Hit the trail prepared

Abundant Sources of Information

The internet. Property supplements - with feature articles in national newspapers, and advertisements in local newspapers. Field trips. Property inspections. Even auctions. This page explores all aspects of property hunting.

Choosing your area(s).

If you must live on a specific road or within a school catchment area, your search area is limited and clearly defined. However, most people have some flexibility concerning location, and the wider you cast your net, the greater your choice.

Too Pricey? Maybe Not.

For most people, some locations are off limits, period! Prices in areas such as Sandbanks in Dorset, Mayfair in central London and St George's Hill in Surrey range from very high to nose-bleed.

But most areas have properties in varied price bands, and the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive can be substantial. For example, Chiswick is an upmarket West London suburb that is full of young well-to-do families living in pricey terraces, semis and detached houses. That is the stereotype—and it is accurate.

However, Chiswick also contains flats above shops and ex-council properties priced closer to £200,000 than to £2m.

Similarly wide price bands are also found in the suburbs and rural areas throughout the country, and if an area is too pricey, it is likely that a neighbouring town or village will be much cheaper.

Research as many areas as you can manage.

You can hire various professionals to help you find or evaluate a particular property or area. These include buying agents and even detective agencies.

Make an ally of your A-Z

Even in our internet era, old-fashioned books still have a place. If you are buying a property in an unfamiliar area, find the property - or the road it is on - in the street atlas before you visit. The map may indicate that a railway or underground line or sewage treatment plant is too close for comfort. The property you are considering may back onto playing fields, which may or may not be to your liking.

A street atlas may tip you off to conditions that you may want to know about sooner rather than later. One flat being viewed by prospective buyers was directly above an underground line -, and shook when trains passed underneath. The HIP (Home Information Pack) was silent on this important matter, and the seller confessed, but only after being asked. The information was not given voluntarily.

A street atlas will also show you how close the roads are to one another. If they are crammed together, the gardens are likely to be small. Many roads form triangles, with a narrow tip that widens out. The properties closest to the pointy tip are more likely to have smaller gardens, or no gardens at all.

Systematic use of maps should help you prepare efficient viewing lists - and spare you from fruitless visits to properties in blatantly unattractive or unsuitable locations.

These days, aerial and street photographic views are available, but old-fashioned maps also have their uses.

Does my bum look big in this?

Would you buy a suit without first looking into a double mirror to see how it looks and fits from behind? The property that looks great, and quiet, and pleasant on the Sunday afternoon when you view it may give off radically different vibes on Saturday nights. Day versus night, winter versus summer, weekday versus weekend, school day versus school holiday. Visit the property at different times.

You can also get valuable feedback by visiting local pubs and chatting with the locals.

This is important, so I will repeat it: visit the property at different times of day, and different days of the week. Talk to people who already live there.

Flats Need Deeper Research

Especially if you are buying a flat, learn as much as you can about the other occupants in the building, and the managing agent. Observe as much as you can, but talk to people too, especially current homeowners or tenants.

Some questions you might want to ask:

Knocking on the door of a perfect stranger does not come easily to many of us. But the information you can obtain might be invaluable, and approaching a potential neighbour might be easier than you think.

How would you react if a polite stranger knocked on your door wanting to know more about the area because they were thinking of buying a property? Would you turn them away or be helpful?

Congratulations: You Are a Surveyor

No, you are not. Chartered surveyors have a great deal of specialist knowledge, whereas you probably don't know a purlin from a ptarmigan. Even if you intend to have a professional survey later, you can do some valuable amateur sleuthing yourself. If you know where and how to look - and have some essential tools - you can read a great deal into the state of a property. Toolkit helps you become a better property viewer.

Checklist

Doors. Windows. Walls. Roof. Floor. Joints and Joins. Appliances. Boiler. Central Heating. Make a list. Note the condition of all of these items. Look particularly for bumps, stains, cracks and other irregularities. Look very carefully at the areas around door and window frames. Inspect the loft if possible; if you can't actually enter it, at least try to peer into it.

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