If you’re about to buy a home, then you’re going to spend some time viewing it beforehand. This is an important part of the home buying process! So, I’ve written a guide on what to look out for when you view a house for the first time:

Interior

Step inside the house and you have to be alert for many things. Firstly, look at the walls and ceilings in every room. Check if they’re clean and free from damp or mould. Mould can be harmful to your health, and be annoying for you to remove. Also, it shows signs of water damage, which is another thing to look out for. Check to see if the walls are wet in places and have a look under sinks to see if there are leaky pipes in the house.

Take a trip to the attic and explore the roof of the house. You’ll need to be watchful of any holes in the roof that could leak in wet weather. A roof with holes in will cost money to repair, and that will come out of your wallet if you buy the house.

One of the more obvious things to look out for is the room space in the home. You’ll know how many rooms the house has, but now is a chance to see them for yourself. You get to stand in them and see how much space there actually is. A four bedroom house sounds appealing, but if you view it and find all four rooms are tiny, it loses its appeal. Also, you get to see how big the house is in general. You get to have a real feel of the house and see if there’s enough space for you to live comfortably.

Exterior

There are a few things you should also be looking out for on the outside of the house. Starting with the most obvious, you should keep an eye out for any cracks or holes in the house itself. Have a look at the outside walls and make sure they’re in good shape.

You should also have a look at the paving on the driveway or back garden. You need to look for paving that shows no signs of wear and tear. Also, look for quality paving materials like natural stone, which can be seen over on the Westminsterstone website. Bad paving can make the house look bad from the outside. Plus, you may need to replace it, which will be costly.

It would also be a good idea to have a close look at the windows. Again, like with the outer walls, makes sure there aren’t any cracks in the windows or the window frames. The window frames are particularly important. You could have fine windows, but badly eroded frames that will need replacing.

The final thing I’d look for on the outside of the house is pretty hard to miss. Have a look to see if the house comes with its own garage. A garage can be a great place to store your car safely, or used to create more space in the home.

It’s important you check for these things because some can improve the house you’re viewing. Also, if you find some of the problems, then they’ll end up costing you more money, should you decide to buy the home.