1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,680 Imagine taking 5000 lbs in crisp cash, dropping it right into 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,000 your kitchen sink, and just simply setting it on fire. 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:09,960 Yeah, just watching it burn. Exactly. 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,600 You didn't invest it poorly. You didn't buy anything 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,400 extravagant. You just watched it go up in 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,320 smoke. And the crazy thing is, that is 7 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,760 exactly what thousands of property buyers do every single 8 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:21,880 year. It really is. 9 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,080 It's happening all the time. Right, because they commissioned 10 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,400 second, third or even like fourth professional surveys on 11 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,720 houses they absolutely never should have walked into in the 12 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,479 1st place. So if you are listening to this 13 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,400 right now and prepping to step onto the property ladder, or 14 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,080 maybe you're moving up it, we are doing a deep dive into a 15 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,760 fascinating set of notes today to stop you from making that 16 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,680 exact mistake. And it's a phenomenal amount of 17 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,640 wasted money. I mean, it's driven almost 18 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,440 entirely by human nature, you know? 19 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,080 Oh, for sure, we are visual creatures. 20 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,360 And when we walk into a beautifully staged home, the 21 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,080 emotional brain completely overrides the logical brain. 22 00:00:59,080 --> 00:00:59,760 Just. Shuts down. 23 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,600 Basically, yeah, the financial stakes and property are 24 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,440 monumental, but the way most of us approach the actual viewing 25 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,360 process is, well, shockingly unscientific. 26 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,960 And that's what makes our source material today so incredibly 27 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:16,080 valuable. We have our hands on a 28 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,320 comprehensive guide. It's called Beyond the Viewing 29 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:21,480 by Tom Sikorsky. Right, he's a residential 30 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,960 surveyor. Yeah, practicing across London 31 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:27,320 and Kent for a firm called Survey All, the man has 32 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,520 inspected hundreds of properties, and his core 33 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,200 argument fundamentally shifts how you should think about 34 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,240 buying a house. It's a total reframe. 35 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,120 It is, he says. A successful purchase doesn't 36 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,360 start when you walk into a beautiful viewing. 37 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,200 It starts with a rigorous, like almost brutal understanding of 38 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:46,840 yourself long before you ever click on a property portal. 39 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,800 Because buying a property without a clear, mathematically 40 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,120 defined purpose is exactly what leads to all those wasted 41 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,680 surveys we were just talking about, right? 42 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,160 Your purpose radically changes your priorities. 43 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,840 I mean, if you do not define your why you cannot possibly 44 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,560 evaluate the what? OK, let's unpack this because 45 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,320 the way Sikorsky describes the early stages of property 46 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,000 hunting, it really reminds me of grocery shopping when you are 47 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,320 absolutely starving. Oh, that is a brilliant way to 48 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,960 frame it right. If you walk into a supermarket 49 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,080 on an empty stomach without a shopping list, you end up at the 50 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,600 checkout with a cart full of things you completely don't 51 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,880 need. You've got like three types of 52 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:30,280 expensive cheese, A massive bag of chips, and zero actual meals. 53 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:31,680 You just. Bought whatever looked good in 54 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:32,600 the moment. Exactly. 55 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,240 And that applies perfectly to property. 56 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,160 Yeah, consider a young professional buying their first 57 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,240 place. If they sit down and define 58 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,680 their purpose, their priority matrix is going to heavily 59 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,240 feature central city transport links and extremely low 60 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:48,880 maintenance. I just. 61 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:51,640 Want to get to work easily? Yeah, they are trading square 62 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:53,840 footage for sheer convenience because they want to lock the 63 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,400 door and go. But take someone planning for 64 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,960 retirement. Their priorities shift entirely. 65 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:00,480 Completely different list. Right. 66 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,080 They might need single story accessibility, immediate access 67 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,960 to a good hospital, quiet surroundings, manageable upkeep. 68 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,320 Yeah, so if that retiree walks into a viewing for the young 69 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,000 professionals, Dream Flat falls in love with the modern decor 70 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,440 and buys it. Oh, they are going to be 71 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,320 miserable dealing with three flights of stairs and a noisy 72 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:21,560 St. Exactly. 73 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,360 Or think about an investor looking for rental property. 74 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,120 They shouldn't care about the aesthetic charm of the 75 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,360 cornicing. You know that fancy decorative 76 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,080 plaster molding up near the ceiling? 77 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,000 Yeah, that's tough. They need to focus purely on 78 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:40,400 rental demand, local regeneration projects and long 79 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,840 term maintenance liabilities. The purpose creates the filter. 80 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,240 It stops you from being distracted by the shiny things 81 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,600 that don't serve your actual life. 82 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,840 Precisely. I hear that, but I I have to 83 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:52,480 push back just a little bit here. 84 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,720 Don't we all deep down basically want the same things? 85 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:56,640 You'd think so, yeah. Like. 86 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,720 We all want more space. We all want natural light, maybe 87 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:01,840 a nice big garden, a good neighborhood. 88 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,880 Isn't there just a universal standard for a good house? 89 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,000 It is so tempting to think so, but Sikorsky's material counters 90 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,040 this through what he calls a genuine priorities list. 91 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,560 Buyers often think they know what they want. 92 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,200 Like that large garden you just mentioned? 93 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,040 Sure, but a structured list forces you to separate emotional 94 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,480 wants from practical needs. Sometimes when you really look 95 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,960 at how you live your daily life, convenience and low maintenance 96 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,040 actually trump character in size. 97 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,360 Oh, interesting. Yeah, a massive garden sounds 98 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,200 wonderful in theory, until you realize you're spending every 99 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,000 single Sunday pulling weeds instead of enjoying your 100 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,120 weekend. It is about understanding what 101 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,760 genuinely improves your specific quality of life. 102 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,800 Wow, that is a huge aha moment. You have to be brutally honest 103 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,440 about who you are, not who you aspire to be in the like 104 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,720 brochure version of your life. Exactly. 105 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,200 So once we have mathematically defined why we are buying and 106 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,200 what our actual priorities are, how do we place that theoretical 107 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,440 dream into the real world? Like how do we know the house is 108 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,680 actually giving us what we need? Well, you start by realizing a 109 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,720 building does not exist in a vacuum, it is anchored to an 110 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:08,040 ecosystem. OK, an eco. 111 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:12,360 Right before you even look at the bricks, you have to map your 112 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,400 life onto the streets around the house. 113 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,640 How painful is the commute going to be on a rainy Tuesday in 114 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:20,920 November? Are there green spaces for your 115 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:22,680 dog? What really caught my attention 116 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,120 in the notes is how often buyers completely ignore environmental 117 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,560 risks during a quick 15 minute viewing. 118 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,880 Oh, constantly. They are so focused on the 119 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,440 kitchen island that they don't even look out the window. 120 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,800 Sikorsky urges you to look at the topography. 121 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,800 Like is the ground physically sloping toward the property? 122 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,880 What's fascinating here is that that's a critical observation. 123 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,240 Sloping ground means surface water runoff during a heavy 124 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,280 storm. Where is that water going? 125 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,000 Straight into your house. Straight into your air bricks 126 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,280 and under your floorboards. You also need to look at 127 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,280 exposure. Are you under a flight path 128 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:59,280 facing severe aircraft noise? Because that will drive you 129 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:01,080 crazy in the summer when the windows are open. 130 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,560 Definitely. Even checking the mobile signal 131 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,480 quality and Internet speed on your phone during the viewing 132 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,240 can literally make or break a work from home setup. 133 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,840 And it goes beyond just the physical environment, right? 134 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:13,720 There is a social ecosystem, too. 135 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,480 Sikorsky advises buyers to check deprivation maps and crime 136 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:18,560 statistics. Yeah. 137 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,600 The general upkeep of the neighborhood is a mirror for the 138 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,720 property you are considering. When you walk around, look for 139 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,520 the warning signs. Are there neglected neighboring 140 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,080 properties? Is there intense parking 141 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,040 pressure? Like where everyone is fighting 142 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,840 for a spot on the curb, parking half on the pavement. 143 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,800 Exactly. Areas with high deprivation 144 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,360 often experience poorer maintenance standards. 145 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:44,080 Generally, if the neighbor isn't taking care of their roof, it 146 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,240 might easily affect your party wall down the line. 147 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,000 Wait, let's define that really quickly for anyone new to this 148 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,600 the party wall. Right, my apologies. 149 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,080 The party wall is the shared structural wall dividing your 150 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,840 house from the house next door in a terraced or semi detached 151 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:01,160 layout. So if your neighbor has a 152 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,520 massive leak on their side of the party wall, that moisture is 153 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:06,160 eventually coming into your living room. 154 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,280 You are economically and physically tied to the people 155 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,760 next door. It is like the neighborhood is 156 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:13,560 dropping bread crumbs for you to follow. 157 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,880 So if we zoom out to look at that neighborhood and its risks, 158 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,640 it is time to zoom all the way. In to the house itself. 159 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,200 Yeah, we need to look at the physical reality of the building 160 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,520 itself, and here's where it gets really interesting. 161 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,560 One part of Sikorsky's notes really caught me off guard. 162 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,840 Here he divides houses by era, which makes sense, but he 163 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,960 assigns very specific, almost hidden diseases to each time 164 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,440 period. The architectural era dictates 165 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,760 the construction method, and every single construction method 166 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,040 has an Achilles heel. OK, let's start with the 167 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,120 classics. Victorian and Adorian 168 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,240 properties. These are the ones everyone 169 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,000 romanticizes. You know the high ceilings, the 170 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:53,840 beautiful brickwork, the big Bay windows. 171 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,680 What is the hidden disease here? The primary vulnerability of 172 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,360 Victorian homes is, well, dampness, and it really comes 173 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,480 down to basic physics. Because of how they were built. 174 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,800 Right. These houses were usually built 175 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,760 with solid brick walls. Imagine a brick as a very dense, 176 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,560 hard sponge. When rain hits a solid brick 177 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,000 wall, capillary action slowly draws that moisture straight 178 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,480 through the brick and into the internal plaster. 179 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,360 Oh wow. Yeah, today we build houses with 180 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,200 cavity walls, two separate walls with a gap of air in between to 181 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:27,920 stop the water from crossing over. 182 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,720 Victorians didn't do that. You are looking at a high risk 183 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:35,960 of penetrating damp, potential timber decay in the floorboards 184 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,080 and generally terrible insulation. 185 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,320 So you get those gorgeous high ceilings, but you are paying an 186 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,600 absolute fortune to heat the air up there and the walls are 187 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:46,960 actively soaking up the rain pretty much. 188 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,720 So if solid walls were just acting like sponges, builders 189 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,560 had to innovate. Which naturally brings us to the 190 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:54,480 1930s. These are super popular for 191 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:56,440 families. Those classic semi detached 192 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,360 houses. Did they fix the damp issue? 193 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,000 They did, yeah, by introducing the cavity wall on a mass scale. 194 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,360 1930s homes generally offer excellent proportions, and they 195 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,040 sit on good plots of land. But the innovation brought a new 196 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,240 disease cavity wall tie failure. Wait, how does that work? 197 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,320 Well, to keep the inner wall and the outer wall standing 198 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,120 together, builders use small metal ties to bridge the gap 199 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:19,720 between them. OK, that makes sense. 200 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,320 The problem is they used early mild steel for these ties and 201 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:24,760 they didn't galvanized them properly. 202 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,240 Decades of condensation inside that dark, damp cavity causes 203 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,880 the steel to rust. And Rust expands. 204 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,480 It expands up to seven times its original thickness, so these 205 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,200 little metal ties inside the wall rust, expand and literally 206 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,520 Jack the bricks apart. You will see horizontal cracking 207 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,200 running all the way along the mortar lines on the outside of 208 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,960 the house. That is terrifying. 209 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,680 It's happening completely out of sight until it literally breaks 210 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:52,040 the house apart. So the 30s gave us great 211 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,560 proportions but rusting metal inside the walls. 212 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,920 Then World War 2 happens, the country is completely broke. 213 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,280 How did that lack of money physically alter the houses 214 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:05,080 built in the 50s and 60s? Post war housing is fascinating 215 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,440 because the priority was just speed and cost. 216 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:11,400 Traditional materials were scarce, so builders turn to non 217 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,400 traditional cheaper construction methods. 218 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,000 Like what? Often involving system build 219 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,080 concrete panels. The hidden disease here is 220 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:22,000 concrete deterioration, sometimes called concrete 221 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:23,520 cancer. Concrete Cancer. 222 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,800 Yeah, the steel rebar inside the cheap concrete panels begins to 223 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,680 rust, expanding and blowing the face off the concrete. 224 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,240 We also see terrible thermal inefficiency, structural 225 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,840 movement and the very real danger of asbestos. 226 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,480 Oh, asbestos. Which was used extensively in 227 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,120 flooring ceilings and insulation during this period. 228 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,720 OK, I'm going to stop you there because my intuition is 229 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,240 screaming that if all these old houses have damp, rusting wall 230 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:54,080 ties and asbestos, then a brand new 2025 modern flat should be 231 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,080 the absolute safest thing on the market. 232 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:58,640 You would think so, I mean. It's a brand new it's shiny, 233 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,000 it's energy efficient. How can a modern flat possibly 234 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,520 be a trap? Well, buying a modern flat is 235 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,520 somewhat like buying a brand new luxury car on a strict lease. 236 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,720 It looks beautiful and the heated seats are great, but you 237 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,520 don't actually own the software, you are not legally allowed to 238 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,520 fix the engine yourself, and the dealership can suddenly hit you 239 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:18,280 with a massive mandatory service. 240 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:19,600 Fee. Oh, I see where this is going. 241 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,680 Modern flats are produced some of the most financially ruinous 242 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:24,720 traps for buyers in recent years. 243 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,440 Are we talking about cladding? Yes, hidden cladding liabilities 244 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,320 are a major one. Following recent changes in fire 245 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,800 safety regulations, thousands of modern apartment buildings were 246 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,280 found to have unsafe cladding materials on their exteriors. 247 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,200 Which is incredibly dangerous. And expensive. 248 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,600 If you buy a flat in one of these buildings, you might find 249 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,840 yourself legally liable to pay 10s of thousands of pounds to 250 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:49,160 replace the outside of the building. 251 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,240 Wait 10s of. Thousands easily. 252 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,600 Lenders often refuse to offer a mortgage on these flats until a 253 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,520 Clean Fire Safety certificate known as an EWS One form is 254 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,760 provided. And beyond cladding, you were 255 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,880 dealing with unpredictable, skyrocketing service charges 256 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,440 dictated by management companies, strict lease 257 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,000 restrictions and you have 0 control over repairs to the 258 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,400 wider building. It is incredibly eye opening 259 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:15,880 when you lay the physics and the legalities out like that. 260 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,040 It really emphasizes a massive rule from Sikorsky's notes. 261 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:23,000 View smart, not just beautiful. When you walk into a viewing you 262 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,240 have to actively ignore the sellers fancy furniture, the 263 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,520 fresh coat of paint, the smell of baking bread or coffee they 264 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,800 put on to distract you. You have to look for the story 265 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,000 the building is trying to hide. Because the exterior of a 266 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,720 property is the ultimate truth teller, Sikorsky makes a 267 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,040 brilliant point here. The way a property is maintained 268 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,840 on the outside tells you exactly how the hidden systems were 269 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,240 treated on the inside. Yeah, if you look up and the 270 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,320 gutters are completely blocked with weeds, the pointing between 271 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,680 the bricks is crumbling and the fences are leaning over, that 272 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:58,640 tells you everything. It really does. 273 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,760 If they couldn't be bothered to clear the gutters to stop water 274 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,240 pouring down the walls, they definitely haven't been paying 275 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,240 for annual boiler services or upgrading the electrics. 276 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,480 Deferred maintenance is simply a compounding debt that the next 277 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,480 buyer inevitably pays. OK, I get the bricks. 278 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,200 I understand how to look for rusting wall ties and blocked 279 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,040 gutters, but there is a whole section in this guide about 280 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,120 investigating the sellers themselves. 281 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,280 Yes, the human element. And I have to admit I'm a bit 282 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,680 confused by this. Why should I care who is selling 283 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:29,320 the house or how long they've lived there? 284 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:31,360 I'm buying the building, not the person. 285 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:34,640 If the house is good, who cares if they are moving to Spain or 286 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,320 getting a divorce? Ignoring the seller means 287 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,000 ignoring vital psychological clues hidden in the ownership 288 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,320 history. Why a person is selling often 289 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,400 tells you what you are actually buying. 290 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,480 OK, give me an example. Let's look at repeated short 291 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,160 ownership periods. Say you check the property 292 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,520 portal history and this house has changed hands three times in 293 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,040 the last five years. Like a game of hot potato. 294 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,360 Precisely like a hot potato. Yeah, that often indicates an 295 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,120 unresolved issue that isn't obvious during a viewing. 296 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,080 Like what kind of issue? Perhaps there's a severe noise 297 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,000 problem from the neighbors that only becomes apparent at night, 298 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,400 or a hidden structural defect that is simply too expensive to 299 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,600 fix, so each owner discovers it, panics, and just passes the 300 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,680 problem on to the next buyer. Oh wow, what about properties 301 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:22,520 that have just been completely renovated? 302 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,440 A property that has been bought, renovated and put back on the 303 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,080 market in six months. A flipped property requires 304 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,120 extreme caution. Because they did it fast. 305 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,720 Fast and cheap, those cosmetic improvements are often skin 306 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,600 deep. A flippers profit margins rely 307 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,120 on speed and cheap materials. They might have put in a 308 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,680 beautiful Gray kitchen, but they likely plastered straight over 309 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,880 the damp issues rather than fixing the roof. 310 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,520 That makes total sense. You are looking for long term 311 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,520 occupants who are simply downsizing. 312 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,680 That usually reflects consistent loving care of the building. 313 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,840 So you are basically buying their history with the house. 314 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,040 Exactly. And Speaking of uncovering 315 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,600 history, Sikorsky reveals what I think is the absolute best, most 316 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,960 underused due diligence tactic of all time. 317 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,680 The secret weapon? Talking to the neighbors. 318 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,280 It is astonishing how few buyers ever knocked in the door. 319 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,600 Next door neighbors hold the unwritten history of the street. 320 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,240 They know everything. The guide lists exactly what 321 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,160 they can reveal. They know about the parking 322 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,920 disputes that happen at 8:00 PM when everyone gets home from 323 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,080 work and the agent isn't around. You can just ask them like, hey, 324 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,040 what's it like living here? And they will say, oh, didn't 325 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,720 the agent tell you that whole ground floor flooded in 2014? 326 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,720 They love sharing that stuff. They know about antisocial 327 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:39,840 behavior from the house 2 doors down. 328 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,040 They even know if someone on the street has the dreaded Japanese 329 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,640 knotweed creeping through their garden, destroying foundations. 330 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,480 None of that is going to be printed in a glossy sales 331 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:51,640 brochure. Never. 332 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,640 The estate agent's job is to market the property in its best 333 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,320 possible light. And that brings us to a crucial 334 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,040 dynamic you must navigate sales pressure. 335 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:03,960 Right. Estate agents work for the 336 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,640 seller, that is their legal and financial obligation. 337 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,720 Many are highly professional but you have to understand the 338 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,080 psychology of sales they employed to get the highest 339 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:13,840 price. Oh, the pressure techniques are 340 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,320 relentless. They claim there is incredibly 341 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:17,960 strong interest from other buyers. 342 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,440 They suggest offers are imminent to force you into a rush 343 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,800 decision. Yes, and more dangerously, they 344 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,520 will downplay defects. If you do notice a crack, an 345 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,600 agent might try to minimize the concern, insisting it's just 346 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,280 character or, you know, settlement standard for a House 347 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:35,840 of this age. Yeah, they brush it off. 348 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,920 The absolute golden rule here is never confuse urgency with 349 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,040 opportunity. A rush decision driven by an 350 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,360 agent's artificial timeline can lead to years of financial 351 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,200 strain. So what does this all mean? 352 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,560 We have vetted the area, we have decoded the physical breaks and 353 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,280 the physics of how they fail. We have investigated the 354 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,360 psychology of the humans involved and we haven't given in 355 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,440 to the agent's pressure. Now, before you sign away your 356 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,720 life savings, we arrive at the ultimate climax of the property 357 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,720 journey, the professional survey. 358 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,200 This is your final safety net. Despite all of the brilliant 359 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,240 personal due diligence we've discussed, commissioning a Level 360 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,800 2 or Level 3 RICS home survey is entirely non negotiable. 361 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,200 That's the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 362 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,880 Correct. You need a qualified 363 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,839 professional to crawl into the loft, lift the inspection 364 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,319 hatches and provide an independent assessment of the 365 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:28,800 financial liabilities you simply cannot see. 366 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,520 The stuff behind the walls. Yeah, we are talking about 367 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,960 hidden dampness behind the plaster, failing plumbing 368 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:40,560 beneath the floorboards, unsafe electrics or structural movement 369 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,720 in the roof Timbers. If we connect this to the bigger 370 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,760 picture, the survey isn't just a depressing list of flaws, it is 371 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,240 a vital financial tool. It takes the emotion out and 372 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,040 replaces it with financial reality. 373 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,360 It empowers you to renegotiate the purchase price to account 374 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:00,080 for the repairs or to request further specialized checks, but 375 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,200 eventually you hit the point of no return, the exchange of 376 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,000 contracts. What exactly does exchanging 377 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,840 mean for a buyer? In the legal process of buying a 378 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,800 property, the exchange of contracts is the moment the 379 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:13,600 transaction becomes legally binding. 380 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,840 Before this moment, either party can pull out without legal 381 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,000 penalty. Just walk away. 382 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,120 Exactly, but the moment contracts are exchanged you are 383 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,560 legally committed to buying that building with all its flaws, or 384 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,280 you lose your massive deposit and face being sued. 385 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:29,920 Which highlights the most empowering take away from this 386 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,160 entire guide? The ultimate power move. 387 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:34,840 Until those contracts are legally exchanged, you have 388 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,480 options. You have total control. 389 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,080 You can renegotiate the price based on the survey. 390 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,880 You can ask for more time to investigate the damp or, and 391 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,720 this is the hardest but sometimes the most necessary 392 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,520 choice, you can walk away. Walking away from the wrong 393 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,240 property, even if you lose 1000 lbs on a survey, is often the 394 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,960 smartest financial decision you can possibly make. 395 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,520 It takes immense courage to walk away when you have mentally 396 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,200 already placed your furniture in the living room, but preventing 397 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,800 a 30 year financial mistake is well worth a brief period of 398 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,600 disappointment. So let's rapidly summarize the 399 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,480 golden rules of this deep dive. One, plan before you search. 400 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,440 Define your purpose mathematically so you don't end 401 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,920 up grocery shopping while hungry. 2 inspect before you 402 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,440 invest, understand the physics of the architectural era, map 403 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,920 the neighborhood and uncover the hidden history from the 404 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,960 neighbors. And three, negotiate before you 405 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,320 exchange. Use the professional survey to 406 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,720 protect your future self. And remember, a successful 407 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,200 property purchase is rarely about finding a flawless 408 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,480 building. Perfection does not exist in 409 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:38,880 bricks and mortar. It just doesn't. 410 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,160 It is about knowing exactly what compromises make sense for your 411 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,640 specific lifestyle and your specific financial resilience. 412 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,440 It is about buying with absolute clarity rather than blind 413 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,960 excitement. Such a powerful reframe. 414 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,440 I want to leave you, our listener, with a final thought 415 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,720 to Mull over the next time you walk down your own street, or 416 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,920 maybe when you are walking up to visit a friend's house. 417 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,200 I want you to practice this. Look past the fresh paint on the 418 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,840 front door. Ignore the beautiful flowers in 419 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,960 the garden. Look up at the roof lines and 420 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,760 the gutters. Look at the bricks to see if you 421 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,400 spot horizontal cracking from old metal ties. 422 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:15,560 Check to see if the fences are leaning. 423 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,120 And ask yourself, if this house went on the market tomorrow, 424 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,520 what secrets would it be trying to hide from you?