We moved eventually.

1. Neighbors - if the yard across from you / next to you is filled with crap and the lawns and gardens unkempt, then they will tend to stay that way for years on end. If this bothers you...do not buy there.
2. Check with the local municipality for any permits pulled for work on the home for two reasons. Reason 1 - if there was ever a fire or disaster, then you'll know. Reason 2 - if there were updates done and no permits, then chances are that the work was done by an amateur at best and a useless crook at worst. Beware of open permits as well.
3. Always have a home inspection, be there for the inspection, and watch the inspector work. Mine was useless and didn't alert me to the fact that the previous owner had installed a third layer of shingles just on the front (visible) part of the roof.

Look at the ceiling-this gives a good impression of the floor size in cluttered rooms.

I like to see which way the sun shines. When we purchased this house I asked the previous owner that very question. It was perfect. sun Come up in morning (kitchen, laundry and travel around the side livng rooms and sets where the lounge (front room) is. bathroom and main bedroom and part of front room rarely sunny. 12 hours of sunshine.

Prefer to buy from an 'older couple' who have had the resources to maintain it, even though it may be naff. Sometimes younger couples with kids have had less money and time to put into a house. Always take a compass and ask about schools. In Cambridge prices drop around 100k when you go over the boundary for a good school. It's unfair but it's the reality.

Hi alant1000, a good post, just for info I've been informed that new flat roofs now have a 25 year guarantee. For me whether or not I had a flat roof would depend upon my age when purchasing as I would prefer not to be the one paying for a new roof!;p

Having lived in many properties over the last few years, orientation has been the big one for us. After a long day at work we like to have the maximum of evening sunlight.

Neighbours can be a variable, but would never buy where it was known that neighbours were bad. Poor relations with neighbours can overshadow the most perfect property :(

I wish I had really understood that "sale agreed" doesn't mean, "your keys are on the way", it means, "now the vendors will start looking for the paperwork they need in order to complete the sale..."

Nearly eight weeks on, still waiting....

If you want to extend Don't buy a house in a conservation area, it's a nightmare . No Juliet balconies or loft extensions for me

Just so glad now that a house we nearly bought fell through on the day we were due to exchange - The survey we had done had quite a few 'can not access' as per gilldt above - the carpets were nailed to the floors was one of the excuses - only for the subsequent purchasers to find an ancient cystern and sewage floating beneath the floor... in the end they couldn't move in for 18 months.

Don't believe everything the current owner tells you - no matter how convincing they seem! Our previous elderly owner (dark glasses, walking stick) told us she wanted a quick sale as she was having major eye surgery ( to prevent her going completely blind) and moving to live with family in just 2 weeks whether house sold or not. This was in May. We had everything tied up our end with our solicitors/ buyer etc in 3 weeks expecting to be in v. soon.... but owner/solicitors/agent were a nightmare.... we eventually got keys late Sept. after 3 weeks of having to bus the kids across town to the new school ...... passing the house everyday could see she was still living there..... moved in to find the loft still contained 2 skips worth of her possessions yet agreed fixtures had been removed and a connecting doorway was covered up with pollyfilla and wallpaper!

Don't waste time with an agent/seller you suspect isn't being straight with you - give them a clear ultimatum.

Talk to the neighbors before you make an offer: knew more about the local area/history of our house than the owner - have been wonderful neighbors.

Walk around the area/visit property at different times of the day. Take an honest trusted friend to get their more objective views - often they spot pros and cons you hadn't considered.

Check behind large items of furniture to see what they potentially hide!

Trust your initial instincts...

South facing garden and living area, with big windows/doors (or the potential to have them installed) for maximum sunlight - having moved from South Africa, bright sunny rooms is priority !

Hrrumph. @benomin, having lived in the north of England for far too long, I'd like bright sunny rooms as a change from relative darkness!

If you live in the Highlands a view is essential- all the houses I admire look out on stunning coastal scenery- I look out on suburbia

@bagpuss2 sounds idyllic! I look out north-east into suburban sprawl. Dark, dank, unlovely. Time to plan a move methinks!

Neighbours, neighbours, neighbours...

always... check the loft and have it written in the contract for owners to remove everything! ALWAYS.

Find out what the neighbors do. Knock on doors, talk to people you could potentially be living beside, try and get their names by introducing yourself first then google them. You will be surprised what turns up. I nearly bought a house only to discover that the house attached do piano lessons during the week and Irish dancing at the weekends.

We bought a house 8 months ago and didn't know that there was an easement agreement for egress and ingress. The seller, the real estate agents and even the title company didn't disclose or tell us about the easement on our land. We were shocked when we came to know about it. Our home is beautiful, and we love the floor plan and the location, the most important part of the house buying. But that easement agreement ruined our excitement.....

No, I'm not in the UK. Here in the US, Montgomery County MD, has those easement agreements somewhere. In general, the seller should disclose them.

I'd add a vote for checking out the Neighbours.

I never did it and it was a mistake! We had a nightmare at the start. The other half of the semi dumped all their garden waste over the garden wall and when we went to introduce ourselves to say Hi wouldnt even shake our hand.

The other side is a council house and they deposit their KFC wrappers and Stella cans on the pavement outside our house every day without fail. And the swearing and fighting can be heard all down the street. I don't say anything as I don't want my window smashed.

Luckily the people in the semi have moved on and the new owners are lovely. But the council house people are still there and worse than ever.

kowsarc - Surely you should sue the seller?

In the UK this couldn't happen, or at least, if it did, the conveyancer would be liable as it is their job to find out about all the legal obligations and make sure they are disclosed.

So much sensible advice here - don't think I'll ever be unsure when buying a house again!

I prepared a list of things that I need in the house before looking into houses to buy. For example, I have to have a bedroom and full bathroom in the ground floor. This is because I had a big accident a long time ago and my knee was fractured. During that time, in our previous house, the master bedroom was located in the ground floor, and I didn't have to climb the stairs!!

When we are buying our present house, our main concerns were how to fit our beautiful furniture that we were bringing from Asia, especially our 120" wooden dining table. Luckily we found a beautiful house that fit all our furniture perfectly.

Many who didn't know that we moved our furniture from overseas, thought we bought them after buying the house as they went so well with the house. We get compliments after compliments for the house, furniture and decors. We are so happy, thanks to God to find a perfect house for us and for the furniture and stuff!!

Of course, we had a big problem about easement (which was not disclosed during buying the house), and a parking lot which was built on our land. Our seemingly nice neighbor claimed that the parking lot on the easement cannot be taken out. So I'm having my attorney to write to them that easement is not to build a parking lot for egress and ingress!!! Oh, don't want to write on this anymore, too tired and frustrated. But we love our house :-)

Check out neighbours and why they're moving.

My experience: London. When we moved in neihbours had three young children. Twelve years later they had in total eight and cemented over the garden and it had become a kiddies' race track.

Bristol: Students. Location great, noise terrible. Partying, shouting, getting locked out, music through the night. I like students but not in the early hours of the morning.

If you're buying a flat, the Management Committee frequency, the accounts, reserve fund. Yes, solicitors should do it-but some don't bother too much. I should know....

Totally agree if you are considering a flat - check out the minutes, and recent spending (or lack of) by the Freehold Management Company - some buildings are 'self-managed' by very incompetent flat owners and as a result there may be loads of problems building up that need sorting out, often requiring a big injection of cash after a lot of denial and squabbling - clever owners often sell up just before this becomes painfully obvious, investors may have discouraged spending on all but the visible areas so they can extract maximum profit when they sell, leaving the new buyer to discover a backlog of maintenance or even hidden structural problems. Observant buyers can get a big discount on the basis of having spotted just how much needs to be spent by owners who can't afford the repairs! Don't forget you will have to pay your share towards a new roof even if you live in the basement, and read the lease very carefully to check exactly what you should be liable for in terms of maintaining communal areas and the building itself. Don't sign up as a Director until you know there is buildings insurance, Directors Insurance, and the correct H&S provisions in place (solicitor should tell you all that).

If you think there's woodworm, there probably is woodworm.

Thank goodness for the surveyors report, it really is worth it!

Don't pay the asking price! I was 20 when I bought our first house and didn't really understand that you negotiated so we just said 'yeah, we'll have it'. We made £96k profit on it when we sold, but still....

Your outlook and orientation are the only things you can't change about your house.

While it's good to list the things you must and want to have, beware of setting them in stone. I have lived in two places, a flat and my current forever house, which did not tick several of what I thought were the most important boxes, but I never had any doubt that they were the right place. Let your heart do some of the guiding.

I would also urge that unless a place is uninhabitable, move in and live there first for a year at least. That will reveal how the light gets in, how the room flow works for you and so on -- often, what we first think needs to be changed isn't, and other, less obvious requirements only reveal themselves once you've been in and living there for a while.

OK I'm getting on a bit, but if I had known how much prices would rise I'd have bought the most expensive house I could afford - my first purchase, a 3 bed semi in West London near the tube, cost £18,000.

We have always bought the scruffiest house on a great road, we like doing up the house and making it home. I would avoid shared drives, flying freeholds, houses next to similar houses converted into flats, if buying on a hill check how this affects the neighbouring houses - some have really tall party walls. More than anything I have see potential in the house - good sized rooms with great light. No expensive structural problems.

If you are looking for a character property to be your forever home, head to Caithness in the Scottish Highlands. Amazing scenery- think Cornwall with surfing and artists, but at a fraction of the cost. The locals only want low maintainance new builds so prices have dropped dramatically on listed buildings and mid 20th C homes- many with walking distance to amenities, with generous front and back gardens- think £125k for a 3 bed semi with a new kitchen and bathroom.

Avoid being near a church if you work hard all week and value a lie in on a Sunday morning. Church bells ringing at 7:o'clock - 8:o'clock - 9:o'clock do not go down well.