Short answer: Ask the agent at the viewing about the market history, what is included, the boiler, the services and the management company; ask the seller, in writing, about flooding, radon, knotweed and unpermitted work, because a written answer that proves wrong is a misrepresentation. Before you go, read the public record for the Eircode (flood, radon, planning, BER, sales), so the viewing tests the seller rather than the house. The twenty questions are listed below.
An agent at a viewing will answer what they are asked. Ask the right things and you learn more in fifteen minutes than in a week of emails. Some questions should be asked in writing afterwards, because a written answer that turns out wrong is a misrepresentation.
At the viewing: the twenty questions
- How long has it been on the market?
- Has a sale fallen through, and why?
- Why is the seller moving, and have they found somewhere?
- What is included: white goods, curtains, blinds, the shed?
- How old is the boiler and when was it last serviced?
- Where are the stop tap, the fuse board and the attic hatch?
- What type of heating and insulation, and is there a BER advisory report?
- Is there a management company, what is the service charge, and is there a sinking fund?
- Has the house or garden ever flooded?
- Is it on the mains sewer or a septic tank, and is the tank registered?
- Was it ever tested for radon, and what was the result?
- Is there, or was there, Japanese knotweed on or near the boundary?
- Has any extension or conversion been done, and with what permission?
- Are there any disputes with neighbours over boundaries, parking or trees?
- Who owns the boundary walls and the side passage?
- What is the broadband, and which operators serve the address?
- Are there any rights of way over the property?
- What are the running costs: electricity, heating, LPT band?
- Is there any planning application lodged nearby that the seller knows of?
- What is the seller’s timeline to close?
In writing
Four to put in an email after: has the house or garden ever flooded and was a claim made; has there ever been a radon test and what was the result; is there or was there Japanese knotweed on the property; has any extension or conversion been done and was permission or a certificate of exemption obtained. Sellers answer these in the pre-contract enquiries anyway, but by then you have paid for a survey.
What you should already know
Before you go, the public record can tell you whether the house is in a flood extent, what the radon prediction is, its BER and the advisory report, what sold nearby and for how much, every planning application within 300 m, whether the title is registered and freehold, and what the sewer situation is. That is what the free snapshot flags and the full report lays out. Walk in knowing the answers and the questions become a test of the seller, not of the house.
Questions people ask
- Does the agent have to tell me about flooding or knotweed?
- Only if asked, and the agent can only pass on what the seller says. The seller answers pre-contract enquiries through their solicitor, and a false answer there is a misrepresentation. That is why the four written questions matter more than anything said in the hall.
- How many viewings before bidding?
- Two is normal: one to see it, one with a tape measure, in different light and at a different time of day for traffic and noise. Bring the public record to the second.
- What should I photograph?
- The fuse board, the boiler label, the meter readings, any cracks or staining, the attic, the garden boundaries and anything behind the back wall. The photos settle arguments later and help the surveyor.