Viewings can be arranged at times to suit you, including evenings and weekends. You will be accompanied by an agent or landlord, who can give advice and answer any questions you may have.
- Place all the property from both the newspaper and agents in front of you and pick out the property within your price bracket and put the rest in the bin. Shortlist the property you like and want to view. Try and keep this to about 5 properties.
- Select one day when you are completely free. Try and get someone to look after your children if you have them, if the property is suitable and you do like it they can go with you on the second viewing. Ring the necessary agents and try and book your viewings on the same day, realistically timed so you can get them all in.
- The day before your viewing day make yourself a checklist of things you are looking for, such as fitted kitchen, central heating, double-glazed, garage, garden size, shed, if kitchen appliances are included, if there is a chain involved with the house, the area, the neighbours, how big the drive is, access to name a few to start you off. Photocopy this so you have one checklist for each house.
- The day of the viewing is here. Always have someone go with you on a viewing. Not only is it safer you also get that valuable second opinion. When you are en-route to the first house allow yourself 10 minutes to drive around the area if you are not familiar with it, this allows you to get an idea of what the street is like, how far it is to a local shop, post office, post office, school etc. When you get to the house just observe the street for 5 minutes or so, you don’t have to get out the car, but just have a look to take in the general look of the street. There may be teenagers hanging around outside, there maybe someone using the street as a garage to do their car up. All sorts of things happen which can eventually lead us to hating living in a house.
- When you approach the house, make sure you check what the roof looks like from the street, such as the fascias. Check for any cracks in the walls or driveway. Also check for large trees. Sounds a strange one, but large trees have large roots and they can damage driveways and foundations of a house. Check for security such as security lights, house alarm or even cctv.
- When inside the house don’t let your first impression fool you. You need to look for the quality of the walls and ceilings, light fittings and electrical wiring.
- Always ask lots of questions such as: "What are the neighbours like?" - This is an important question as the last thing you want is to move next door to a neighbour from hell. Obviously the people renting the house would be reluctant to tell you if there were any problems, but you can generally tell from the answer they give. Also when you approach the house and a neighbour is in their garden, or outside give them a friendly "hello" or "good morning". This will give you a clue as to the type of neighbours they are. Also while in the house listen out for any loud music, persistent dogs barking or anything else loud and unruly!
- Always ask if you can have a look around on your own at the end of the tour. This is important as when people are showing you around a house they can sometimes stand in front of a problem (e.g. a huge hole in the wall), so you miss it, or quickly usher you on to something else before you get chance to notice it. Always check to see if your own furniture will fit in the house. Do you want to get rid of your new £2000 sofa because it won’t fit?
- Do not forget your checklists! People will not mind you doing things like this as lots of people take notes when viewing a property.
- Check to see if they allow pets. This can be a problem, most of the time it is not problem at all but it is something to be aware of.
- Look out to see if the agents have made an effort. Check for cleanliness. The last thing you want is to view someone's bathroom and find hair in the sink and dirty underwear on the floor.
- Take a look around the garden and take note of how secure the fences are. Do you have pets, especially a dog and would these fences be enough? Fences and gates can be expensive and you dont want to be replacing left,right and back fences for pet security.
- When you have finished your first viewing take a 10 minute break. Discuss the house viewing with your partner. And repeat the whole process untill you have viewed all of your houses on your list.
- Using your checklist sheets for each house, shortlist the properties again and if there are any you would like to submit an application to rent. You tend to know when you have found the right property. You can always sense it.
- When asking questions make sure you are serious as the landlord can like and dislike you, it sounds silly but it is proven that you have a possibility of getting the property.
- Watch out if this house is a new-ish house. Newer houses are often bulk built and "thrown up" and the walls are often very thin - this is just a thing to watch out for.
- If you are viewing a brand new property, remember that these properties are kitted out with brand new furniture, fixtures and fittings. Think about how the property will look with your own things in, and forget the idea of the show property furniture. The agents only do this to rent the property furnished and it often fools a prospective tenant. Most of the time in brand new properties, if there is furniture then they probably want to rent it as fully furnished.
- Never try and take on too many property to view at once. 5 per day is plenty and do not plan anything else that day. If you do more than 5 properties it will only become confusing and more stressful than it already is.
- If you have children do not forget to take into consideration the actual street itself. Is it a busy road? Is there a play area? Are there other children in the street for them to make friends with? Is the school nearby? Will your children have to change school?