Go looking with a plan.
Decide what matters. Find the missing information. Keep your budget beside the homes you are considering.
Last updated
Keep the search connected to real life.
Use your working budget when setting a price range. An advertised amount may be a share price, an auction guide or “offers over”; check what the sale actually involves.
These open external listing services. We do not search their stock, import listings or confirm availability. Local agents and housing providers can be useful too; check scheme eligibility and full costs separately.
Five checks that make a listing more useful
What did comparable homes actually sell for?
Use completed sales as evidence, while allowing for differences in date, size, condition and tenure. The information is not a current valuation, and recent sales may not yet appear.
HM Land Registry sold-price search ↗What could heating and home bills involve?
Read the EPC and ask about the heating system. EPC estimates and previous bills do not predict your own usage. Keep home costs in the comparison provisional until you have better figures.
Find the home’s EPC ↗Get a Council Tax starting point →What does flood information tell me?
Use the official England service. Area-risk maps cannot guarantee whether an individual home will flood. Ask your conveyancer about searches, and check insurance and specialist questions where needed.
England flood-risk service ↗Could I work, travel and stay connected here?
Try the journeys at the times you would make them. Check mobile signal during a visit and confirm broadband with the provider for the actual address.
Ofcom mobile & broadband checker ↗Are there changes planned nearby?
Look at the local council’s planning records and ask about anything that matters to you. A quick search does not replace your conveyancer’s searches or advice.
Find the council’s planning register ↗Leave with answers, not just an impression.
Take your essentials and a few questions. Record what you observed separately from what you were told. A second visit can help check the things that were easy to miss.
Before you go
Confirm the appointment and any access needs. Read the listing, floor plan and EPC. Ask about costs or tenure that could change whether the home works for you.
While you are there
Check how the space and location fit your life. Note things to ask about rather than diagnosing defects. Ask permission before taking photos, and avoid unsafe areas or tests.
Before an offer
Review what is still unknown. Use the offer worksheet to explore cash and monthly costs, then seek the lender, survey and legal checks the home needs.
Read: what to bring back from a viewing →
The download includes your search brief and spaces for viewing notes. It works without a financial plan. You can save per-home viewing notes before making a budget. Financial comparisons and offer-cost checks need your income-first plan.
Before offering: what does a lower price actually change? →
Offer accepted? Open the purchase progress workspace →
Sources, scope and last check
Checked 26 October 2026. Search tools link directly to HM Land Registry, GOV.UK and Ofcom. Guidance informed by Which?’s viewing guidance, RICS survey guidance and GOV.UK’s offer guidance.
This is decision preparation for England. It does not inspect, value or recommend property, predict an accepted offer, supply live listing data or replace professional checks. Auction and scheme purchases need their own advice.