The short answer
Look at the things that cost money to fix and cannot be changed: damp, the roofline, the windows, and the street. Ignore the decoration entirely, because you are buying the house rather than the sofa. Go back a second time at a different hour, and ask the one question most buyers never ask, which is why the seller is moving.
The first two minutes, outside
Most of what a viewing can tell you is visible before you go in, and most people walk straight past it because the agent is holding the door open.
Stand on the pavement for a moment. Look up at the roofline and the gutters, look at the state of the windows, and look at the houses either side. A street where every other house has new windows and this one does not is telling you something about how long the money has been tight.
- ✓The roofline: does it sag, are tiles missing, are the gutters full.
- ✓Window frames, especially at the bottom corners where rot starts.
- ✓Where you would actually park, and whether anyone else is parked there now.
- ✓What is behind and beside: a pub garden, a school run, a main road.
Inside, look for water
Almost every expensive surprise in a house is water arriving somewhere it should not. It is also the thing most easily hidden for the length of a viewing.
Fresh paint on one wall, in one room, is the classic tell. It is not proof of anything, and it is absolutely worth asking about. So is a room that smells strongly of anything at all.
- ✓Ceilings below bathrooms, and the ceiling on the top floor.
- ✓The wall behind furniture that has been pushed against it.
- ✓Under the sink, and around the base of the toilet.
- ✓The corner of every room at skirting level.
The questions that get a real answer
Open questions get you a sales pitch. Specific ones get you a fact or an obvious hesitation, and the hesitation is often the more useful of the two.
- ✓Why is the seller moving, and where are they going?
- ✓How long has it been on the market, and has the price changed?
- ✓What work has been done, and are there guarantees or building-regulations certificates for it?
- ✓What are the neighbours like? Watch the pause more than the answer.
- ✓Is there anything you have to declare to a buyer?
Go back, at a different hour
A road that is quiet at eleven on a Tuesday can be a different road at six, and different again on a Saturday. So can the light in the back rooms.
A second viewing is also when you stop performing politeness and start opening cupboards. Take somebody who is not emotionally invested, and let them be the one who says the unwelcome thing.
What not to spend your twenty minutes on
Kitchens and bathrooms are the two rooms that sell houses and the two you can change. Decoration is free to change and nearly free to ignore. Furniture is not included and is not your business.
The layout, the light, the street and the structure are the things you cannot change for any money at all. Spend your attention there.
Quick answers
How many times should I view before offering?
At least twice, at different times of day, and the second time for longer than feels comfortable. Anybody serious about selling expects it.
Should I take photos?
Ask first, and most sellers say yes. After four viewings in a weekend you will not reliably remember which house had the odd step, and a photograph settles it.
Is it rude to open cupboards?
No. You are considering spending several hundred thousand pounds. Open the airing cupboard, look at the consumer unit, and look under the stairs.
Put this guide to work
General information for England & Wales, not financial or legal advice. Costs are typical 2026 ranges and vary by region and circumstances.