Why I built Jackson: three houses, three things nobody told me

Jackson started because I'm house hunting myself. I've viewed more than twenty properties so far. I haven't found the one yet, and I'm still looking.

One thing kept bothering me: you only ever hear the good. That's the estate agent's job, and I don't blame them for it. Whether it's a mansion or a pigsty, the listing sells the positives. Everything that would have put me off, I had to find for myself, because something made me suspicious and I went digging. Three houses taught me the most.

The perfect house with the hedge

I viewed it late one morning and everything felt right. The one niggle was a thick hedge down one side, with a busy road behind it. Downstairs you could barely hear it. Upstairs, in the bedrooms, you could: a steady hum of traffic.

For some people that's nothing. For me it's a dealbreaker. I'm at the stage of life where a bit of quiet is worth a lot.

The house that ticked every box

The next one ticked every box and then some. So I went online to research the area, and ended up wading through pages and pages of detail. Buried in there was the thing that mattered: a sewage works nearby, with the prevailing wind blowing from it straight towards the house. On a bad day, the windows stay shut. Another dealbreaker, and nothing in the listing would have told me.

The one I nearly offered on

I liked this one so much I nearly made an offer. Then I checked its history: sold three times in three years. That isn't an alarm on its own, but it was enough to send me back to the road the day after the viewing. Let's just say the neighbours weren't the most considerate. On a quiet viewing, you'd never have known.

Listings tell you the good. That isn't enough.

I'm looking at homes around £360,000 to £375,000. That's not a small decision. Imagine moving in and wanting to move out a few months later. For most of us, that simply isn't an option.

It works the other way too. At my old house we knew we were near a flood area. We were close to it, but the records showed it hadn't flooded since 1940, and that is exactly the kind of thing records can tell you. We even knew the radon levels were raised. Buyers need to know what they're buying, and knowing what's all around it matters just as much.

Selling, letting or renting

Sellers and landlords get told to smarten the place up and make it somewhere people want to live. But how do you describe the area to the right buyer or tenant? That's why the report goes beyond the risks. It includes the pubs and bars, restaurants and cafés within about three-quarters of a mile, which might be a draw or might mean noise at closing time, depending on who's reading.

If you're renting, the report gives you the same picture of the area before you sign.

Why it's priced the way it is

We priced Jackson low, and not because the information is thin. It's so you don't have to save it for the one house you've already offered on. It's knowledge before you offer, or before you sell, without breaking the bank.

The free check gives you a first look at any postcode in England and Wales. If I really like a house, £9 gets me a lot of detail in minutes. If I'm seriously thinking of making an offer, the person-checked report from £19 gives me far more, including the house's own sale history.

This isn't a pitch. It's a way of thinking, and our way of trying to help people in the market. Go in knowing.

Wayne, founder of NoFooly. Jackson reports cover the area around a postcode in England & Wales. They are not a survey, a valuation, or legal or financial advice.