Issues to look out for when buying your first house

Buying a home is one of the very best things that you can do in life.

Every day we work with people buying their first home and we love chatting with them about what they have planned for their property and what they need to do next.

With that in mind, here are some of the top tips and conversations we’ve had with people looking to buy their first home:

The sky can be the limit, but check the roof

One of the worst things that can happen in a new home is for the roof to fail within your first year.

It’s important that you’re able to recognise a roof in need of repair.

If you find that it is dipping in the middle or that it is missing slates, the chances are that it will need repairing.

This is also worth bearing in mind as a new roof could lower your homeowner’s insurance rate.

Check the switches and taps

According to Which? only 28 per cent of people check the taps and water pressure while viewing a home, while only 35 per cent check that the light switches work.

These are two factors that you’ll only be able to find out by checking the issues yourself.

It’s also worth testing that all the windows open and close properly, as you don’t want to discover these kind of faults in a property when you move in.

A house is deeper than a paint job

Focus on structural issues such as wiring and appliances instead of how well the house might be presented.

It’s also worth making a note of the temperature, as heating and cooling systems are very expensive to both fix and replace.

Make sure they are in good condition during your viewing.

Flooring matters

No matter what happens when you move into a home, the likelihood is that you’re going to want to change your flooring.

Check places such as the bathroom or the basement, such as engineered wood flooring in the bathroom, as this could lead to larger issues.

Here at Best at Flooring we know exactly what kind of flooring is best for each room of the house, so it’s always worth speaking to us to know which floor is better suited to your property.

If you can, view the property more than once

Although you might be very enthusiastic about a particular home, and the market might be moving very quickly, it’s always best to have a second look at a property that you might be interested in.

The more times that you visit it, the more you are going to be able to find potential issues.

It’s advised to view a property at different times during the day so that you can find out how the environment around it might change — especially important if it is near a main road.

Arrange a house survey

No matter how well a house might appear on the surface, always get it checked out by a professional.

Mortgage lenders will of course request a valuation survey, but this is not the same as a house survey, which looks at the condition of a property.

You can find out about all the different types of house surveys with Which?.