House Buyer Mistakes to Avoid, in 2025

[@PrezidentHughes]

£709 for a sofa? Someone needs to be introduced to the British Heart Foundation furniture store.

[@Carolinapetroska]

Same in Portugal, so noisy all the time ! Never buy anything above a bar, a restaurant and on a football field, unless you love noise .....

[@juleslondon]

School playground - exactly that! I viewed a flat in london recently which I loved. It was modern, very spacious, LOTS of light in all the rooms, large balcony, away from the road. It really ticked all the boxes.. However there was a school playground nearby which was closed at the time I viewed. So I went back for a second viewing during the school lunch break to check on the noise and.. Man I was SHOCKED! Even with double glazing you'd still hear piercing screams and persistent noise the whole time of the break (about 30min). I tried to imagine myself working from home and hear this noise 3 times a day 4 times a week and I knew it wouldn't work :(

[@djkhalid4081]

You get used to it. Just like living at Heathrow with airplanes flying every minute. Its like walking, you don't notice it until you actually think about it.

[@SeniorNI]

Very London reply.I have no kids reply. Like a lack of awareness reply . If ya have kids think people live beside that school. If ya don’t have kids and don’t want to hear them ever you should move to a place no kids need an education. Possibly your family home 😂

[@RedPanda97_]

Can confirm the importance of remembering furniture. We moved in 6 months ago and forgot to budget for a sofa and dining table. Was not fun!

[@MattBrighton]

They're incredibly expensive aren't they! At least for good ones

[@bobjames6622]

And if you're super stretched for money, don't forget charity shops, second hand shops etc for furniture. You won't get luxury, but if it's a choice between sitting on a slightly knackered armchair for a few weeks/months, or a hard floor....I know which one I would choose! LOL!

[@stylianou69]

Facebook marketplace is a god send in these situations. I wish it was available when I moved into my first home!

[@willo219]

@@bobjames6622 Exactly that, nothing wrong with second hand stuff, even if its just to get you by until you have saved for more.

[@impamiizgraa]

Charity shops, people! I endorse them greatly. I had practically no money when I got my keys. I bought a 3 seater with a footstool with storage for £90 from my local charity shop - 3 years later I haven't even wanted to get a new one. I also got my dining table from gumtree for £40!

[@patpalloon]

Find my street is really useful to check if the street has been adopted by the council so will be maintained. Avoid leasehold like the plague. No leasehold in Scotland.

[@lauraemybernard]

The problem is that the market is full of leaseholds, and most properties are way more affordable to buy (and get a mortgage in accordance with) for a leasehold. I would ✨love ✨ to get a freehold or share of freehold, but paying alone this kind of property is just impossible. I would need to save massively, but again, that's very difficult with this economy.

[@laurence2824]

Two additional tips: my late aunt was an estate agent who loved aphorisms. One excellent one (in my view at least) was: "Always buy the cheapest home in an expensive area and never the most expensive home in a cheap area." It makes excellent sense re: desirability when you come to sell. Advice number 2 is born of something I experienced first hand: be very VERY cautious about buying a listed building. I once bought a thatched grade II listed barn conversion in Kent. It was gorgeous but even back in 1993 re-thatching cost around £60,000. Any alterations HAD TO BE carried out in accordance with the listing and by National Trust accredited contractors. Planning permission to build a garage took forever, cost a fortune and the building had to be thatched and built from seasoned oak. We couldn't possibly afford it. Eventually we moved because just the mechanics of living there cost a king's ransom. If you've got that kind of money, terrific, but if not, you'll find living in a listed property cripplingly expensive.

[@David-wp2iw]

About old houses, don't forget about asbestos. Don't get exposed to dust

[@leeklass3907]

When going on a viewing walk around the roads nearby I vewed property where there was a school accroos the road it didn't show up onthe on line map also look out for thngs like how a busy the road is.

[@MoneyGist]

+1 on the neighbourhood. It's just as important as the property itself. I always check crystalroof for the noise factor.

[@AlexanderDuke-ey8vh]

This is great. Thanks for producing!

[@tomberry2569]

RE; Conveyancing, I found that my online solicitors were much more competent than the sellers local Solicitors who really held up the process of buying

[@vigiana4792]

Please share the details of online solicitor

[@Jon-ov4nc]

It's not really an issue of being local/online I was trying to buy a house which fell through a few weeks ago. My local solicitor was great, responded to my emails promptly and sorted out paperwork and raised issues as soon as it needed to be done The seller however went with a no sale no fee online conveyancer who after 8 weeks had done absolutely nothing, the seller then changed to a solicitors when I said I was going to pull out. Now their new solicitor was not local, was cheap, and had a average of 1 star reviews for their conveyancing. Consequently it dragged on for another 4 months before falling through with my mortgage offer expiring... thank god that's over Just get a good solicitor/conveyancer... and under no circumstances ever use a no sale no fee conveyancer. They just tell everyone yes they can do it, and then your at the bottom of the pile waiting months for anything to happen

[@peterstuart3520]

In a world FULL of bullshit misinformation with buying houses, this video is so helpful and informative. As a hopeful first time buyer, thanks for the great video!

[@finntran1672]

ALWAYS check the energy label of your home (esp if you live in the UK). Windows must be at least double glazed, wall and ceiling must be well insulated. It’ll save you about hundreds of pounds per year on heating and cooling

[@oleksei3371]

Walking around with a thermal vision camera would not hurt either. Meanwhile double glazed vs triple glazed are basically the same in terms of thermal insulation. Triple glazed are more about soundproofing. Foaming the gap between the window frame and the wall is more important.

[@ElliHoy]

Thanks for the video, I have saved it and it will help one day I’m sure

[@DF-dd5nf]

Great video, Matt !!! You are THE BEST !!! You are always giving very well explained advice which are important and very helpful. I found your videos extremely helpful. Thanks a lot !!!!

[@snappyfish]

Oh Premier property sorted my mortgage about 5 years ago and lost the signed docs I sent. And yes it was a headache.

[@isabella6206]

Me too the worst ever lost my paperwork and we’re incompetent.

[@victoriab8186]

School playgrounds - really depends on your lifestyle and potential lifestyle changes over time. If you have a job that doesn’t enable work from home, and aren’t likely to work from home in the future, you made much less likely to be negatively affected by school playground noise. If it’s a good school and you have kids, school playground noise might be worth it for the school place and easy drop-offs. Whether the house has effective double glazing etc, and whether you are directly backing onto the playground or over a road or the school buildings themselves, can really effect how loud playground noise seems. As someone who only works from home infrequently, with easy access to a library a short walk away to work from if necessary, I’ve come to enjoy the playground noise as a sign of life and community.

[@moosikal]

Fantastic video mate

[@rajkang8278]

Very helpful video, thanks for posting

[@colofsco1]

Lease hold must be insane. Thanks for the info Matt.

[@seanboyd1702]

‘Nobs with loud exhausts’ 😂 Regarding furnishings, though, you really don’t have to spend a lot to get quality stuff if you buy second hand.

[@MattBrighton]

Very true!

[@ameensams]

By miles the best advice for someone venturing on a house ownership journey.

[@UK_Property_for_Foreigners]

Thank you for valuable information!

[@Duhigg532]

Love the video as always - it's great seeing you shine so much light on the property market and giving people the best information possible! Keep up the great work Matt!

[@Lorant1984]

Check Radon levels in the area.

[@beatagraczer1897]

Super useful, thank you!

[@RichardSlater]

'knobs with loud exhausts'. haha We can all relate!

[@yonnatanghemit6342]

You are a God send! God bless you sir for saving future people from these mistakes with your experience x

[@tietienne82]

Keep up with the great videos!

[@dalskiBo]

Thanks, solicitors have to be qualified though don't they? I'm inexperienced but hear they work on a different timescale entirely, take weeks just to answer a letter & send superfluous letters as they are paid by the letter. Have not heard a good thing really. It's an archaic system which they massively benefit from - law needs to be updated in the interest of competitiveness.

[@Manisha-ce2jh]

Great information x

[@zenastronomy]

how do you know-find a good solicitor conveyancor? do you pick one local to area you are buying new house in? or local to one where u are currently living in so you can talk face to face with them?

[@pawandwived9802]

Always prefer your local solicitor. Check rating on google and then visit their office and enquire about your requirement. Never ever go with the online ones. You'll be feeling trapped 😢

[@cald29]

Great advice and some really useful tips! Thanks

[@shineyconker]

Did you say knobs with loud exhausts? 🤣 Great video!

[@MattBrighton]

😇

[@goldbrick2751]

Excellent video, I am subscribing.

[@mikeeyermann94]

Stumbled across your channel a couple of months ago... really refreshing to see good content with no BS in there! Keep up the good work

[@isabella6206]

Never use Premier Properly they were hell just as you and cost me stress and lost my sale.And they were terrible.

[@oscariglesias9004]

I must say that plans for a nuclear power plant near the house is not a reason for the house to drop value, but the opposite. Plenty of high paying stable jobs will drive the demand for houses right up.

[@rodolphodecastrorodrigues7457]

Who needs a garden and garage? Is it a real proper need for those who want to save money?

[@GTOUranus]

Great video

[@Jules_Pew]

If you don't need a survey (mortgage companies will send their own) use a structural engineer. I used one when house buying years ago, survey flagged a few things up, lost property but kept using the structural engineer. He just verbally told us while walking round the property. A ton cheaper than having another costly survey. Looked at a couple of house in Luton (did not like the area) and the sound of the M1 could be heard in the city centre.

[@sipadu]

Genuine question. Why do you always buy furniture, why don’t you move with the old one??

[@rodolphodecastrorodrigues7457]

Somepeople live in shared accomodation with forniture.

[@mwmingram]

Excellent.

[@Clauds71]

Thank you 😊

[@addychoudhery7586]

when would the house prices drop? would the prices drop down rest of UK or just different areas? Thank you

[@B16ash]

So much good advice, amazing channel, thanks !

[@harry_jms]

Hilarious, when you mentioned the flat you sold and showed it on Google Earth, I'm currently renting in that complex! Great for renting but would never want to buy here. Am currently going through the process of buying in Manchester! Your video has reassured me that I'm doing things right!

[@MrLockie7]

With Leaseholds it's also worth checking if the management company looks to of abused the use of section 20's in the past. It's caused me a nightmare in the past and caused our offer to fall through at the last minute of the buying process.

[@theodoreroosevelt7224]

Yes, but how often are you inside on a weekday during playtime?

[@AlphaRhoDelta]

Brilliant breakdown and information, really well done and easy to follow. Thank you so much!

[@newshades7009]

Good fences mske good neigbours

[@Tina_Fay]

Do you retrieve quotes from tradesmen before you make your offer?

[@funmi1233]

Thanks 😊

[@ludicer122]

Survey was a massive waste for me, didn’t even point out important faults I discovered has the new owner.

[@JackPsonis-ln4ri]

Would you use a mortgage advisor?

[@pattersonellen]

Do the brokers charge both the lender a commission and the buyer a fee

[@annabel4175]

Lol at Sizewell being mentioned

[@garethedwards2883]

It can be okay but please please find a good reliable solicitor as it will save you so much stress, believe me I know 😮‍💨😮‍💨

[@NiightHunterr]

How do I get a solicitor, like do I pay them before to be ready to act for me or do i wait for offer to be accepted and then get a solicitor

[@pandanation6202]

You can get quotes and be ready to formally instruct them upon an offer being accepted. You don't have to wait for an accepted offer, but you can do. Be prepared for add-on fees on top of any quote, like Matt's £450 for a management pack. Have LISA? Fee. Have a gift from a parent? Fee. Adds up to be a few hundred more than initial quote.

[@MattBrighton]

Exactly what the above comment says. You can get a quote and even accept it and begin your 'onboarding' with ID & verification, proof of funds etc with the solicitor then just simply hand over their details when ready to the estate agent. On my recent purchase, I didn't go that far but I had gotten quotes then with the offer was handing those solicitor details over to estate agents, once an offer was accepted I rung the solicitor and said I'd like to proceed so they could expect the sales memorandum very quickly.

[@johnkillick6061]

Hi my house is currently marketed with strike, there conveyancing company are always ringing, emailing ect wanting to get started. They sound desperate.😁

[@kk-xj5oz]

Buying a house before the crash very bad idea wait until 2024

[@Cjsingh91]

Just exchanged with Premier Property Lawyers. Absolute waste of money

[@evokestudiosbrighton]

Leasehold - as a contractor I used to cross out lines on my contracts and sign 'subject to cross outs and amendments' is this possible with a leasehold contract?

[@88JWatts]

Really good list and well explained. Thanks Matt 👍🏻

[@eldadkazemzadeh2511]

You're star

[@timward3116]

Yeh, online reviews for anything now are almost universally useless. There is a cottage industry of people who do nothing but write good reviews of products and services they've never used AND there are now companies that promise to scrub negative reviews from websites. But even if there are negative or positive reviews, they don't mean much unless one knows the volume of business the company does. Five negative reviews of 100 interactions would be much worse than five negative reviews of 1,000 interactions. So online reviews - good and bad - should usually simply be ignored.

[@joelmadrid2193]

"PANAMA RELOCATION TOURS!! WITH JACKIE!! 🙋 😊 👍❤️👈"

[@invictus6360]

Should I wait to buy a house? I have £350k will there be a drop on house prices?

[@thesaltbaron2237]

Prices will probably drop, but you can’t time it, so just buy ASAP

[@T11CVV]

Your videos are so detailed and well explained. Thanks so much for this educational content 🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@noodlebrains]

I like your videos - they are full with excellent information. I have fallen into a few pitfalls you mentioned and working on lessons learnt

[@danielfinch362]

I was telling people months ago, don't buy now. also been telling people to sell a few months ago and rent until the crash.

[@movewithadam]

Excellent advice! As an agent, I know see how valuable this would be for buyers entering the market for the first time. Subscribed!

[@amani5161]

Super helpful tips! Would love a separate video about RICs reports and how to analyse them. And how to sort contractors based on the findings. Have you ever had to gut a property? Do's and Don'ts?

[@MattBrighton]

They're great for new homebuyers to learn a bit more about the risks in a house. I almost don't bother nowadays but I do know what I'm looking for - unless the lender wants one. Often if there's anything obvious and serious they refer it to a structural engineer, damp specialist etc. So if the problem is already evident I'd skip straight to the specialist as they won't comment on serious evident issues apart from the fact it exists.

[@bobjames6622]

I have some advice which I hope will help you. I bought my house in 2011, and there were certain things on the RICS Survey report that I wasn't clear about. So I noted down all of my queries/concerns and then I phoned the surveyor and had a 10 minute chat with him. Things which had been looming large in my mind as massive problems were cleared up as not being at all serious by that chat, so I purchased the house and STILL love being here. A professional surveyor, who is proud of their work, should always be happy to speak with you about any concerns. IF there are any issues you find which you are concerned about, and are not superficial, you can always ask the surveyor if you could pay him/her for a further consultation. I don't know if surveyors do that, but you can always ask. TBH, as long as you're willing to pay for their time and expertise, I cannot see why they would not agree to a face to face meeting to provide more indepth explanation. Hope that helps, and good luck!

[@amani5161]

@@bobjames6622 Such great advice. Thank you so much! I will definitely be doing this!

[@bobjames6622]

@@amani5161 You're most welcome. And here's another tip. I looked at a house before my current one, and got a survey done on it which cost £400. I then backed out of the deal, but then the estate agent phoned me to say a new buyer wanted to buy the property and would I sell the survey to them? I did just that and got £200 back. So if you get a survey, and then decide against buying the house, let the EA know that you would be willing to sell on your survey to the next buyer for a discount. No guarantee they would buy it, but always worth a punt in that situation.

[@amani5161]

@@bobjames6622 Wow, I didn't even know you could do that. Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@olliec-gp5qj]

Hi Mat great video thanks for the tips, when I called a solicitor earlier this week. They told me that I would only need to contact them once I’ve had an offer accepted? Any advice Thanks

[@GrumpyGrebo]

Mistake #1: buying a house in 2023. Housing bubble is popped. UK is going down.

[@XxBruce5002xX]

9 months on, housing on the up. Is it bulletproof? Lol

[@xristodimitris]

I used myhomemove and I had three friends that have used them with no issues. They got a 5 star review from me. As long as you understand that it's your house, so you need to push and chase. On the other hand I have friends that paid through the nose for traditional conveyancors and had a terrible experience, plus had to post everything in. So because you had a bad experience, don't defamate a firm.

[@Shyndree]

Premier Property Lawyers made me homeless when they dragged my completely no chain first time buy in 2016. I clearly communicated with them about receiving notice of my rental ending 2 months ahead of having to move out while we were in the middle of the sale, and regularly called and chased them telling them they needed to wrap up the sale by that deadline and they still missed that deadline while constantly assuring me on the phone that it will be fine. I was lucky enough to be able to stay with friends temporarily, and eventually we completed the sale, but by gods that company is full of incompetent twats and it deserves all the negative reviews it gets. Just because you had a good experience, don't go around ignoring all the multitude of genuinely awful reviews of these places! Also, how is it defamation if you share your experience?!

[@xristodimitris]

@@Shyndree Really sorry to hear about your experience. That is totally unacceptable and ridiculous when there is no chain, I completed in 2017 in 5 weeks and it could have been 4 if I really pushed myself and them. If I was going by my experience alone then it could have been luck but the fact that 3 friends have used it with no issues did give me confidence. Possibly they are/were good in dealing in the West Midlands. It is not defamation to share your experience, in fact it is welcomed. Matt profited from his opinion and I felt that the way he approached it was wrong, more for the views rather than fact based. Unfortunately conveyancing is another minefield we need to deal with when buying a property, I found very stressful, both in selecting a provider and going through the process. With Premier Property Lawyers' platform you clearly do not have a lawyer do the entire process for the price they offer but again as I said value for money I felt they were ok.

[@isabella6206]

They were uselessness lost paperwork did not answer phone calls or emails do not use them.

[@nintendokings]

Tip 1: dont buy in London 😅

[@laianepeixoto698]

But I live in London 😭

[@sharlenewhyte7082]

Boring

[@adamsowa5927]

@@laianepeixoto698I would rather buy 5 properties in the midlands or up north as blt than one residential mortgage in London

[@abumaalik9272]

Yep, that's why I'm moving up-north and leaving London. London is overpriced and has become terrible.

[@bushmaster4481]

Aren’t they gonna specify a epc of C and above now? Why aren’t people thinking about this?

[@Jon-ov4nc]

If you want to rent it out it will have to be C or above soon. If you want to live in it its just about deciding if your happy living in EPC F, paying to improve the EPC, or looking for something else

[@isabella6206]

Yes very important.

[@oso1965]

Is there any way of finding out how much the asking price of a house was compared to how much it actually sold for?

[@samuelbrown797]

Very good advice. I am beginning to view property (first time buyer) and your insights are invaluable.

[@liferevamp]

First 😆

[@allnamesaretaken]

Rich people problems.

[@rubydoobstylie]

Haha "knobs with noisy exhausts" the worst noise pollution ever....wankers! 🤣🤣