might sound harsh, but the main thing you must not do is believe every word the seller or the real estate agent is telling you. When you enter the home, keep a sharp intellect about you and focus on what you see and what you don’t see. The agent will be giving you a tour but no doubt, they and the seller worked out a deal or a plan to only show the best bits of the home. For example, they will take their time showing you a great garden. However, they will rush through a room that has mould and mildew on the walls, signs of a leaking water pipe as the wallpaper has bubbled and risen off the surface. So, just for good practice, never trust what the person giving you the tour says at face value.
Venture further in
When viewing a home, it’s your right to inspect every available part that’s open to you. Go into each corner of the living room, look at the skirting boards, the floor colour in the corner compared to the rest of the room. You should be checking the corner of the ceiling too, and look for cracks and signs of structural fatigue. When you’re shown a window on the 1st floor or any floor for that matter and the focus of the agent is the view, go further in to have a look at the window sill. Sometimes an issue can be right in front of you but the job of the agent is to momentarily distract you away from it. Can you see signs of rainwater leaking in?
Check the logistics
If a home has passed your eye inspection, then call in a professional team that will give you the low down on the logistics of the home. Check out homebuyer surveys and costs to see what will happen when you do. They’ll check the quality of the roof, the strength of the walls, make sure the electric, gas and oil are costed accurately, and also check the quality of the drainage and insulation.
Be on your guard to sweet talk when you’re home viewing. The agent is working for the seller, and they both want to get paid. By polite but be sceptical also. Call in the experts when you think you have a winner and venture further in to inspect every nook and cranny.
This is a collaborative post.