This blog is aimed mainly at helping you live better where you are already, whether your home or your workplace, but today we explore looking at new premises, when all else fails in space making of our existing property. It is also a good idea to look around at what is on the market now and then, even if to confirm that we are living in the best possible place. In today's blog post, I share some of the things I look at when asked to give an architect's professional opinion on a potential purchase, or when I am more informally looking at houses with family or friends.
Today, we have the advantage of online listings of properties for sale with multiple photos or walk-through videos, allowing us to "view" dozens of offerings in an afternoon or as a regular pastime in the morning while waiting for the coffee to cool. We can use filters to narrow the search in terms of number of rooms or cost bracket. This is quite different from the past when properties were only listed in the newspaper with a single photo. It is always a great idea to do this before visiting any properties, as we will have a better perspective on what is available and affordable. It is also useful to have an idea of the amenities in various areas that appeal to you: schools if you have a young family, shops, proximity to work, public transport, and the like.
When visiting a property for sale, take a few minutes to get your overall impressions - does it look well cared for? Does it have a garden, and how well maintained is it? Is the property easy to access and is there space for your visitors to park? What is the image of the building and how does this speak to your own aspirations?
Now we can venture inside - again, what are your first impressions? Here it is good to think about the quality of light, openness or privacy, convenience for transitioning from outside, and other inherent features of the entrance space. Try to ignore the furniture and furnishings, or even better, try to imagine the entrance space with your own decor. Have a wander through the whole house, getting a feel for the spaces and the layout, before doing a detailed inspection.
Orientation plays an important role in the comfort of the spaces: in the southern hemisphere ideally your main daytime rooms should face north, so that they get maximum light and warmth in winter, but the direct sun is easily blocked out in summer. One can have up to 10 degrees celcius variation between a north and an east facing room, which can have a huge impact on your comfort or in the cost of air-conditioning. If the property is free-standing or on the top floor of the building, the type of roof is an important factor in terms of thermal comfort. Tiled and concrete roofs will tend to give better performance than metal roofs. Find out about whether the roof has insulation - ideally, see if you can view the roofspace to check for insulation, waterproofing and general structural integrity.
The quality of light is also a big factor in terms of the amenity and the general feel of the spaces, something that is very costly or even prohibitive to correct. What are the views from each room? Is this important for your imagined use of each space? I recently looked at a house in a complex where one of the bedrooms overlooked a parking lot with a skip-waste bin in the foreground. A space that is too bright can easily be adapted with blinds, shutters or curtains, but a dark and gloomy space can often only be remedied with artificial lighting.
It is a good idea to have a checklist of things to look out for, especially if you plan to visit several properties, as this will give you a robust frame of reference. My list would have: cupboards and fittings; electrics; plumbing; damp; cracks; tiling - let's look at each of these in more detail.
Kitchen cupboards and wardrobes are quite expensive to replace, so it is good to make some notes on the position and layout of these and the storage capacity. Is there space for free-standing storage furniture if there are insufficient built-in? Also do a quick check to make sure that doors and drawers open and close smoothly and that the knobs and handles are intact (although it is quite easy and affordable to replace handles, doors are a different matter!) I always carefully check cupboards under sinks and basins for any sign of water damage - this may also be an indicator of plumbing problems, but more about this later.
In South Africa, a certificate of electrical compliance is a legal requirement, giving some measure of protection, but it is good to check out the position, number and type of plug points. Try to visualise each space with your own layout and furniture: is there a convenient plug for all of your appliances and free-standing lamps? Is there a plug point for a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher? Older buildings will tend to have far fewer electrical points than we need, and this is often quite expensive and difficult to remedy, especially if the wiring is to be concealed, as this would require breaking into the wall, replastering and repainting. Are there sufficient lights in each room? Are they well positioned? Lastly, in terms of your electricity bill, what kind of built-in appliances are there - stove-top, oven and geyser? The age and capacity (storage volume) of the geyser is also an important consideration. In a later blog, we will be looking at solar electricity installations, but here we will simply note that this is an excellent investment: if a place has solar power or water heating, this adds considerably to the value of a property.
Replacing plumbing is an expensive and messy job, so it is important to give a thorough appraisal of your bathroom and kitchen installations. It is often very difficult to change a plumbing layout as the water and sewerage pipes are constraints. In the kitchen (or laundry), is it plumbed for a washing machine? If not, is there space for this, or would you need to reconfigure the cupboards?
Damp is a big warning sign in any building: this is usually symptomatic of ongoing problems that are difficult to detect and diagnose, and even more difficult to remedy. The outward signs are discolouration, bubbling of paint or wall paper, or efflorescence - a white powder on brickwork or concrete. Water could be coming in through the foundations, roof or through cracked pipes built into the walls. Rooflights are notorious for leaking, especially if they have been retrofitted. In South Africa, regulations require the seller to disclose any latent defects, such as damp or structural problems, but it is common for a seller to repaint before putting their place on the market, which will tend to underplay these issues.
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| Efflorescence in brickwork (from creative commons https://pxhere.com/en/photo/615215?utm_content=shareClip&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pxhere) |
Cracks can be quite deceptive unless you are a structural engineer - what may look like quite a serious one may just be the result of thermal movement, while quite a minor one may be the danger sign for foundation or structural problems. For this reason, it is always a good idea to get professional advice for any potential structural concerns.
From a more aesthetic perspective, inspect the tiling in kitchen and bathroom, as well as tiled floors, for any cracks or chipped tiles. These are also expensive and messy to replace, and what looks like a small chip or crack today, may become an eyesore or hazard in future.
Lastly, in terms of our checklist, does the building have natural wood finishes - windows, doors, cupboards, floors? While these can be very beautiful, they can be a liability in terms of maintenance. How well have they been maintained in the past? This can be assessed through noting any bleaching or discolouration, bubbling of varnish, cracking or distortion. This is a particular concern in climates that have a very dry season, especially where the timber has been used in exposed positions such as external doors, windows or outdoor decking.
When you have checked all these issues and thought about the pro's and con's, it is important to reflect back on the place where you live now to see whether any property you have seen is significantly better, or whether the cost of just the legal transfer fees would pay for some minor modifications that would make it ideal.
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