9 Questions to ask Your Realtor Before Buying a Home, and the Most Important One!

Buying a home can be an intimidating process, especially if it’s your first time. In many cases working with a realtor can help simplify the process and help you to find the right home. You’ll want to find a realtor you can trust and make sure to ask them all the important questions. Here are our suggestions for some of the most important questions to ask when considering a home for purchase, as well as our top pick for the most important question to ask your realtor.

1. Have there been renovations or additions to the home?

You’ll want to know what sort of changes the sellers have made to their home and how much the renovations are worth. Renovations can indicate problems that may have existed with the home, as well as indicate increased value. Ask for receipts to be sure what the actual added value is for each addition or renovation. Knowing the value of additions or renovations can help inform offers you make on the home by giving you insight into how much the previous owner has spent.

2. How much are property taxes?

Most listings will provide property tax, but if it’s not available make sure to have your realtor obtain the cost from the sellers. Understand that the property tax is based on the current value of the home, which may fluctuate even based on the final sale price. Always budget for more than the initial property tax amount listed by the seller.

3. How much are monthly maintenance and utility costs?

Nothing could be worse than being hit with an enormous utility bill or homeowners fee you weren’t expecting. Be sure to gather financials on utility expenses and any monthly maintenance fees like gas, electric, waste removal, and more. Some older homes can have issues with insulation, or energy inefficiency. If you know you’ll need to make upgrades, you can include the costs in your home purchase offer.

4. Have there been pest infestation problems?

Much like a car history, but even more important, you’ll always want to know the history of your home. If there’s been a pest infestation in the past there may be other issues with the home. A past termite infestation is a good indication you should be wary of potential foundation issues. Between sale and move in is also a good time to handle existing or prior pest infestations because the house should already be empty and prepared for tenting.

5. Have important appliances been recently replaced or fixed?

Appliances such as water heating, air conditioning, and larger items like fridges, washing machines, and dishwashers can add up to a lot of money. Be sure to ask about the age and state of each of these items. It will give you an idea when they may need to be replaces and what sort of warranties you may wish to buy.

6. Is there documentation or warranties that should come with the home?

As an extension of the appliances, if you decide to purchase, you will want to gather any documentation or warranties from the previous owners that apply to your home. This could apply to anything from the water heater to the back porch if it has a warranty. The warranty should belong to whomever owns the appliance or home, not the previous owner.

7. Are the pipes and electrical up to code?

Fixing busted or old piping can be costly and time consuming. If an old pipe breaks you may also be in danger of water damage to the rest of the home. Similarly anything beyond simple electrical work usually involves a little wall damage. Be sure to get a full history on the pipes and the state of the electrical work in the home.

8. How old is the roof?

Depending on the age of the home and the type of weather the roof experiences each year you may need to budget for roof repair or replacement. As a rule of thumb most roofs need repair or replacement every 15-20 years. Ask about your potential home’s roof type and expected lifetime so you can plan for expenses down the road.

9. Has the foundation been inspected?

Last but not least, Sure Safe’s pick for the most important question to ask your realtor is, “Has the foundation been inspected”? While it’s possible we’re biased we think there are convincing and objective reasons why this is the most important question you can ask a realtor.

The foundation is, well, the foundation of your potential new home and thus the first and most important factor making sure your home is strong. Foundation inspections can be useful by revealing potential water damage or pest infestations such as termites or other invaders. Foundation issues are also potentially the most expensive repair you may need to make to a newly purchased home. By inspecting the foundation before purchase, you can catch any existing issues and incorporate them into the sale price. Much better than finding out too late and paying tens of thousands of dollars to fix a weak foundation.

Sures Safe can provide inspections along with an engineer certified repair plan to help make your new home strong. Our patented method makes foundation repair possible while avoiding the need to jack up or dig out a home, all of which can be done for 1/3rd the cost of traditional foundation repair methods and in as little time as one day’s work. Contact us to learn more about how the Sure Safe method can save you money, and help you buy a safe home, and always remember to ask your realtor these important questions.