What should I check when viewing a house to buy?

The five expensive things first: roof, damp, structural movement, electrics and the boiler. Check the outside from the kerb before going in, because the roof line, gutters, pointing and ground levels predict most of what you will find inside.

How can you tell if a house has damp?

Tide marks at skirting level, bubbling or blown paint, a musty smell, and a single freshly painted wall in an otherwise tired room. Put a flat hand low on the wall and compare its temperature with the wall next to it.

What documents should I ask for when buying a property?

The EPC and its recommendations, gas safety certificate, EICR for the electrics, building regulations approval for any structural work, extension, loft conversion or replacement windows, and any guarantees for damp proofing or roofing along with whether they transfer.

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What to check when viewing a property to buy

The things that cost real money are dull, physical, and almost nobody checks them. Here they are, in the order to look.

Digital Property Inspector · Updated August 2026

Most viewings are decided on feel. That is fine for a home you will live in and expensive for one you are buying to let or resell. The things that cost real money are dull, physical and easy to check, and almost nobody checks them.

The five that cost the most

What	How to spot it	Rough cost if wrong
Roof	Slipped or missing tiles, a dipping ridge line, daylight in the loft	£6,000–£15,000
Damp	Tide marks at skirting level, bubbling paint, a musty smell, fresh paint on one wall	£2,000–£8,000
Movement	Cracks wider than a pencil, especially stepped ones near openings; doors that will not close	£10,000+
Electrics	Old fuse box rather than an RCD consumer unit, round pin sockets, no certificate	£3,000–£6,000
Boiler and heating	No service sticker, no certificate, a boiler over 12 years old	£2,500–£4,500

Fresh paint on one wall

A single freshly painted wall in an otherwise tired room is the most reliable damp signal there is. Nobody decorates one wall for fun. Put your hand flat on it, low down, and compare the temperature with the wall beside it.

What to check outside first

Stand at the kerb before you go in. From there you can see the roof line, the chimney, the gutters, the pointing and the ground levels — and those five things predict most of what you will find inside.

Staining below a gutter joint means water has been running down the wall, often for years. Expect damp on the other side of it.
Ground built up above the damp course is one of the commonest causes of rising damp, and one of the cheapest to fix if caught.
New pointing in one patch means somebody repaired something. Ask what.

Inside, in order

Loft first if you can get in it. Insulation depth, daylight through the roof, water staining on the timbers, and whether the tank is lagged.
Then top floor down. Water travels down, so damage is worst below the source.
Every room: measure it. Length, width, and ceiling height where it matters. Estate agent floor plans are marketing, not measurement.
Behind and under things. Corners, behind wardrobes, under sinks. Nobody stages the places nobody looks.
Services last, when you know what the rest of the house has told you.

The paperwork to ask for

EPC — and read the recommendations, not just the letter. If you are letting it, England and Wales require at least an E, with penalties for letting below it.
Gas safety certificate and the boiler service history
EICR — the electrical installation condition report, and its date
Building regulations approval for anything structural, any extension, any loft conversion, and replacement windows
Guarantees for damp proofing, timber treatment or a new roof, and whether they transfer to you

This is not a survey

None of this replaces a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. What it does is stop you paying for a survey on a property you were never going to buy, and tell you which of three properties is worth the fee.

Leave with evidence, not an impression

An impression fades by the third viewing and cannot be shown to anybody. Dimensions, photographs attached to the room they came from, condition against each one, and the paperwork you were shown: that is what you can price, put to a lender, or hand to a partner who was not there.

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