Buying property is a huge step in your life especially if you’re spending your life savings on this house, or you’re planning to stay there your whole life.
Making such a step requires being aware of what you really want to look for when buying a house. We are here, and ready to provide you with buying a house checklist to give you the most important information to help with making the big decision.
The way house facing
When buying a house for the first time you need to know that some of the houses face the north side and some face the south side. You will see the difference when you go visit the house in summer but you might not feel it when you go on a winter day or a cloudy day.
A house facing the north will be full of light and warmth however it will be a bit hotter in summer, but a house facing the south side will be a little darker but might be cooler in the summer as the hot sun will shine less in the house.
Soundproof
When buying a house for the first time Knowing that someone might be hearing you while you talk in your home is something uncomfortable, and you might feel like someone is invading your privacy.
You might not be able to sleep if too much noise is coming out of your neighbor’s house like a baby crying, or a teenager partying, so we recommend you ask about it when buying a house, and make sure the place is soundproof.
Bathrooms
Before buying property, ask the owner permission to make sure you take a look at everything in the bathroom, like looking under the toilet to look for leaks or damage, trying the toilet, the faucets, the shower or the bathtub, and what is made of. Make sure the bathroom fan works, and there is no mold.
Heating and cooling systems
I know you’re not an expert in HVAC when you consider buying property for the first time but you must know some important things about cooling and heating systems, and what are the questions to ask.
- What is the heating system?
- Does the heating system have a boiler or a baseboard heater using electricity?
- Does it work on a furnace?
- And does the furnace use gas or electricity or does it use something different?
- What is the cooling system in the house?
- Does the house have a central cooling system?
A good cooling and heating system will make you comfortable and will cost you less money especially in the long run.
Rooms and storage space
Do not be fooled by the furniture that will make the room look bigger, you must ask about the size of the room when it is empty to make sure everything fits in. You also need a storage space to hide the boxes of junk, and any other stuff you don’t need very often.
Damp in house
When buying property, You must look for any indicators of dampness in the house like a bad smell, plaster flakes, marks on the wall, and ceiling. The owner also might have been trying to fix the problem by repainting the walls or using wallpaper to cover it on the wall when buying a house as it is one of the most important matters in your buying a house checklist.
Power points and plumbing
Check the number of power points in the house and their different positions to make sure you have enough of them. You also need to check the plumbing in different places in the house, especially the kitchen to check the water pressure, the pipes, the boiler, and the water tank to check it all through the process of buying a house.
Neighbors and neighborhood
Make sure to ask about your neighbors and who lives next to you, what kind of neighbors you will have, and is it noisy at night?.
You can also ask about the neighborhood and what are the available restaurants and cafes? where to buy groceries? how close is it to transportation or hospitals? are their close dumps in the area? and is there a school nearby? if you are interested to know. You can also ask about whatever you feel like asking about.
This was a checklist of what you should look at when buying property for the first time to help you with the process of buying a house. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful.
If you did! Why don’t you read the other article Buying versus renting property: which is right for you? and other articles about different topics on our Bayut blog KSA. You can check our Bayut KSA website for property listing. You can also leave a comment in the section below if you have any questions for us.
