Viewing a flat in Austria: a checklist for the location

You can renovate a flat after you move in, but you can't move its location. So at every viewing, check ten things around the address: the walk to the stop, the noise in the evening, the sun, the internet, the shops, schools and childcare, doctors, parking, what may be built nearby, and natural hazards.

Before the viewing: check the address

Listings promise a "prime location" and "excellent transport links". You can see whether that's true before you go: find the address on a map, measure the walks from the front door and look at what lies within ten minutes on foot. That way you only travel to flats whose location suits you, and you spend the viewing on the questions you can only answer on site.

The checklist

1. The walk to the stop

Walk it yourself, at the time of day you'll be travelling. Count the walk, not the straight line: a railway line or a main road with no crossing in between turns 300 metres into 900. Check how often the line runs, in the evening and at weekends too.

2. Noise, in the evening and at weekends

Viewings are usually on a weekday during the day. Come back on a Friday evening. Listen for main roads, trams, railways, flight paths, bars and delivery zones, and check where the bedroom faces: the courtyard or the street.

3. Sun and orientation

A south-facing window on the first floor gets little winter sun if the building opposite has six storeys. Look at when the sun reaches the windows, and check whether a taller building may go up opposite (point 9).

4. Internet and mobile signal

Ask which connections the building has: fibre, cable or DSL. Run a speed test on your phone in every room during the viewing. Thick walls in old buildings and reinforced concrete swallow the signal.

5. Shops

Supermarket, bakery, pharmacy, post office: what can you reach in five to ten minutes on foot? And are they open when you're at home?

6. Schools and childcare

Check the nursery, primary school and secondary schools within walking distance. Ask the municipality how places are given out: nursery places are scarce in many areas.

7. Doctors

GP, paediatrician, dentist: are there practices nearby that take public health insurance and accept new patients? In many municipalities, that's the real question.

8. Parking

Since March 2022 every district in Vienna is a short-term parking zone. Residents get a parking permit (Parkpickerl) for their own district. If you have a car, ask about a garage or parking space and what it costs a month.

9. What may be built nearby

The empty field across the road may be building land. The zoning plan shows what each plot around you is zoned for, and the development plan how tall buildings there may be. Our guide Zoning in Austria: what can be built next door? explains how to read both.

10. Natural hazards

Floods, landslides, avalanches and, in some regions, earthquakes: you can check whether an address lies in a hazard zone before you buy. Our guide checking an address for natural hazards shows how.

At the viewing: ask the neighbours

Nobody knows the location better than the people who already live there. If you meet someone on the stairs, ask:

• How loud is it at night and at weekends?
• Has the cellar ever flooded?
• Is anything being built nearby, or planned?
• Which internet do you have, and how fast is it?