Buying a property can be a daunting task, especially if it’s your first time. One vital part of the process is conduction house viewings to find the one for you.
There are so many things to know and think about when you’re about to go and view a property.
You want to make sure that the house ticks all the boxes, that any compromises are ones you can make, check for any issues, and of course, there is the search for “the feeling”.
We have probably viewed hundreds of properties in the past years and know how important it is. So in this article we draw on our experience to answer frequently asked questions about house viewings when buying.
How Many Viewings On A Property Should You Have?
This is a question that many buyers ask and it’s a good question. However, there isn’t a hard and fast rule, because it will depend on your individual circumstances.
On average people tend to view a property between two and four times before making an offer. But there are situations where you might not have time to view a house more than once. Maybe you’re worried about losing your own buyer or there is a lot of interest in the property you are viewing.
We have been in both situations before and had to make a decision after only one viewing. Thankfully, we loved both houses, and we never regretted our decisions to make an offer after the first viewing.
Equally, there are reasons to view a house multiple times. You might have spotted some issues the first time round and want to make sure you know exactly what you let yourself into.
Or you’re just not sure if it’s the property for, and you want to make sure that it will work for you. Maybe you know that you will have to make alterations and need to check that you can do what you’re planning.
We have viewed houses which we really liked, but they needed a lot doing to them. Either in terms of repairs or remodelling to fit our needs. In these cases, we viewed the houses more often and even took a builder to get an idea of costs.
We delve into this topic in more detail in our guide about how often to view a house when buying.
How Much Time Should You Spend Viewing Houses?
Another question many buyers ask is how long to spend at a property during a viewing. Again, there isn’t a definite answer, because you have to spend as much time as you need.
This doesn’t sound particularly helpful, so to make it easier for you to gauge the necessary time, you can look at the reason for the viewing. Because this will give you a better idea of how much time to spend.
- First viewing – 20 to 30 minutes – to decide the property is a possible contender
- To make sure viewing – 45 to 60 minutes – this is often the second viewing, and you want to try and figure out if it is really what you’re looking for
- Second opinion viewing – 30 to 60 minutes – you might want to take someone for a second opinion: a friend, family member or a builder
- Issue viewing – 45 to 90 minutes – if you have discovered an issue, you want to investigate it fully before making an offer
- Measuring up viewing – 20 to 30 minutes – you might want to make sure that the rooms are big enough for what you want, so measuring up is a useful exercise
If you want to know more about this topic, head to our guide about how long you should spend during viewings to learn more.
What Should You Look For During A Viewing?
There’s a long list of things you should check during a viewing, but here’s a condensed version of the key things:
- Is there enough space?
- How about storage?
- Are there any signs of significant issues (damp, subsidence, etc.)
- Does the heating work?
- Do all windows and doors open, close, and lock?
- Is the roof and guttering in a good state of repair?
- Is there sufficient parking?
- Are you happy with the noise, traffic, and safety of the area?
Keeping these questions in mind during a viewing will help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls. However, it’s worth making your own list based on the things that are important to you.
You’ll also need to be thinking about the general state of repair of the property. If the electrics are outdated, they may need updating, if there’s asbestos in the property, planned refurbishments may be more costly.
The key thing is that you first check the property is right for you and meets your needs. Then, you need to get a good idea of the amount of work that will be required to ‘make it your own’ and the costs involved.
Only once you’ve considered all of this can you start thinking about how much your offer should be. That’s why it’s important not to rush your viewings.
We found over the years that first viewings tended to be dominated more by the heart, whereas at the second or further viewings the head takes over. You hear people talk about “the feeling” a lot, and it does exist.
We have walked into properties, and it just felt right. Others ticked most of our boxes, but we just couldn’t see ourselves living there. Having “the feeling” is important, but it shouldn’t overrule all caution.
That’s why we try to use first viewing to listen to our heart and the second to look at it with our head. It’s a strategy that has worked for us for many years.
What Questions Should You Ask During A Viewing?
House viewings serve several purposes: you want to figure out if it’s the one for you, discover any issues, check if any repairs are needed and so on. And the seller will be able to help you with many of these.
There are three types of questions you should ask the seller during house viewings when buying a property.
Questions About The Seller’s Position
Knowing more about the seller’s circumstances will help you when negotiating the price. For example, if you know the seller has already found their dream home, it’s likely they will accept a lower offer so as not to lose it.
But it can also tell you more about the property and the area. For example, if the seller has lived there for decades, you know that it’s a nice area to live in. And you can be sure that they know a lot about the property.
On the other hand if they have only been there for a couple of years, you might wonder why they want to move on so quickly. Of course, there are legitimate reasons, but it’s good to delve deeper. There might be an issue that’s prompting them to move.
So make sure you find out as much as you can about how long they lived there, why they are moving and if they have already found somewhere new.
Questions About The Property
Before buying a property, you should find out as much about it as you can and the vendor is often best placed to answer them. And asking the right questions during the viewing might bring up some issues early.
While you could just wait for the Homebuyers Report, knowing these things early can prevent delays and help you to figure out if it’s the home for you.
So ask the seller about the boiler, electrics, any work they have carried out, such as extensions or loft conversions and if there are any issues you should be aware of.
The seller is legally obliged to answer these questions honestly, if they don’t, there could be consequences for them.
Don’t hesitate to point out and ask questions about any issue you have spotted, such as cracks or signs of damp. These might be nothing to worry about, but it’s always good to make the seller aware that you have seen them.
Questions About The Area
The area is often just as important as the home itself, sometimes even more so. So it’s important to find out as much as you can. And while you can do research online and walk around to answer some questions, it’s always good to ask the seller, especially if they have lived there for a long time.
What you ask will depend on what is important for you. For example, inquire about public transport, amenities, green spaces or schools close by.
You should also ask about the neighbours and whether the seller or anyone else in the neighbourhood has been burgled before.
It’s even a good idea to meet the neighbours and ask them about the area as well.
We discuss the best questions to ask the seller in more detail in another of our articles.
How Many Houses Should You View?
When you start your search to buy a home, it’s unlikely that you buy the first one you see, although it could happen. If you fall in love with the first property you see and know it’s the one, there is nothing wrong with putting an offer on it.
However, this would be a rare case, as most people will have to look at several houses before they find one that fits the bill. How many exactly depends on many things, including:
- The amount of suitable properties in your search area in your budget
- Your willingness/ability to compromise
- How well you know what you want
- How long your wish list is
- How wide your search area is
- How quickly you want/need to buy/move
- If you are waiting for the perfect home
- How well your expectations match the reality
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s the main ones that will impact on how many houses you might have look at.
As you might have guessed, there isn’t a concrete number of houses every buyer should view before putting in an offer. It’s all about your individual circumstances.
We have bought several houses over the past years and every time the number of houses we looked at before finding the one was different. Drawing on our experience, we would say that you want to look at least at 3 to 5 houses.
This will give you an idea of what your money can buy you in your preferred area for your budget. This doesn’t mean that you can’t look at more, but we wouldn’t recommend seeing fewer, if possible.
Of course, you can look at as many as you want online. When we are house hunting, we check several online portals on a daily basis, including Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket. But we only go to see those in person which we think could work for us.
If it takes you only 3 houses to find your dream home or if you have to view 20, the main thing is that you do find it.
We hope that this page has answered your questions about house viewings when buying a property so that you can start your house hunt with confidence.
