Questions to ask when viewing a house

When viewing a house, you need to have a set of questions ready to ask or find the answers out to, in order to ensure that you are thoroughly prepared and don't let yourself in for some rather nasty shocks or surprises down the line, both with regard to cost and repair and even what type of lease there is!

Key questions to ask include the following:

What is the council tax band of the house, and therefore what would the council tax be on the property for the year?

What type of lease there is on the property: is it on a freehold rather than a lease?

Parking: it may be obvious when you view it that there is parking with the property but things are not often so clear cut, and sometimes it can be ambiguous if residents are allowed to park on the road in front of the property and so on. So you need to find out if there is allocated parking for the property or not. If it turns out there is not, then you need to factor this into your considerations as to how desirable the house is - how easy is it to park near the house, and do the convenient places to park tend to be taken resulting in a bit of a trek?

The garden is important for many, and for those with a family you will want to know if a garden is shared with others or private to you. Particularly in a block of flats you need to find this out with anything that appears to be partitioned gardens. And with houses without clear boundaries or fences - also best to check.

Try to find out about the neighbours - estate agents will usually say they don't know about the neighbours, but by spending time in the property whilst the neighbours are likely to be there (in the evenings say) then you can get an idea of if there is loud music all day for instance.

Consider the transport links for the property, and how far it is to a station, shops, local amenities such as a gym if this is of interest to you, and so on.

With regard to the property it is good to know if there is a chain or if the seller has no ties, and also indeed if they are looking for a quick move as this could mean there is more room for manouevure on the price they will take.

Inside the house of course you need to see if it has central heating, look at the size and layout and facilities of both the kitchen and bathroom which are very important for most people, and check that the bedroom is large enough to fit your bed in, if you already have one. Check that if a property is advertised as three beds that the third room is a bedroom and not a box that no child older than toddler could occupy!

By having a checklist of questions prepared for yourself and going through them thoroughly for each property you visit, you can ensure that you have most things covered.

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Questions to ask when viewing a house