Buying our first house

Ask how they get on with the neighbours, any noise, boundary disputes etc. Get a decent survey done.
 
Yes.

Try not to listen to other people's anecdotes about mortgages. solicitors, estate agents. surveyors, etc. It's the most boring subject on the planet!


Steve.
 
Chris O said:
Ask how they get on with the neighbours, any noise, boundary disputes etc. Get a decent survey done.
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This^
Look for mold and cracks, ask if any building work, conversions or extensions had planning permission. Visit the neighbourhood at different times if you don't know the area. Have fun and hope it goes well!

J
 
Go at different times of the day to see what the traffic is like, mid morning might be empty, 5 and after might be rammed with cars and you might have difficulty parking your own car
 
Don't think that just because the boiler's been serviced every year it means it works properly.........

Moved into a house in March and replaced the boiler in April..... wiped out "Russ' photo editing PC fund" completely :(

As others have said, check what the neighbours are like and if there have been any disputes.

What's the parking situation like? That seems to be quite a bone of conention for a lot of people.

Oh yeah..... on a more light hearted note.... that house that seems like it doesn't need much decorating done to it, well that's what we bought, so far I've redecorated 2 bedrooms, hall/stairs/landing, lounge & dinning room. All that's left is the kitchen and 1 bedroom :lol:
 
Make sure you do a drain survey. Doesn't cost a lot but can save you a fortune.

Also if there is a patio or any hard standing near the house check for moss. If it has it then its either a damp area or the sun doesn't get to it.
 
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Chris O said:
Get a decent survey done.
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Dont rush into getting the survey done. Only when you are absolutely sure the house is for you. Even then once you've coughed up £500 or whatever for one, even if the survey turns up work that needs doing most people are then reluctant to simply kiss goodbye to the £500 and start looking round elsewhere for a different property. Although the survey results can be used to try and negotiate price drops from the seller to cover repairs.
 
my first thing when looking would be roof as that can be very costly if in need of repair/replace..

work out your priorities. some buyers look for the best house needing little to no work done and don't worry about garden, parking, local amenities etc.. whereas others (me being one of them) will consider a house that might need some minor work in the near future if the garden size and parking is good.

take a walk around the areas you are looking at, do it at different times of the day, check out the parking, local parks, yoots on street corner.
 
Something in the back of my mind is saying about poor credit rating or CCJ with the existing owners.

From what I remember it that somehow gets linked with the address and could cause problems for new owners, something a solicitor should check out.

Think about being close to schools or churches the noise from them could be annoying

Realspeed
 
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No one is ever going to tell you they dislike thier neighbours.
Just because there haven't been any actual disputes, doesn't mean the guy next door's not a complete nonce.
 
viv1969 said:
No one is ever going to tell you they dislike thier neighbours.
Just because there haven't been any actual disputes, doesn't mean the guy next door's not a complete nonce.
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They probably won't but I think it'd be pretty easy to pick up on if the vendor is telling fibs ;)

On the flipside... a vendor may be brutally honest and say the person next door is a complete arse....... but in fact the neighbour is as nice as pie and it's the vendor causing the problems. Either way I think gut instinct is good in these situations.

The house I moved into is only 7 doors down from my parents and where I spent most of my life (from about the age of 4 to 26 and then from 30 to 32) so I had a pretty good idea of what the area was like :lol:

While I think about it... get a GOOD solicitor conveyancer..... I've gone the "cheapest possible" route before and they were useless. This time I picked a local firm with a good reputation (and not that much more expensive than the cheapest option) and they were fantastic! So much so I got them a thank you card and some chocolates :lol:
 
Avoid buying anywhere that has (a) woodchip wallpaper and/or (b) artex swirls on the ceiling. Because they are horrid :naughty: and also woodchip always hides an absolute multitude of bodges, so when you come to replace it due to not wanting to live in the house from 1973 any more, you'll spend an eon getting it off the walls and then almost certainly need a professional plasterer to make it good.

More generally, if you think somewhere needs "a little bit of work, but we can do that ourselves, so it's a good price", it almost certainly will end up taking way, WAY longer than you thought. I speak from experience ;)



Russ77 said:
While I think about it... get a GOOD solicitor conveyancer.....
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Agreed. This is not an area where cheapest = best (although in many other areas where this is also true people buy on price anyway, then wonder why they are getting rubbish). There is a lot to be said for using someone local that you can actually go and talk to, rather than a shed on the internet.
 
Guys, I really appreciate all the pointers and things to look out for. I'm sure all of this will come in handy when looking.
We looked round a house last night, 12 years old, very nicely (expensively) decorated, new modern kitchen and bathroom 2 years ago. The vendors seemed really nice, a Latvian lady and an English guy. Expensive cars in the driveway, didn't seem like the sort of people to "do things half hearted". The area seems nice, lots of trees and a golf course over the road (I didn't tell the wife that though) :), it just seems right........ We've had our eye on it a while and driven round the area a few times at different times of the day/week.
BUT..........
Are we seeing it through rosé tinted glasses as its the first one we've viewed internally ?

We do have a few more to look at this week and I guess it will give us something to compare to.

Thanks again guys.
Rich
 
Definitely view others to get a comparison. Try not to view them half-heartedly because you've already decided you want the first place.
If you've got any older friends/relatives who are builders/roofers or generally older and wiser, try and persuade them to have an impartial look at the one you like, see if they spot anything about it you missed.

Oh and dont believe any of the "Oh yes we're all ready to move out quickly and speedily " stuff from the sellers/estate agents, it invariably takes 3 months at best.
 
realspeed said:
Something in the back of my mind is saying about poor credit rating or CCJ with the existing owners.

From what I remember it that somehow gets linked with the address and could cause problems for new owners, something a solicitor should check out.
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Nope, those details are held against a combination of name and address.

Since the new owners and old owners will have no financial links, there should never be a problem. If there is, that is down incompetence of the company with the problem.

Also, due to data protection, you will not be able to get any of that information. If I was selling a house and a buyer asked my permission to do a credit check on me I would be saying a very firm no.
 
Definitely go and look at some others. I remember when we bought our first house we got so excited when we saw the first one - "wow, we could actually own this house and live here...where do I sign".
We then looked at a few others which made it clear which bits of the first one would have been hard to live with (space in bedroom, garden etc).

Enjoy the experience though it's a fun step to be taking!
 
A tip, as you are renting try to stagger the move. i.e. mive into new house on June 1st, vacate existing after June 7th. Gives you a week to redecorate/recarpet etc... as well as put shelves up and do other jobs in a totally empty house. Also, means you can move in a more relaxed way!
 
cambsno said:
A tip, as you are renting try to stagger the move. i.e. mive into new house on June 1st, vacate existing after June 7th. Gives you a week to redecorate/recarpet etc... as well as put shelves up and do other jobs in a totally empty house. Also, means you can move in a more relaxed way!
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:plusone:

excellent advice

Also as you are first time buyer then, you yourself are not in a chain which may add to your negotiating power over prices.
 
We've just recently bought a house and moved in. Took us a long while trying to sell our old house. One of things we did which was useful for checking out the neighbourhood was go onto the police.uk website and type in the postcode. It the tells you about reported crime in that area. It's quite worrying at first but if you interpret it ok it gives you a better picture. People's tolerance to antisocial behaviour are different!

The other advice I would give you is don't forget, even though it may appear this way, the estate agent is working for themselves. (Not going to say anything else about that one!)

Even though you will get a survey done things like plumbing and electrical wiring always come back as a "to check" the surveyor isn't qualified on these. Defo try and get these checked out. Good pointers for electrics check out the state of the wall sockets and switches, are they quite modern. Ask to to see the fuse board, is this modern. Both houses we've bought both needed a full rewire! Which is expensive and very messy and a lot of hard work cleaning up and redecorating. I was lucky my best mate is a spark and looked after us on both occasions. This maybe something you don't mind doing with the right house, some like a good project after they move in. However if you want to move in and relax and put your feet up (or have a tight budget after moving in) then I'd get it checked out. You could also bargain about the price!

Good luck!
 
There can be no generalization on property. Each one is totally individual and will have been treated differently or abused by owners or tenants.

I have reported on an 8 year old timber frame house with major rot in structural members (still within its 10 year NHBC warranty period).

I inspected the roof space of a 12 year old modern home last week where a previous owner had cut out major parts of 3 different roof trusses in order to get something big into the loft space - completely destroying the integrity of the roof.

I have seen a 2 year old NHBC conversion with major damp - not the sellers fault - the original builders

Last month I saw 2 different properties where one owner had rewired his own kitchen, adding new sockets and lighting and they were already shorting out and another had installed his own garden hot tub (including a new external electrical supply) - all in breach of current Building Regulation requirements and dangerous to anyone in the property.

Another homeowner had built a 2 storey extension without permission (Planning or Building Regs) and had put a marble floor over the only manhole, which meant there was no access to any of the drainage in the event of a blockage. The solicitor suggested the Seller pay for a insurance policy against the Council finding but which would have left us with all the problems and cowboy work of the Seller.

Please note - Sellers lie on their Disclosure Forms and Solicitors are "Economic with the truth".

Buyer beware on this one - there are many unsavory people out there including Sellers, Solicitors and Estate Agents - and you have to deal with all three.
 
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rhody said:
Last month I saw 2 different properties where one owner had rewired his own kitchen, adding new sockets and lighting and they were already shorting out and another had installed his own garden hot tub (including a new external electrical supply) - all in breach of current Building Regulation requirements and dangerous to anyone in the property.
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So, is it now impossible for someone that's not registered with NICIEC (or equivalent) to safely wire a socket in a kitchen since part P?
 
onomatopoeia said:
So, is it now impossible for someone that's not registered with NICIEC (or equivalent) to safely wire a socket in a kitchen since part P?
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Part P changed this year and its requirements were downgraded.

However, Joe Public cannot rewire a kitchen, move and add sockets and cooker points and install wiring without having it independently inspected, tested or authorised.

In this case the homeowner had installed the wiring at all angles; had installed sockets too near the sinks in the kitchen and utility rooms and left live wires buried in the plaster, just bound in electrical tape. All of the homeowners diy downlighters were also dangerous and a fire hazard.

Too stupid for words - which is why Part P was brought in years ago.

Part P gives all the options here http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partp/approved#Download
 
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Make sure you get a solicitor that is recommended and experienced in residential conveyancing. This can be one of the most stressful bits of moving. I have more grey hairs attributed to our very recent move! We had a solicitor, started our sale then he retired. That's where it all went downhill.

Get a good survey done. Not just the one that the mortgage company do. We had a Homebuyer's Pack done. Well worth the extra money. That way you know there's no nasty surprises.

Be patient. It can take anything from 6 weeks to 4 months depending on the size of the chain. Our first house we bought, we were in 6 weeks after offering. That lulled us into a false sense of security for this move!
 
rhody said:
Part P changed this year and its requirements were downgraded.

However, Joe Public cannot rewire a kitchen, move and add sockets and cooker points and install wiring without having it independently inspected, tested or authorised.
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I just read the 2013 version, it's a lot shorter than I remember the earlier versions being, which talked about stuff like numbers of fused and non-fused spurs and so on, no mention of them now.

You certainly used to be able to add sockets outside of special locations.
 
When we bought our first house we visited it a few times before at random times of the day just to see how noisy it was, if there is a local school spilling out into the neighbourhood, local pubs and any local problems. You cold always speak with potential neighbours too and see what the area is like to live in ill time.

Whatever you do, do not move or get the keys on a Friday, it's a knightmare with the estate agents and solicitors on a Friday.
 
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My tip would be to make written notes on each place you visit. It's easy to think you will remember stuff, but they all start to blur together after you've seen a few.

Good time to be buying, so good luck.
 
Quick update.

We found a house, after viewing lots. The house is listed as Offers in excess of £129,950 (it's a Scottish thing apparently). Went in at a cheeky £125,000, refused as expected but worth an ask. Upped our offer to £130,000 (our absolute maximum) got a call back last thing that day saying she had also refused that offer......... Gutted !!! Back to the drawing board I guess.... Hopefully the vendor will see sense and realise that we are first time buyers, ready to move whenever suits her best.... I won't hold my breath though. Apparently the vendor wants nearer the £140,000 mark?? So why bloody put the property on at £129,950 !!!!!! Grrrrr, so frustrated right now....
 
Mardybum said:
Anyone else ever come across the "offers in excess of" situation when buying a house?
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I saw some listed that way when I moved in 2010, didn't like any of them enough to think about offering though. The "normal" way of just listing a price was far more common.
 
Its good that you're not tempted to go over your maximium to get it.
Keep plugging away something will turn up.
 
When I put my flat on the market I did a straight "For sale: £138,995" but after 6 weeks with no interest (and two other flats for sale in the block at about the same price) I went for OIEO £134K..... that didn't stop people offering £127K :lol:

Because we had found a place we liked, we eventually sold for £131K (I ideally wanted £134K but I thought it was worth dropping a little more to get the house we really wanted)
 
Russ77 said:
When I put my flat on the market I did a straight "For sale: £138,995" but after 6 weeks with no interest (and two other flats for sale in the block at about the same price) I went for OIEO £134K..... that didn't stop people offering £127K :lol:

Because we had found a place we liked, we eventually sold for £131K (I ideally wanted £134K but I thought it was worth dropping a little more to get the house we really wanted)
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That's reassuring..... Hopefully she will come back with an acceptance of £130,000. A 3 bed exactly the same on the other end of the street (without south facing garden but a bigger garden backing onto woodland) was on for £130,000 and sold for £127,000 a few months ago....... I just don't get her logic. We think its because she had a solid European pipi oak kitchen and a villeroy & boch bathroom installed 5 years ago so she is wanting more because of this to try and recoup some of the money she's spent. But I said were not buying it because of the fitting, it's bricks and mortar at the end if the day with a bit if land. Yes the house was decorated nicely, but we would change most of it anyway as we prefer a bit of colour rather than plain whites/creams etc.
 
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