Check Everything Before You Buy

With the economic recovery continuing, more homeowners are looking to move or get on to the property ladder. This increase in the number of buyers has led to a more pressurised environment, where people are often led into making quick decisions. With such an important purchase, you need to consider all elements of the property carefully. A snap judgement now could be costly further down the line.

Whatever the value of the property, checking out all aspects of it, from the plumbing and electrics to the parking options and lamp post guard, is vital. This can only be achieved by viewing a number of times and, if necessary, taking a professional along with you to provide an estimate. However, with more and more people viewing homes, buyers can feel under pressure to put an offer in. Even if you think other people could beat you to it, you need to take the time to make the right decision.

Missing Things Could Be Costly

New research from Aviva found that in the last year the amount of time buyers spend viewing properties has fallen. In some cases, they spent around thirty minutes in the property before they put an offer in. This is potentially the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make, so it’s not something you should rush into.

25% of the buyers questioned by the insurer had just had one viewing, which in most cases is not sufficient to pick up every detail. This could cause you to miss important repairs, which could be costly when you move in or even cause the sale to fall through. The average repair bill when homeowners moved in was £3,490. Some of this could have been avoided if they’d noticed the necessary repairs before they made the offer. The areas that buyers should pay attention to include plumbing, evidence of damp and damage to the chimney.

More Buyers Will Mean Quicker Sales

This increased number of buyers in the market is good news for sellers, but it does mean that buyers should be extra cautious. As the economy grows and the mortgage market is more buoyant, there will be an increasing number of buyers looking at properties. This could allow sellers to gloss over some of the important areas in order to get a quick sale. In some parts of the country, houses are selling in less than 30 days, which doesn’t give buyers much opportunity to think over their options.