A property listing is a summary, and like any summary it leaves things out. Knowing what to look for turns a stack of similar-looking listings into a shortlist.
The numbers that matter
- Size. Floor area in square metres is the honest measure for a house or apartment. For land it is acres. A bedroom count without a size tells you very little.
- Bedrooms, bathrooms and toilets. Three separate numbers, and worth reading separately. A "two bedroom" with one toilet serves fewer people than it sounds like.
- Price. For rent, the monthly figure, and what it includes. For sale, the asking price, and whether the seller will consider offers.
- Year built and condition. Age is not the same as condition, but both appear in the price.
What to ask about every shortlisted property
- Is it available now, and has anything been paid on it?
- What are the service charges, and who pays them?
- Is there parking, and is it included?
- Who is the owner, and who is authorised to sell or let?
Reading between the lines
A listing that avoids the size, shows one photo and says "call for price" is telling you something. So is a price well below everything else in the same area: sometimes it is a bargain, more often there is a reason.
Compare against the other listings in the same place. The local average is the context that makes one price make sense.
Save the properties that look promising as you go - the shortlist is what you compare later, when the first impressions have faded and the details are all that is left.