In continuing with our beginner’s guide to real estate, we’ve put together a list of topics you should ask before putting an offer on a home.
We know that in the heat of the moment, you can forget what you need to ask in order to make an informed decision, so here’s a short list for you to remember or keep on hand.
What’s their asking price? What is it based on?
Before you make an offer on the home, you want to understand why the home seller is asking for their specific price.
How does it compare to the other homes in the neighborhood that sold recently? Has this home been recently renovated? When you get to the bottom of these questions, you’ll be able to make a more educated offer on the home.
What is the neighborhood like at night?
This is both an important question to ask the current homeowner, but also something worth investigating yourself. It’s something that, if you don’t discover it beforehand, could be the source of a lot of regret.
Is there a lot of noise? Do the neighbors through a lot of parties and take over all the street parking? These are things to nail down before it’s too late.
How old are the appliances?
This is one of those questions that is most easily forgotten but could make the buying process a lot more complicated. The worst thing that could happen is that you move in the middle of the summer and have your air conditioning unit be broken after only a couple weeks.
This can also be a point of negotiation. If everything in the kitchen is old, you can offer less in order to compensate for those costs.