Viewing a houseOur investigation

Watch the signs before you buy

We asked 504 people who had bought a house in the past 5 years about their house buying experiences. A quarter of these found faults with their home after moving in. And it can be expensive to put them right – in some cases, more than £10,000.

Viewing a house

According to our survey, most people view their home twice before moving in. However, one in 20 don’t view their home at all. Even in a fast-moving market, it’s a bad idea to buy unseen. 

The more often you view a house, the more likely you are to spot potential problems before you move in. 

Overall, 40 per cent of people identified a problem while viewing their home – most often minor problems such as damaged wood or paintwork. 

Even so, if you do spot a problem it could be a valuable bargaining tool – 41 per cent of those who spotted a problem themselves negotiated a reduction in the asking price and 10 per cent ensured that the problem was corrected.

Getting a survey

Less than 50 per cent of those we asked said that they’d had a proper survey. In reality, it could be even fewer. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reckons that 80 per cent of people don’t have a proper survey. 

A survey is vital as there are some problems you just can’t confirm for yourself. Even if you suspect damp or subsidence, only a surveyor can tell you for sure. 

In our research, more than a fifth of buyers said that the survey uncovered problems they hadn’t spotted themselves. Of those whose survey uncovered a problem, 44 per cent negotiated money off and a further 10 per cent ensured the problem was corrected.

Finding problems later

A quarter of people found a problem with their house after they’d moved in. 

Almost a third of people said they’d missed a problem because it hadn’t occurred to them to look, while a quarter felt that problems had been hidden from them.

Problems that people found after they moved in
Problem	Percentage of people
Poor heating	20%
Damp	14%
Badly fitting windows/doors	9%
Problems with the roof	9%
Problems with gas/electricity supply	8%
Damaged wood/paintwork	7%
Mould in bathroom	7%
No loft insulation	7%
Bare electrical wires	6%
Environmental issues (loud noise, bright lights etc.)	6%
Dry or wet rot/woodworm	6%
Leaks/plumbing problems	5%

What it cost

Those who missed problems spent an average of £2,500 putting them right. One in ten spent more than £10,000.