The Key Purpose Of A Second Viewing

The majority of people who purchase a house have two or more viewings, but not all. However it is generally recommended that you do have that second viewing if you are interested. Why is this, and should you do anything different at the second viewing to the first one? There are various reasons why it is a good idea to have multiple viewings. The first of these is simply to try and see the property in different conditions: for instance at the weekend if you initially viewed the property on a weekday, or in the evening instead of during the day. This is because a house can look very different at different times of day: at night you will see how well the property is lit: is there a bright streetlight outside streaming in light even through closed curtains for instance, or are there loads of cars parked on both sides of the road at the weekend making access difficult? On the first viewing, you are getting a general impression of the property. So on the second, you will want to dig a little deeper. Before the second viewing, ask yourself what you do and don't know about the property, and make it your mission at the second viewing to find out what you don't know. If you didn't check all the taps work or that the windows are double-glazed at the first viewing, find this out at the second viewing, and so forth. At a second viewing, you might also want to get the opinion of someone else, so if there is someone who is both experienced and whose opinion you trust, feel free to take them along to the second viewing: with the only caveat being it is ultimately your purchase, so ask them to focus on the state of the property rather than whether it fits what they themselves would be looking for or not! On the way to the viewing, pay particular attention to the surrounding area this time: is there anything unpalatable, or does all look OK? Are there rundown areas nearby? What do the properties around the house look like - take some time this time around to walk a few minutes either way up and down the road the property is in and get a feel for how well maintained everything is, and if other properties are also for sale / for let. Listen and see how noisy it is: is that pub at the end of the road really loud at night (to assess that you might want to drive down the road at night). With regard to inside the property itself, run through the checklist you wrote in answer to the question above 'what don't I know about the property'. If you are worried of missing things out, there is an exhaustive viewing checklist elsewhere on this site, so take a look at that. Basically, you want to get as much information as you possibly can, so that you make any potential offer from a position of knowledge, not just - as important as it is - that emotional feeling that you 'like the place' without knowing any gremlins that may be lurking in the corners, if only you had taken the time to look and find them!