My fiance and I are considering buying our first home. What questions do we ask the seller or agent?

Answer 1

First of all Congrats. In October we will be in our 1st home for a year. It is absolutly amazing.

There are two options to buy a house, For Sale By Owner, or with use of a commissioned sales agent. From experience having an agent can reduce your anxiety and answer a lot of the questions you may forget.

We got an idea of what we could afford, before we even looked. I didnt want to find something totally amazing and then be let down because we couldnt afford it. Then i looked online at the real estate listings in my area to get an idea of what was out there. I would suggest doing drive bys. Get an idea of the neighborhoods you want to live in and what you DONT want. Its called curb appeal.

Once you have narrowed your search to what you would like, your agent can help you narrow it or expand it depending on how many you have. You will then go to lookat the insides of the houses. Usually your agent will print off Public Summarys of the house for you. It will give you the basic information about the house, ie. bedrroms, baths, sq ft, yard ammenties,garage, etc.

Those are the things you will want to ask about. What we did is when we walked through the house, we took a tally in each room of what it had, what we didnt see and then formed our questions based off that.

For example: Living room: flooring (how old, can we get it replaced by the seller), windows (how old are they, will they leak), fireplace (is there one, is it gas or wood, how much heat does it produce, willit reduce the cost of my energy bill), walls (wallpaper or paint), size of the room (will our furniture fit), doors (where are they, are they in good shape), etc. Things like that.

Dont forget questions like air conditioning, type of heat, attic, basment, listen for creaks in the flooring, exits in the house, and most importantly layout. Also, questions about the structure of the house. Dont worry about how the house looks (decorated) when you walk thorugh. Remember that it is their stuff not yours. The house will look different with your items in there.

After you initially look through the houses and get it narrowed down. You will make an offer on the house and you will have a home inspection done. This will cover such things as roof, pipes, electrical, foundation, etc. You will be given a printout so you can see what items need to be fixed.

If you dont have an agent yet, interview some. Make sure they have your best interest in mind. You arent paying their commission the seller is. Buying a house is basically free to you as far as an agent goes. Get friends and family recommendations...agents work off referrals.

Write down your questions so you dont forget them. Happy house hunting.

Answer 2

Some of the question you need to consider about the house itself:
How old is the roof? Does it have a guarantee (5 yrs, 10yrs)?
How old is the plumbing? Have there been an flooding and bursting repairs?
What is the conditions of the electrical systems?
Will the seller pay the first year of a premier level home warranty? It's a insurance policy that will help with repairs to certain systems.
What appliances come with the home and what is their age and condition?

Most of these questions will be covered in the home inspection. They are a good starting places to begin a conversation. I would also suggest going into the neighborhood you are considering at different times of the day both weekend and mid-week to see what kind of activity goes on there to make sure it fits in with your lifestyle. Kids, no kids, loud music, too quiet, older residents, young partyers etc.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

There are tons of issues that you need to keep in the back of your mind. First I would get educated about what kind of house, where, how much can you afford, what kind of inspection, etc. I like I said there are lots of issues. You should go to the website: http://www.hud.gov and click on "Buying" under the Homes section on the left of the page. This is a home buyers website created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It has tons of useful information. The nine steps for buying a home is very informative. Good Luck!

Nine steps to buying a home
Figure out how much you can afford
Know your rights
Shop for a loan
Learn about homebuying programs
Shop for a home
Make an offer
Get a home inspection
Shop for homeowners insurance
Sign papers

Answer 4

International Relations Coordinator Robyn Broughton says His Holiness really wanted to interact with staff and students. As the capacity of St David is limited to 500 people, it was decided to run a competition to choose which staff and students can attend – asking what question they would ask the Dalai Lama. The competition closes on Friday 19 April, but Mrs Broughton says there has been a fantastic response already from staff across the campus. “We have had entries from across the board,” she says. “Right from PhD students to senior management.” And the questions cover a spectrum of topics too. “There are quite a few around how to achieve balance in a busy life, quite a few around His Holiness’s thoughts around the role of tertiary education for young people, some around how to stay positive, someone has asked ‘If you could be an animal, what would you be?’, another has asked ‘What is your favourite childhood memory?’.” The final questions to be put to His Holiness will be selected by the national organiser of the Dalai Lama Trust, but Mrs Broughton believes there will be mix of serious and more light-hearted questions. Professor Mark Henaghan of Law will facilitate the session and put the questions to him.

Answer 5

You may want to wait a little bit because the housing market is still unstable. Housing prices should continue to drop. What I would do if I was you is to find a couple homes you like. Once you pick the homes keep looking to see how long they have been on the market. If they have been on the market long you can usually bid a much lower price than what they are asking for.

Answer 6

allthough house prices or droping this does not mean its a bad investment because house value will go up again. Its a proven fact with in the last 20 years house value has risen despite the ups and downs. There shouldnt be any questions you should be asking they should be asking you questions. Like how much do you want to spend or where do you want to live.

So my question to you is are you going for 100 percent financing cause if you are i could help you there. If you have any questions email me at [e-mail].

Answer 7

First off, you want to get your own agent before you go in there. Their commissions are paid out of the listing commission, but they work for you. The listing agent is working for the seller.

http://www.danmelson.com/posts/1148583869.shtml

Before that, you need to know how much home you can afford.

http://www.danmelson.com/posts/1147464929.shtml

Answer 8

I really wouldn't buy a house if you were in California or anywhere else in the U.S. since house values are expected to go down. For example, if you buy a house for $450,000 today it might be well worht $300,000 in the next 3-4 yrs...you will actually have a mortgage higher then the value of your house and should then desire to sell the house you will actually owe the bank money and not get money ;(

let me know what area you ar ein

Answer 9

I agree with "Ember B". Very detailed response.

Many agree that the housing market is going to tumble. I think we will be looking at a flat market for a year or so. (Wish I had a crystal ball like some appearently have).

It is a buyer's market, and with interest rates near historic lows and inventories high, now may be a good time to buy.

Thanks,
Kevin
http://www.kevinscolastico.com

Answer 10

You want an agent with years of experience in your desired area. You should go to GetMeAnAgent.com. They will put you in touch with a great real estate agent, and give you back $500 at closing. You can't beat it!!