The average UK viewing lasts 22 minutes. In that window a buyer is expected to assess £300,000 of investment. Estate agents are legally obliged to disclose known defects, but "known" is doing enormous work in that sentence. This checklist is what a chartered surveyor would look for, translated into things any buyer can spot in 20 minutes with nothing more than a torch on their phone.
Before you even go inside
- Roof line: sag, missing tiles, moss, or clearly patched sections.
- Chimney stack: leaning, cracked flaunching, missing pointing.
- Gutters and downpipes: staining beneath means leaks. Rust on cast iron is now expensive.
- External walls: cracks wider than a £1 coin, especially diagonal ones stepping across brickwork, are red flags for subsidence.
- Windows: rotten timber, mist between double-glazing panes, failed seals.
- Damp-proof course: should be visible as a horizontal line 150mm above ground. Anything piled against it — patios, planters, decking — is a future damp problem.
- Boundary walls, fences, hedges. Ownership disputes are the leading cause of neighbour hell.
In every room
- Sniff. Damp smells earthy. Dogs smell like dogs no matter how many candles are lit.
- Look up: staining or bubbling on ceilings is water damage, not "just" a Rorschach.
- Look behind furniture: freshly painted patches at skirting height, wallpaper peeling from the corner, black spots.
- Look at windows: condensation running down glass, black mould on frames.
- Feel the walls with the back of your hand: cold, damp patches especially on north-facing external walls.
- Check every plug socket count — pre-1990 wiring often means only two double sockets per room.
- Radiator age: pre-2000 panel radiators run at 20–30% efficiency compared to modern replacements.
Kitchen and bathrooms
- Turn every tap on. Weak flow means old lead or narrow pipework.
- Flush every toilet. Wait for the cistern to refill — slow refill means limescale or a knackered valve.
- Open the boiler cupboard. Photograph the service sticker. A boiler older than 12 years is a £3,500 near-future cost.
- Check under sinks. Water staining, buckets, chewed pipework.
- Extractor fan: turn it on. If it sounds like a helicopter, it's overdue replacement.
Ask the awkward questions
- Why are you moving?
- How long has the property been on the market?
- Have there been any offers, and were any withdrawn after survey?
- Which direction does the garden face? (South-facing adds ~5% to UK values.)
- What are the neighbours like?
- Any planned development on adjacent land? Check the council planning portal yourself.
- What's the council tax band?
- What are the annual heating and electricity bills?
- Any historic subsidence, tree removals, or insurance claims?
- What flooding zone is the property in? Check gov.uk flood-risk map before viewing.
- Is anything staying with the property? Get the fixtures and fittings list in writing before offer.
Second-viewing rules
Never buy on the first viewing. Always view at a different time of day, ideally including a weekday rush hour, and once in the rain. The property that felt idyllic on a Sunday morning can be next to a very different road on a Tuesday at 8am.
Get a survey. Always.
The mortgage valuation is not a survey — it protects the lender, not you. Spend £700 on a Level 3 Building Survey on any property built before 1930, and the equivalent RICS Level 2 on anything newer. That report has saved Apex customers we've moved north of £1.2m in walk-away decisions in the last decade alone.
Frequently asked questions
- Which cracks in a house should I worry about?
- Diagonal cracks wider than a £1 coin that step across brickwork above windows or doors can indicate subsidence and warrant a structural engineer's opinion before any offer.
- How old can a boiler be before I need to replace it?
- Most UK boilers reliably run 12–15 years. Beyond that expect £2,500–£3,500 replacement cost. Photograph the boiler service sticker at every viewing.
- Do I need a survey before buying?
- Yes. The mortgage valuation only protects the lender. Buyers should commission a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey depending on property age and condition, typically £400–£1,500.
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