Important Questions To Ask While Buying A House?

Is finding a needle from a haystack easy?

Well, everyone knows that it’s a tough job. In the same manner, buying a perfect dream house from several options available is a complicated process. Since you are investing a huge sum of your savings, thorough research is needed. Don’t buy a house just because the very first sight of the house has made you fall head over heels in love with it. Simultaneously touring dozens of houses for sale near you will leave you confused, so it is advisable to limit your viewing by deciding your budget to fasten up the house viewing process.

Now after finding a house that fits your budget dig into the nuts and bolts of the house by asking several questions to the seller and your real estate agent in San Antonio who will clarify all your doubts.

So to weed duds out of diamond let’s dive into the important questions needed to ask when buying a house.

What is the total cost of the house?

Money matters, right. Apart from the sellers asking price you need to pay several other costs for closing the deal. This includes appraisal cost, property tax, inspection cost, and homeowners insurance.

What is the prevailing real estate market price in that area? For what amount are other similar houses sold recently?

Knowledge of the local market will help you in determining whether the seller's asking price is on target or too high. This will help you in further negotiating the selling price.

How long has been the house for sale in the market?

A house for sale in San Antonio that languishes in the market for a longer period is either priced too high or has some issues. Owners of such property are more motivated to make the deal. This will give you a prime opportunity to negotiate a lower selling price.

How is the neighborhood?

If you dislike the interior of the house you can change it anytime. But it is not the same with the neighborhood. So, get detailed information about the schools, hospitals, and marketplace in the neighborhood and accessibility to highways and railways. Also, talk to the neighbors to find out if any local nuisance or crime is prevailing in the area.

At what price the owner had previously purchased the house?

This information will help you to find whether the owner is making a huge profit in comparison to the previous purchase price. If the profit margin is too high you have the flexiblity of negotiating t the time of closing the deal.

Is the location prone to natural disasters?

Natural disasters may lead to severe damage to the house and you might need to rebuild it. This will cost your pocket. So if the house is located in a flood zone or earthquake-prone area you can either back out of the deal or take good homeowners insurance cover for those natural disasters.

Has any repair work conducted to fix a major problem? Or does the problem persist?

The home inspection will give detailed information about the structure, foundation of the house, problems of mold, and leakage if any. Further, on detection of any such problem, you can negotiate future concessions such as payment for repairs by the seller. If mold remediation is carried out or a major leakage is fixed, then ask for the contact information of persons who did the repairs. This will help in future maintenance.

How old are the roof and other major appliances and systems?

The roof is always exposed to wear and tear and repairing it is expensive. So, find out the lifespan of the roof so that you do not wind up shelling out a thousand dollars in repairing it in near future. Also, ask for warranty cards for major electrical appliances such as air-conditioners, heater, washer, dryer, etc. If these appliances are closer to their warranty period ask the seller to purchase a home warranty to cover replacement costs.

What is the history of insurance claims on the property?

Ask the seller for a copy of CLUE(Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange.) This reports insurance claims made on the property in the past seven years. If the CLUE is blank then it means no insurance claims are made. The more the claims made on CLUE, the more the price you pay for homeowner’s insurance coverage. Also, claims made for damages due to water problem gives a fair warning of mold issue springing up in future. 

Why the seller is moving?

A seller may be moving out for good reasons such as job transfer, marriage, or downsizing. Or there may be unfavorable reasons such as a bad neighborhood or some stigma attached to the house. Digging into these reasons will help you to decide whether you want to buy the house. Also, you get an idea of how motivated is the seller for settling the deal. A motivated seller who wants to close the deal quickly will be more flexible during negotiations as compared to one who is not in a rush.

What things are included in the sale deal?

All fixtures are undoubtedly included in the sale deal. Apart from these ask the seller if he is willing to leave the washer, dryer, and other such movable items behind. This will help you to figure out what appliances you need to take along to make the house livable.

Conclusion:

Buying a house with doubts and unanswered questions is a fool’s job. So don’t think that any question is irrelevant. Get satisfactory answers from the professional real estate agent in San Antonio before locking on your dream house.