[lagos36]

ccc, on 21 February 2011 - 04:39 PM, said:

Never bought a house myself - however if I do I will be spending a few nights curled up in my car parked across the street. Just to see if there are any obvious issues with mental neighbours etc..

Not that this is guaranteed to prove anything - but you should get an idea if the area is pretty peaceful or not.

I would also just knock on 5-10 doors in the surrounding area and ask the people. Why not ?

I also read something recently about surveys etc.. Think it may hev been on here ? Someone saying that getting in individual experts, rather than some overpriced generic surveyor makes a lot of sense.

Builder
Plumber
Rot specialist
Electrician
Roofer

Couple of hours each and a basic report. Doubt it would cost much more than one of these 'expensive' surveys you can get done.

From my experience that would only work depending on the time of year, I lived in a street that was pretty quite during the winter, but was a street from hell any other time of year. In the summer I counted 20 kids right in front of my house one night, aged from 5 up to early 20s, yet in the winter you could be fooled into thinking the place was a quiet neighborhood.

Your idea of knocking on doors would be a much better one, bearing in mind that the trouble makers would tell you the place is OK.

[Mrs Bear]

bendybogle, on 05 June 2011 - 07:01 PM, said:

more tips:

when looking at a property feel free to check inside cupboards etc. (esp around water areas).

look for sound infrastructure all round.

and open windows, make sure they're not old broken, stuck sashes or stuck up with paint etc.

+ it's worth turning on taps, showers, to make sure they're properly functional.

+ always good to take a compass to check aspect of the garden.

[Will!]

ccc, on 21 February 2011 - 04:39 PM, said:

I also read something recently about surveys etc.. Think it may hev been on here ? Someone saying that getting in individual experts, rather than some overpriced generic surveyor makes a lot of sense.

Builder
Plumber
Rot specialist
Electrician
Roofer

Couple of hours each and a basic report. Doubt it would cost much more than one of these 'expensive' surveys you can get done.

Might have been this: Full Structural Survey

Quote

[T]he surveyor is simply someone who is trained to see tell tale signs that then require you to get a further specialist in. If you want to be thorough and save time then get a valuation survey and at the same time pay for a roofer, plumber, electrician and damp specialist to inspect the property (for freehold properties pay a structural engineer as well). You will short-cut the long survey report and you will know the absolute worst case scenario as each specialist going in will be hunting for work. Then you can take a proper quantified view.

Has anyone ever done this?