Guide
The site visit: twenty minutes that save you twenty lakh
What to look at, in what order, and the questions worth asking the neighbours rather than the agent.
Go at the wrong time of day
Agents schedule viewings for late morning, when the light is good and the road is quiet. Both of those are the things you most need to see honestly.
Visit once at the time you would actually be coming home — six or seven in the evening on a weekday — and once in the middle of a weekend. You will learn more about parking, street noise and how the lane behaves than any listing can tell you.
Water, in this order
Water is the single most common cause of regret on an independent floor, and it takes four minutes to check.
- Open the tap in the highest bathroom and watch the pressure. Weak flow on an upper floor without a pump is a permanent condition, not a bad day.
- Look at the ceiling in every room, particularly corners and around the bathroom above.
- Ask where the water comes from: municipal supply, a borewell, tankers, or a mix. Ask how many hours a day.
- On the top floor, ask when the terrace was last waterproofed.
A seller who answers these easily has probably maintained the place. One who is vague usually has not.
The building, not just the floor
You are buying into a building with no association and no maintenance fund. Whatever is wrong with the common parts becomes partly yours on day one.
Look at the stairwell, the lift if there is one, the electrical distribution board, the water tanks and the drainage. Ask who has been paying for their upkeep and how that is decided. In a building with four independent owners and no formal structure, the honest answer is often 'whoever complains loudest', and it is better to know that.
Ask a neighbour, not the agent
Knock on one other door in the building, or speak to whoever is sitting outside next door. Two minutes, and three questions:
- How is the water here?
- How does parking work?
- Is there anything about the building I should know?
People answer honestly, and it is the only information in the whole process that nobody has an incentive to shape.
What a photograph cannot tell you
Ceiling height, how the stairs feel on the fourth trip, whether the road takes through traffic, whether the neighbouring plot is about to be redeveloped into a building site for two years.
That last one is worth a specific question. In active redevelopment pockets, a quiet lane can become a construction site for eighteen months, and the person selling you the floor next door already knows.
Frequently asked questions
How many times should I visit before making an offer?
At least twice, at different times of day. Most regret we hear about traces back to a single mid-morning viewing.
Should I bring anyone with me?
On a second visit, yes — ideally someone who has renovated a property. They will notice the electricals, the plumbing runs and the damp that you will not.