Viewing

View enough properties to understand what your budget buys in the area. Photographs are good at showing finishes and bad at showing noise, awkward space, overlooked rooms, steep roads or the condition of the building.

Before each viewing, write down three needs, three preferences and the things that would make the property a no. That stops a bright kitchen quietly rewriting the whole brief.

What to check before a viewing

Read the whole listing, floor plan and Energy Performance Certificate. Check the tenure, council-tax band, broadband options, official flood information, recent sold prices nearby and visible planning applications. Look at the route to work and the services you would actually use, not just the distance on a map.

The asking price is a marketing position. Completed sales are imperfect but more useful evidence than another current asking price, which is still only an owner's intention.

What to look for at the first viewing

Start with whether the layout, light, storage and outside space work. Look past decoration to the roofline, windows, heating, signs of water entry, cracking, ventilation and any obvious alterations. Ask before opening cupboards, testing taps or looking into a loft.

Note smells, traffic, sound between rooms, mobile signal and parking at the time you are there. A photograph of the boiler label, consumer unit or a suspicious mark can help you ask a better question later, with the seller's permission.

You are not trying to certify the gas, electrics, drainage or structure. Record what you saw and give those concerns to the surveyor or conveyancer.

Questions worth asking during a viewing

• Why is the seller moving, and what timescale do they want?
• Is there a chain, and is it complete?
• How long has the property been marketed, and has a previous sale fallen through? If it has, did anything about the property contribute to the buyer withdrawing?
• What is included, and have there been extensions or major works?
• For leasehold: what are the lease term, service charge, ground rent and known major works?
• For a new build: what is the exact specification, reservation deadline, completion basis and ongoing estate or service charge?

The agent may not know every answer and is acting for the seller. Treat an answer as a useful lead, then verify important points through documents, your surveyor or your conveyancer.

When a sold STC property comes back onto the market

A property returning to the market is worth asking about, although it does not necessarily mean that something is wrong with the home. The previous buyer's mortgage or chain may have failed, their circumstances may have changed, or they may simply have decided not to carry on. The estate agent may only know that the transaction ended and would not be expected to disclose the previous buyer's private financial or personal information.

What matters to you is whether the earlier transaction brought a problem with the property to light. Ask whether the buyer withdrew after the survey, lender's valuation or legal enquiries, and whether anything was raised about the condition, title, lease, flood history or another part of the property. There is no automatic right to see the previous buyer's survey, and the agent may never have received it, but information does not cease to be relevant simply because that buyer has gone.

Estate agents must not give a misleading account or leave out information an average buyer would need to make an informed decision. This does not make every reason for a failed sale material: a broken chain is different from a serious defect or legal problem which the agent knows about. If the agent has been told about a potentially significant property issue, they may need to ask the seller for more information and make it known to later buyers.

What to check at the second viewing

Go back if you are seriously considering an offer. Test the points you missed, measure the spaces that matter, look again at the outside and ask follow-up questions. Take someone who will notice different things, but keep the decision anchored to your own brief.

If you intend to extend, convert a loft, run a business, keep a pet in a leasehold property or rely on a particular parking space or access, say so to your conveyancer. A viewing cannot tell you whether the title, lease, planning system or building regulations allow it.

What you may want to keep private

You do not need to tell the seller's agent your maximum budget or that you would be devastated to lose the property. You do need to be accurate about your funding, deposit, chain position and intended timescale when you make an offer.

What to check at this stage

• Keep a short list of what you need, what you would prefer and what would rule a property out.
• Read the EPC and floor plan and look at nearby sold prices before you go.
• Look for visible signs of problems with the roof, windows, heating, damp and drainage, while leaving the condition assessment to a surveyor.
• Ask whether the property is freehold or leasehold, what the seller plans to buy, when they hope to move, which alterations have been made and what is included in the sale.
• If a previous sale fell through, ask whether the buyer's circumstances or something about the property caused it, then investigate any property issue independently.
• Return at another time of day and walk the surrounding streets.
• Use a second viewing to check measurements, condition, noise and questions you missed the first time.
• Tell your conveyancer about plans that may affect the legal checks, such as extending, letting or working from the property.