Tagged “viewing”
-
Talking to the person moving out
The outgoing occupant is the best-informed and least-invested person in the process. What to ask them, and how to weigh what they say.
-
What to look for at the viewing
Half an hour in a flat is a small sample. Spend it on the things that only exist in person, and stop checking what a photo already told you.
-
Asking for a second viewing
A second look is cheap, rarely refused, and answers questions the first one couldn't. The reason people don't ask is that it feels like an imposition.
-
Viewing a room over video call
A video viewing is a good shortlisting tool and a bad basis for committing. What matters is who holds the camera and what you ask them to point it at.
-
What half an hour in the neighbourhood tells you
The area decides more of your daily life than the room does, and it is the one part of a viewing trip you can inspect without anyone's permission.
-
What to check in the building, not the room
Visitors spend the viewing looking at the room they'd sleep in. Most of what makes a share pleasant or unbearable is outside its door.
-
Getting ready for a viewing
You get about half an hour and most of it disappears into small talk. Twenty minutes of preparation is what decides whether the visit is worth anything.
-
How many viewings are enough
Too few and you have no baseline; too many and the good rooms go while you deliberate. The right number depends on how fast your market moves.
-
Comparing two rooms when neither is obviously better
The hardest point in a room search is two acceptable options and no way to rank them. Most of the tie is caused by comparing the wrong attributes.