Real Estate buying guide - a detailed checklist to use when you buy a house...
It’s that crazy time of the year in real estate, and with a hot market at the moment people are madly trying to secure homes before someone else gets there first. Having said that, buying a home is one of the single biggest purchases within your life, so it’s not something you will rush into.
There are always a lot of things to check, inspect, research, observe about any potential purchase. Some of these things are standard checklist items, others a personal preference.
To help all those current (and future) buyers out there Links Property have compiled a detailed list that you might find useful from various lists I’ve found over the years…
- The dimensions of the land, including whether it is the same as what appears on the title.
- The structure of the building, for example the foundations, plumbing, wiring, dampness, cracks in the walls
- Do all the electricity switches work and the state of the wiring?
- Water pressure and plumbing? The drainage from the bath and other outlets?
- Is there air-conditioning and heating? It it gas/electric, ducted/wall? Where is it located?
- The state of the roof, tiles, and guttering?
- Pest infestation?
- Whether any part of the building overhangs an adjoining property.
- The condition of the fences.
- The gutters, eaves, roof, exposed pipes
- Is there cracking or any signs of rain damage or leaks? Any signs of rising damp?
- The tendency of the land to flood – ask the neighbours if the property is in a low lying area, especially if it is located at or near the bottom of an incline.
- If there is a vacant block of land next to or near the property, check with the council. For instance, you would probably want to know if a block of flats or apartments is to be built next door, or a huge house will be built that will allow the neighbour to look over your back yard.
- Whether there are any zoning, building restrictions or body corporate guidelines (for building) on the property.
- Whether there are any easements. An easement is something that restricts the ability to use of the land, for instance whether there is a right of way across the property.
- Whether there are any roads or freeways proposed to be built in the area.
- Whether any renovations were completed without council approval. Wiring and plumbing must also have been legally connected.
- Is this the type of area you want to live in?
- Is there the public transport you need, and a reasonable distance to shops, schools etc.
- Do I know the price performance for the area?
- Have you conducted at least two inspections at different times of the day to check traffic and noise, and the exposure to the sun?
- Are the rooms a sufficient size?
- Does the laundry allow easy access to the yard?
- Is the kitchen designed to work well (you will curse yourself later if it doesn’t!). Location of dishwasher, fridge, pantry/cupboard space?
- Is the house insulated?
- Can you see the kids play indoors/outdoors whilst in the kitchen?
Also, here is a great list you can print and use when you are inspecting homes to make sure your remember the features of each property you look at.
Aussie Property Buying -checklist
Or if you are buying land and building here is a great checklist to use as a starting point.
Buyers Guide to Building a New Home
Also for those that may be thinking about buying land and building a house I can recommend a blog written buy one of our clients. They bought land from Links Property in The Sands Torquay several years ago, and documented the entire process of looking for land through to building their house and moving in. It’s all on their blog www.lot271.com
I hope all this information proves useful in your current or future house -hunt.
Until next time,
Your Neighbour!
Links to some of the checklists I referenced…
