Do we know enough before buying a home?

At Terrys Fabrics we have a lot to do with new homes, we sell a variety of fabrics to homeowners whether they’re in need of blackout curtains or roller blinds; we’re there to help. This got us wondering about the actual process of becoming a new homeowner and the pressure that comes along with it, which presented the question; Do we know enough before buying a home?

If you are a homeowner today, chances are you’re not a young adult and have a medium income (between £22,200 - £30,600). Homeownership has collapsed for young adults in the past two decades.

With it being increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to purchase a home and property prices rising steadily, it’s now more important than ever to ensure you’re making the right decision before purchasing your property.

Terrys Fabrics conducted a survey of 1,000 people to find out exactly how much Brits know before putting in an offer on their home.

22% of Brits Spent Less Than 30 Minutes Viewing Their Home

A large proportion of respondents spent a mere 30 minutes or less visiting their property. That’s shorter than the UK’s average commute to work. Only 35% of respondents viewed their home for 2 hours or longer.

Over Half of Brits Spend more Time Selecting a Holiday than a Home

The average holiday cost for a family of four is £4,792, which is merely nothing compared to £243,639 - the average property price in England. Yet, more than half of homeowners spent longer deciding on their holiday destination than viewing their property before buying, according to this new data.

The office for national statistics revealed that a huge 12 million Brits visited abroad in 2016, whereas just 848,857 homes were sold in England & Wales. Do we take pride in our holidays more than our homes?

Food for Thought: 10% of Brits Take Longer Choosing Where to Eat out than a Home

We are a nation of foodies, indecisive ones too. Over 10% of property owners took longer to decide where to eat out for one meal over viewing their home. Even though house prices are over 20,000x more than an average restaurant meal in the U.K (£12.00), we still spend more time deciding over something a fraction of the cost.

Men More Likely to Spend Longer Picking an Outfit Than Home

It’s already quite surprising that over 10% of the UK used more of their own time choosing an outfit rather than their abode. But what is even more astonishing is that double the amount of men admitted they spent longer deciding on a new outfit.

Our Reserved Nature is Costing us Thousands

We asked the survey what they hoped they could have asked or checked with the estate agents and home sellers before putting in an offer.

The results were startling, and it shows that maybe we can be too polite for our own good. “Can I use the bathroom?” - It’s a question us reserved Brits will never dream of asking when entering a stranger's home. Especially not when viewing a property. But, over 23% of homeowners wish they could have had a bath or used the toilet to check if their new home had plumbing issues.

Perhaps it’s time to change the way we view and visit houses, as when we asked what has been the biggest problem in your current property, 12% of you said it was plumbing, leaks or mould.

So, what keeps us from asking or checking these things? Is it like we say, a nation of reserved people, or simply the property system doesn’t allow us to do what we desire.

Seemingly, it’s a case of a damning combination of the two. Over 16% of the survey felt that they would appear rude for asking.

But, shockingly the majority of these respondents wished they could have checked all the doors, windows and/ or roof. Something that is well within our rights as potential property buyers. There was also a strong wish to spend the night to check for noisy neighbours, from these respondents. This, however, is not something an average estate agent or home seller would allow.

Over Half of The UK Were Not Aware of Their Property’s Issues Before Buying

But, if we asked about matters we cannot check ourselves would those involved answer honestly? Clearly, Brits think not. 12% of the survey felt they wouldn’t get a truthful answer if they asked. Astonishingly, when we asked the British public about issues in their property, a whopping 60% were not aware of their house problems before buying. Therefore weren’t able to budget for these issues, or adjust their offer price to account for the costs of repairs.

30% of Britons Put an Offer on a House Because of Other Buyers

Buying a property could be the biggest decision of your life and one of the costliest. The biggest pressures British people felt was competition from other buyers. Shortage of other homes in the preferred area was also a main burden for the UK. Which is not too surprising but cements the fact the UK is in the midst of a housing crisis. Research from earlier this year found England needs to build 4 million new homes to accommodate the UK population, unfortunately the number of people sleeping rough in England has more than doubled since 2010.