Questions to ask at a house viewing

Start with the reason and timeline

• Why is the property being sold, and how long has it been marketed?
• Is there an onward chain? Is any target completion date important?
• Have previous offers or transactions fallen through? If so, what reason was given?
• Are there conditions affecting access, viewings, exchange, or completion?

These answers can help you understand process, not prove condition or value. Keep language neutral. “Seller reports no chain” is more accurate than treating a verbal answer as guaranteed.

Ask what ownership involves

• How is tenure described, and which documents confirm it?
• For leasehold property, what lease term, ground rent, service charge, restrictions, planned works, and reserve arrangements are reported?
• Who owns and maintains boundaries, roofs, shared structures, roads, paths, parking, gardens, and communal spaces?
• Are any rights of way, access arrangements, covenants, permissions, disputes, or management rules known?

Ask your conveyancer to verify title, tenure, lease, searches, permissions, boundaries, rights, restrictions, and contractual terms. Viewing questions locate issues; legal work establishes position.

Ask about condition and work

• What extensions, conversions, replacements, or major repairs have been carried out?
• Which planning, building-control, installation, warranty, service, or insurance documents are available?
• Have there been leaks, flooding, movement, damp treatment, drainage problems, pests, insurance claims, or neighbour disputes?
• How old are the roof covering, boiler or heating system, consumer unit, windows, and visible plumbing?

Do not rely on a verbal history to decide whether work is safe or sound. Give your surveyor relevant observations and obtain specialist advice where appropriate. Ask which fixtures, appliances, fittings, sheds, chargers, panels, or other items are included, excluded, leased, or subject to another agreement.

Ask how the home behaves day to day

• Which utilities and heating arrangement serve the home? Where are meters, controls, stopcocks, and access points?
• What current documents show energy performance and recent running costs?
• How do noise, traffic, parking, deliveries, waste collection, shared access, mobile reception, and broadband vary?
• When does natural light reach main rooms and outside space?

Visit the surrounding street at a different time where practical. Check routes and services independently. Running costs depend on usage, household, tariffs, condition, and future changes, so treat one person’s bill as context rather than your forecast.

Ask what happens next

• How should follow-up questions and document requests be submitted?
• Can you arrange a second viewing with enough time for measurements and unresolved checks?
• How will offers be presented, and will any included or excluded items be recorded in writing?
• Who should your conveyancer, surveyor, broker, or lender contact?

In England and Wales, an accepted offer is generally not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. Government guidance recommends making offers subject to contract and making relevant conditions clear. Confirm current process with your conveyancer.

Turn answers into a follow-up queue

After leaving, classify each answer as observed, reported, documented, or still unknown. Give each unknown one next action. Use our property viewing checklist for a repeatable record and keep financial assumptions in a separate first-year cost record. This makes missing evidence visible before enthusiasm becomes a decision.