Screening a home: red flags to check before a viewing

You look at the advert, the sales listing (salgsopstilling), the price history and the key documents. The goal is not to find a perfect home or to prove that something is wrong. The goal is to find out:

1. Does the home match your most important requirements?

2. Can the finances add up?

3. What information are you missing?

4. What needs to be checked at a viewing or by a professional?

A red flag is therefore not always a reason to move on to the next home. It is a sign that you should stop and get a better answer.

In brief

• Start with your own requirements. A cheap home is not relevant if it does not fit your everyday life.
• Read the whole sales listing, not just the price, photos and headline.
• Distinguish between owner costs, utilities, service charges and financing.
• Use the price history and time on market as questions, not as proof of problems.
• Compare the advert, the floor plan and BBR.
• Read the text of the reports. A coloured symbol does not tell you what a defect costs.
• For an owner-occupied flat, read the accounts, budget, minutes and maintenance plan together.
• Check easements, local plans and information about the plot if they could affect how you use the home.
• Screening does not replace a viewing, a technical inspection or a legal assessment.

What is screening a home?

Screening is an initial sift of homes using the same criteria every time.

Instead of judging each advert on gut feeling, you can ask the same questions every time:

• Does the location suit you?
• Do the size and layout of the home suit you?
• What does it cost to own and run?
• What do the documents show about its condition and any restrictions?
• Is the information consistent?
• What still needs to be explained to you?

Screening does not turn you into a building surveyor (byggesagkyndig) or a lawyer. It helps you approach the relevant professionals with better questions.

Step 1: Compare with your own requirements

The first red flag can be quite simple: the home does not fit the life you are looking for.

Check the things that are hard or impossible to change:

• Area
• Travel time
• Position of the plot
• Noise
• Number of rooms
• Access
• Floor and lift
• Outdoor space
• Parking
• School and childcare
• Distance to family and everyday life

A kitchen can be replaced. A busy road rarely moves.

Read the guide on prioritising your requirements for a home before you start sifting through homes.

Step 2: Read the sales listing from start to finish

The sales listing brings together key information about the home and its finances.

Among other things, it contains the asking price, owner costs (ejerudgift), consumption-related information, public valuations and significant restrictions arising from plans and easements (servitutter).^[1]

Look in particular for:

• Cash price
• Living area and other areas
• Year of construction
• Owner costs
• Stated utility consumption
• Heating type
• Energy label (energimærke)
• Easements
• Planning conditions
• Financing or debt that may be taken over outside the purchase price
• Special terms of the sale

Mark words and figures you do not understand. If a piece of information matters for your decision, it should not slip past just because it is at the bottom of page 14.

Price, price history and time on market

The price history can tell you how the home has been marketed over time.

Look for:

• The original asking price
• Later price changes
• Previous attempts to sell
• Previous sales
• How long the home has been on the market in the current period

The figures can raise questions, but they do not explain the reason.

A long time on the market can be linked to price, condition, type of home, time of year or a small local market, among other things. A price reduction can be a normal adjustment and is not in itself a sign that the seller is under pressure.

So ask:

• What is the reason for the price change?
• Have previous sales gone through or fallen through?
• Has new information or have new reports emerged during the sales process?
• Has the home been taken off the market for a period?

Price history is information. It is not a definitive answer about the home's value or the seller's situation.

Price per square metre requires comparable homes

Price per square metre looks precise, but the comparison can be skewed.

Two homes of the same size can have different values because of:

• Micro-location
• Floor and view
• Condition
• Plot size
• Layout
• Outdoor space
• Parking
• Energy performance
• Shared facilities
• Right of use of a basement, loft or garden

So compare with homes that are similar in more than postcode and number of square metres.

A high price can have an explanation. A low price can also have an explanation. Screening should identify the question, not decide the answer in advance.

Owner costs, service charges and utilities

The monthly price in the advert is not necessarily your total monthly housing costs.

Boligejer.dk points out that the owner costs in the sales listing do not include standard financing. Consumption-related costs must also be read separately.^[1]

Distinguish between:

Look for costs that only arise after the handover. These could be planned shared works, a change of heating type or a maintenance need that does not appear as a fixed monthly item.

Use the guide on your purchase budget to bring together the purchase price, your own money, loans, transaction costs and running costs.

BBR, floor plan and actual conditions

BBR (the Danish Building and Housing Register) describes the registered information about the property. The information is based partly on the owner's own reports and should be compared with the actual home.^[2]

Compare:

• Living area in the advert
• Living area in BBR
• Floor plan
• Number of buildings
• Use of the basement, loft and outbuildings
• Heating type
• Year of construction and conversions

Pay particular attention if a room is marketed or used in a way that does not match the registration.

A registration in BBR is not in itself documentation that a building is lawful under other legislation.^[3]

Discrepancies do not automatically mean you have to give up on the purchase. They mean the matter needs to be explained and possibly looked into with the municipality or by a relevant professional.

Condition report and electrical installation report

The condition report (tilstandsrapport) describes visible damage and signs of damage using the method of the Danish home inspection scheme (huseftersynsordningen). The electrical installation report (elinstallationsrapport) describes the electrical installations that were inspected.

Read more than the overview on the front page.

Look for:

• Serious or critical damage
• Question marks
• Matters that could not be inspected
• Information provided by the seller
• Comments on the roof's expected remaining lifespan
• Recurring problems in the same part of the building
• Electrical faults with a risk of shock or fire

The colours in the condition report show how serious the damage is and how quickly it may have consequences. They do not show the cost of repair.^[4]

A single serious defect can matter more than many minor ones. Conversely, several minor issues can together add up to a large maintenance need.

Read the long guide on the condition report when buying a home.

If you need a professional assessment based on your questions, you can read about hiring your own building surveyor when buying a home.

The energy label

The energy label shows the building's calculated energy performance and suggestions for improvements.

Check:

• The label's date and validity
• Heating type
• The calculated energy requirement
• Suggestions for improvements
• Expected investments and calculated savings
• Whether the building has been altered since the label was issued

The calculated consumption is not the same as the seller's actual bills. Habits, temperature, household and energy prices can change the actual amount.

Read more in the guide on the energy label when buying a home.

Easements and planning conditions

An easement can restrict what you are allowed to do with the property. Registered easements generally follow the property and can concern access, cables and pipes, buildings or use, among other things.^[5]

Screen the easements especially carefully if you dream of:

• Building an extension
• Putting up a garage or carport
• Changing access
• Running a business from the home
• Removing trees or planting
• Changing the facade or roof
• Dividing the plot

Also look at the local plan, the municipal plan, zoning and other information in the property data report (ejendomsdatarapport). Among other things, the report collects information about plans, soil contamination, water and protection lines.^[6]

Read the guide on local plans and building regulations if your plans for the home are an important part of the purchase.

Soil contamination and oil tanks

Information about soil contamination and oil tanks deserves its own review.

Look for:

• Soil contamination certificate
• Area classification
• Mapping of contamination
• Former or current oil tank
• The tank's status in BBR
• Certificates of decommissioning or removal
• Orders or investigations

The absence of a registration is no guarantee that there has never been a tank or contamination. Conversely, a registration does not mean that you already know the extent and the financial implications.

Read the guide on oil tanks and soil contamination when buying a home.

Owner-occupied flat: screen the association along with the flat

With an owner-occupied flat (ejerlejlighed), you buy a share of the shared property and are bound by the decisions of the owners' association (ejerforening).

As a minimum, read:

• Articles of association
• Latest annual accounts
• Current budget
• Minutes of general meetings
• Maintenance plan
• Owner-occupied flat form (ejerlejlighedsskema)
• Information about shared loans
• Insurance information

Look for:

• Projects that have been decided
• Projects that have been discussed but not yet decided
• Loans in the association
• Arrears
• Recurring problems with the roof, facade, pipes or basement
• Changes in the service charge
• Restrictions on pets, letting or alterations

Low service charges are not automatically good or bad. They must be seen together with the building's condition, savings, debt and maintenance plan.

Boligejer.dk says that the information in the owner-occupied flat form and the sales listing should be compared, especially regarding service charges and decisions that may lead to extra payments.^[7]

Language and photos in the advert

An advert is written to show the home at its best. That is its job.

Phrases such as renovation potential, charming condition or room for your own ideas are not technical descriptions. Translate them into questions:

• What exactly has been renovated?
• What still needs to be done?
• Is there documentation?
• What is registered and approved?
• What is included in the sale?

Few photos or particular camera angles do not prove that something is being hidden. They may simply mean that you should ask for more photos or look at the area at the viewing.

Sort your findings into three groups

After screening, you can group your findings like this:

Clarified

The information is clear, documented and fits your requirements.

To be asked about

An explanation, a document or updated information is missing.

Requires professional assessment

The matter may have technical, legal or financial implications that you cannot establish yourself.

Sorting your findings like this is more useful than a long list of red flags. You can see what you can clarify yourself and where you need help.

Questions before you book the viewing

Among other things, you can ask the estate agent (ejendomsmægler):

• Can I have the full sales listing and the document pack?
• What is the reason for the price changes?
• Has any work been carried out since the reports were made?
• Is there documentation for conversions and renovations?
• Why do BBR, the floor plan and the advert not match?
• Have any major works been decided or discussed in the owners' association?
• Is there any information about soil contamination or an oil tank?
• Which matters could not be inspected in the reports?
• Which fixtures and fittings are included?

Get important answers and documents in writing.

Complete screening checklist

• Do the area and transport match your most important requirements?
• Do the type of home, size and layout suit you?
• Have you read the whole sales listing?
• Have you separated owner costs, utilities and financing?
• Have you looked at the price history and time on market without guessing the reason?
• Do the advert, floor plan and BBR match?
• Have you read the condition report and the electrical installation report?
• Have you read the energy label?
• Have you looked at easements and planning conditions?
• Have you looked into soil contamination and oil tanks where relevant?
• Have you read the owners' association documents for an owner-occupied flat?
• Have you written down the open questions?
• Do you know which matters require professional assessment?

Common mistakes

You use fixed limits for time on market and price

The market varies between areas, types of home and periods. A particular time on market or price reduction cannot on its own decide whether the home is interesting.

You only read the overview in the condition report

The details, the seller's information and the areas that could not be accessed can be just as important as the colours.

You think BBR is an approval

BBR is a register. The registration does not in itself prove that the building is lawful under other legislation.^[3]

You compare service charges without reading the accounts

Two associations can pay for and finance maintenance in completely different ways.

You rule out the home because of an unanswered question

A point to watch is not always a problem. Get the explanation and the documentation first.

You fall in love with the price

A low price does not help if the home requires an everyday life or finances that do not suit you.

In short

Screen with your head first. Then go and get a feel for the home in person.

Start with your requirements. Read the sales listing. Separate owner costs, utilities and financing. Compare BBR, the floor plan and actual use. Read the reports and the owners' association documents, and write down the open questions.

Once the screening is done, you can use the viewing checklist for buying a home to look into what the paperwork cannot show.

BoligKlar gives you a second pair of eyes and an overview. The technical, legal and financial assessment lies with the relevant professionals.

Frequently asked questions