How to use this template
Print a fresh copy for every viewing. Fill it in on the day — ideally room by room as you walk through. Notes you write later are notes you write through rose-tinted glasses. The aim is to give yourself something to read back to honestly, not impressively.
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- Property Details
• Address • Viewing date and time • Weather (it matters — dry days hide drainage problems) • Agent name and contact • Vendor / occupier present? (Y / N) • Asking price • Tenure (freehold / leasehold — if leasehold, years remaining) • Property type, age, bedrooms, bathrooms • EPC rating (if known) • Council tax band
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- First Impressions
The first ninety seconds tell you almost everything. Capture it.
• Kerb appeal (1–10) • First thought on opening the door • Smell (damp, smoke, fresh paint covering something?) • Light — north / south facing? Naturally bright? • Sound — traffic, neighbours, trains, pubs? • What's the vendor obviously trying to hide? • What's the vendor obviously proud of?
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- Room-by-Room Notes
For each room, note: size (paced or measured), condition, any obvious works, anything that surprised you.
Exterior / approach — Front / hallway — Living room — Kitchen — Dining / second reception — Downstairs WC — Landing / stairs — Bedroom 1 — Bedroom 2 — Bedroom 3 — Bedroom 4 — Bathroom(s) — Loft — (insulation, boarded, head height, conversion potential?) Cellar — (damp?) Garden — (size, orientation, condition, outbuildings) Driveway / parking —
General condition notes:
• Windows (double glazed? age?) • Roof (visible from ground) • External walls (cracks, render, repointing) • Heating system (boiler age, radiator condition) • Electrics (consumer unit modern? sockets / fittings dated?) • Plumbing (water pressure, signs of leaks, lead pipes?) • Damp (musty smell, salt staining, peeling wallpaper) • Subsidence (cracks wider than a 10p coin, doors sticking) • Japanese knotweed or other unwelcome plants in the garden
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- Numbers to Confirm
Write these down before you leave the viewing — ask the agent if you don't know.
• Asking price • What it last sold for, and when • Comparable sold prices on the same street (Land Registry / Rightmove sold prices) • Estimated rent at current condition • Estimated rent after refurb • Refurb budget (rough scope total, today's gut number) • Estimated End Value (if refurbishing) — the realistic resale or GDV figure once works are complete • Indicative yield at asking price • Indicative yield at the price you would actually offer • Anything the agent says about offers already received (and your view on whether to trust it)
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- Next Steps
Before the day ends, decide.
• Overall feel (1–10) • Top three positives • Top three concerns • Are you going to second-view? • Who do you need to speak to before deciding? (broker, builder, partner, accountant) • What price would you actually pay? • What's the offer strategy — cheeky first offer, fair first offer, or walk away? • Deadline by which you'll make your decision
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A note from Katie
The properties you don't buy teach you almost as much as the ones you do. Every viewing is practice — for your eye, your numbers, and your nerve. Take more notes than you think you need. Your future self will thank you for it.
Katie Chambers · Property Powwow Community