Viewing a Property: What Buyers Look At and What They Should

A viewing lasts twenty minutes and decides a purchase. The observations that matter, and the ones that mislead.

A viewing is a short visit during which a property is presented at its best and a buyer forms an impression that is difficult to revise. The errors below all involve responding to presentation rather than to the building.

Why these keep happening

These mistakes share a cause: attention goes to what has been arranged for you to notice, while the things that determine how the property performs are quiet, unglamorous and easy to walk past.

1. Judging the property by its furniture

Presentation is designed to create an impression, and it works.

• Avoid it by: Look at rooms as empty volumes: dimensions, proportions, light and how doors and windows are placed.
• Proof it is closed: Room dimensions noted rather than impressions recorded.

What it costs you: The furniture leaves with the seller, and what remains is the layout, the light and the condition.

2. Viewing only at the best time of day

Viewings are arranged when the property shows well.

• Avoid it by: Return at a different time before committing, particularly in the late afternoon and the evening.
• Proof it is closed: A second visit at a different time recorded.

What it costs you: Afternoon heat, evening noise, parking pressure and traffic are all invisible in a morning viewing.

3. Not opening anything

Testing things during a viewing feels intrusive.

• Avoid it by: Open doors and windows, run taps, flush, and switch things on.
• Proof it is closed: A list of what was tested and how it performed.

What it costs you: Doors that stick, windows that do not close, taps that run slowly and cupboards that do not open reveal condition faster than any visual inspection.

4. Ignoring smells and sounds

Visual assessment dominates and properties are aired before viewings.

• Avoid it by: Stand still in each room for a moment with the windows closed, then with them open.
• Proof it is closed: Observations noted per room.

What it costs you: Damp, drainage problems and noise sources are often detectable this way before they are visible.

5. Skipping the unglamorous parts

Roofs, plant areas, parking and service spaces are not presented and are easy to omit.

• Avoid it by: Ask to see the roof, the plant area, the parking and any service spaces.
• Proof it is closed: Photographs of the service areas, not only the living spaces.

What it costs you: These are where condition is most visible and where the expensive problems live.

6. Not looking at the neighbours and the street

The viewing focuses on the property boundary.

• Avoid it by: Walk the street before and after the viewing, and look at the adjacent buildings and their condition.
• Proof it is closed: Notes on the immediate surroundings.

What it costs you: What surrounds a property affects daily life and resale, and it is visible in ten minutes of looking.

A short check before you sign

• Have you assessed rooms as empty volumes rather than as furnished scenes?
• Have you returned at a different time of day?
• Did you open, run and switch on the things you could?
• Did you stand still long enough to notice smells and sounds?
• Did you see the roof, plant areas and parking?

If it has already happened

If you have made an offer after a single short viewing, arrange a longer visit before committing, ideally with an inspector. A second viewing frequently changes the picture, and it is considerably cheaper to change your mind before the deposit than after it.

If you are buying a finished property, Domira can inspect it, verify the documentation and price the findings with you before you commit.