Buying a house can be stressful, especially for first-time buyers, but property and estate solicitor Jennifer Steel has shared a vital tip on the one question to always ask at a house viewing — along with one thing you should never ignore.
The One Question to Ask at Every Viewing
Jennifer Steel, a property and estate solicitor, recently revealed the question she says buyers should ask without fail at every viewing: “Every viewing, without fail, what are the circumstances of the seller?”
She explained what information buyers need to obtain, adding: “So what are they (seller) looking for? Are they looking to sell quickly? Are they under pressure to sell? Is it a probate sale, meaning it’s being sold as part of an estate, someone who’s died?”
“Or is it somebody looking to offload a second property? Was that property rented? How long has it been vacant? Once you get a picture of what the need is of the seller, then you as the purchaser can try and fit that need and that’s valuable information.”
What to Never Ignore Outside the Property
While it is natural to consider everything inside the house — from electrics, water pressure, and the boiler to damp, mould, floors, roofs, gutters, and cracks in the walls — Jennifer said there was one thing to never ignore outside the property.
She explained: “Parking. Absolutely make note of the parking situation, not just the parking for the unit you are going to look at, there may be parking, there may not be parking, there may be allocated parking. Look generally, is it overcrowded?”
“Try and go back to the property maybe outside of the time that you are viewing it and see, you know, do the neighbours all have three or four cars. Are the overflow areas absolutely jam packed? Are people parked on the pavements?”
“Because it can be very frustrating to buy a property and realise that the parking is actually going to be a major concern for you going forward, and that can cause some people to pretty soon look to relist the property.”
Jennifer answers questions from the public on her social media pages, covering a range of property topics from why solicitors are so expensive to why some buyers celebrate too early.
