Tim Watts wrote:
On 15/07/15 09:18, AnthonyL wrote:
For a variety of reasons I've got to being a pensioner and have never
bought a house through an agent in the UK.

I've just had an offer accepted on what appears to be a well presented
and maintained 1960's extended (floor level only) bungalow.

Yes there are lots of websites but I'd appreciate some of this groups
experiences especially with solicitors and surveys plus anything else
you'd do differently if you had known what you know now.



If this is England or Wales, your offer is not binding until exchange -
so you still have an "out".

Me:

Get a torch and a camera. Go and have another look in daylight. Look
under the sink, everywhere where there is visible plumbing, look at the
consumer unit and poke your head into the loft and spot some lighting
wiring.

You should be able to assess if it looks "decent and newish" or "old,
bodged and crappy".

Walk around the floors and look for bouncy or wobbly bits.

Look at the roof from the ground (binoculars if you have access).

Look at the brick work, pointing etc.

Windows and window frames.

Look behind furniture next to an outside wall for tell tale damp patches.

=====
That's quite a lot you can look at visually.


Surveyors? Well - they might spot something - I would say it's worth
engaging a good one.

But in addition, you can also pay for an electrician to do an EICR
(electrical installation condition report) - that'll be 200-300 ish.

You could also pay a GasSafe person to do a Gas Safety check and boiler
inspection.

You could also get the drains CCTV surveyed.


Missus's dad, who (before he got too old) was what I think they used to
call a jobber, told us to throw a bucket of water down each drain. I
found one collapsed gulley that way about 20 years ago, and got a small
price reduction. Although it did cause me a day's work, too.


Out of those, the EICR offers the most useful check for the money IMO,
over and above what you can see yourself.


The important thing is take your time - refuse to be rushed. Take some
pictures. Mark on the agent's floor plan where the sockets and rads are.
This will let you spent some time planning your layout when you move in.


If you think it could do with an immediate paintjob, I recommend paying
for moving with a few days storage as a buffer and getting the place hit
in one go by the painters. Book a carpet clean too. It is all so much
easier to do when the place is devoid of furniture.


Of course, most people don't do half these things, but some do do some
of them, so I merely present as a pool of ideas, not as a "must do list".


As for solicitors - many are useless and slow. Try to find one with a
reputation of being ruthlessly efficient - they do exist.