What to inspect in a flat before you decide to buy it

What to check on the plumbing

Look under the kitchen sink and behind the toilet for any dampness, discolouration on the pipes, or a musty smell that lingers even with the window open. In older buildings the risers are original from construction, and a stack that has never been renewed is worth asking about directly, since a leak inside a wall is expensive to trace and fix.

Turn on a tap and watch the pressure, then flush the toilet and listen to how long the cistern takes to refill. Weak pressure on a high floor sometimes means the building's system needs attention, which is a matter for the apartment association rather than something you can fix yourself.

Ask when the bathroom was last renovated and whether the floor was properly waterproofed underneath the tiles. A bathroom that looks new but was tiled directly over old, unsealed screed can leak into the flat below within a few years, and that only shows up once it is too late to check.

• Check under sinks and around the toilet base for staining or soft flooring
• Run a tap and flush the toilet to judge pressure and refill speed
• Ask about the age of the risers and any past leaks in the flat or building
• Ask when the bathroom waterproofing and tiling were last done

Which cracks and stains on the walls are worth asking about

Hairline cracks in plaster, especially near door frames, are common in panel buildings as they settle and rarely mean anything serious. What deserves a direct question is a crack wider than a few millimetres, one that runs diagonally across a wall, or one that appears on both sides of the same wall in adjoining rooms.

A brownish stain near the ceiling, particularly under a window or along an outer wall, usually points to water getting in from outside, either through the roof, a balcony above, or poor sealing around a window. A patch of fresh paint in an odd spot on an otherwise untouched wall is worth asking about too, since it sometimes covers a stain rather than the cause behind it.

In 1930s wooden houses in Kalamaja or Nõmme, check where an outer wall meets the floor, since damp there can mean the foundation or drainage around the building needs attention, which is a much bigger job than patching plaster.

What windows and doors tell you

Open and close every window and exterior door in the flat, not just the one in the living room. A window that sticks, drops, or will not latch cleanly usually means the frame has warped or the hardware has worn out, and in older wooden-framed windows this is often a sign the frame itself needs replacing rather than adjusting.

Feel for a draught around the edges of closed windows, especially in a flat with older double-glazed units from the 1990s or 2000s. Condensation between the panes means the seal has failed and the whole unit needs replacing, not just a wipe with a cloth.

Check that the front door closes and locks smoothly and that the frame is not visibly warped, since a door that has to be lifted or slammed to shut properly points to a frame that has shifted, which is worth factoring into any renovation plan for the flat.

General signs that upkeep has been neglected

Look at the stairwell and the building entrance on your way in, not just the flat itself. Peeling paint, a broken intercom, or a lift that has been out of service for a while often reflects how the apartment association manages the building overall, and that affects every flat in it, not just this one.

Ask to see the building's recent renovation history: roof, facade, risers, and whether a loan is currently being repaid through the monthly maintenance fee. A flat can be perfectly fine while the building around it is due for expensive work that every owner will have to help pay for.

Inside the flat, check whether radiators are warm right to the top and bottom evenly, since a cold patch can mean the heating system needs balancing or flushing, which is worth asking the seller or association about rather than assuming it will sort itself out.

What is a simple repair and what is not

A dripping tap, a loose door handle, a sticking window catch, or a hairline crack in plaster are all ordinary maintenance, the kind of odd job that costs from 39 € an hour and takes an afternoon once you own the place. These are not reasons to walk away from a flat, only things to budget for.

A leaking riser, a failed bathroom waterproofing membrane, a warped window frame, or damp coming through an outer wall are a different category. These usually need proper diagnosis and sometimes a fixed-price job, and it is worth getting a quote before you commit to a price for the flat, not after.

If you are weighing up a flat that needs work throughout, from a full bathroom to new windows, a renovation is generally priced as a fixed job from 180 € rather than by the hour, and plumbing repairs specifically start from 45 € an hour, which gives you a rough figure to weigh against the asking price.