It’s often said that we spend less time looking at a house we might buy than we do checking over a car – and in our experience, there’s quite a bit of truth in that.
Perhaps it’s that fewer properties than cars will match your needs, making it harder to find something that’s even nearly right. Certainly a healthy dose of compromise is important in the typical house hunt!
However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be thorough. It’s perfectly normal to view a property two or three times before making an offer and the more you check yourselves, the fewer surprises you’ll get from reading the survey report!
Checking things yourself may well therefore save you money and heartache in the long run.
During a first viewing, you’ll generally be getting a feel for whether a property could become a home – and your heart will (quite rightly!) rule your head. However, on a second viewing you need to hold your emotions in check and dig a little deeper. Buying a property is a huge investment and it’s important that you’ll be happy with your decision for a long time to come.
A pair of more experienced eyes can be invaluable too, so take someone more knowledgeable with you if you feel you need to.
Here is our list of second viewing tips and checks (don’t forget that a smartphone is very useful here!):