Resources — Due diligence · 5 min

Property Viewing Checklist

You learn more in fifteen structured minutes than in an hour of wandering. Run the same route every time: outside, ground floor, upstairs, loft, garden — then the questions. Photograph everything; your memory will lie to you by the third viewing.

How to use this

Print one copy per property and take it to the viewing. Follow the route, tick as you look, and complete the score in the car before you drive away.

Download the PDF Run the numbers →

Before you knock

Walk past both neighbouring houses — condition, parked cars, curtains
Photograph the roofline, chimney and guttering from across the road
Check the drains lift: lift an inspection cover if accessible
Note the aspect — which rooms get afternoon light

Inside

Smell first: damp, dogs and fresh paint all tell you something
Floor levels: a marble or phone level on windowsills upstairs
Open and close every door — sticking doors mean movement or moisture
Run every tap; flush every toilet; check water pressure upstairs
Look under the sink, behind the bath panel and inside the loft hatch
Count sockets per room — a 1970s socket count means a rewire for modern use
Measure key rooms — agents' floorplans are optimistic

Questions for the agent

How long has it been listed, and any fall-throughs? Why?
What is the vendor's situation — probate, chain, relocation, landlord selling up?
Have there been offers, and at what level were they rejected?
What would the vendor take today for a proceedable buyer?
Who lives either side and above/below?

Score it before you leave the street

Structure: sound / questions / survey essential
Refurb level: cosmetic / medium / back-to-brick
Vendor motivation: low / medium / high
Fit with your strategy and numbers: pass / analyse tonight / offer this week