What buyers really want to know before they buy

Buyers are most concerned about the safety of the neighbourhood and whether their close neighbours are noisy yet neither of these factors is really covered by official documents, a new survey says.

According to the survey from conveyancer 1st Property Lawyers, more than nine in 10 buyers (93%) would like information which is not normally revealed by an estate agent, property survey or property searches before they sign on the dotted line.

The survey of 1,220 homeowners found the number one concern was a safe neighbourhood, with 87% keen to learn about the safety of the area before they move.

In second place, 82% of people wanted to know whether they would have noisy neighbours, while 81% wanted to hear about difficulties with the plumbing and electrics of their new home.

All these factors could make or break a sale and might cause considerable stress if buyers only find out about them after moving in, yet estate agents rarely reveal this information during viewings.

Problems relating to environmental concerns, such as noise and air pollution, and traffic and parking, also ranked highly.

Buyers were least interested in issues of appearance and tidiness, such as nearby homes putting up garish Christmas lights (13%), frequent mess from foxes or animals (32%) and unkempt properties (46%).

Mark Montgomery, commercial director at 1st Property Lawyers, says: "Buying a house is one of the biggest and most expensive decisions that people ever have to make and they want as much information as possible to make that choice.

"But our research found that much of the information which buyers really value may not be readily available because it rarely volunteered by agents. The buyer may discover bad news too late, causing unnecessary stress.

"We think agents should be more proactive in providing more detailed information to buyers on initial viewings.

"They could help further by suggesting a buyer visits the property at different times of the day, as well as at weekends, to help gauge the levels of noise, traffic and any other activity in the locality which they can expect were they to move in."

:: INFORMATION: 1st Property Lawyers 0333 321 2345 and www.1stpropertylawyers.com

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