What to ask your realtor before making an offer?

When you fall head over heels in love with a particular home or location, you may feel pressured to make an offer and start negotiations. You can make a costly mistake if you to choose to buy the house without making some crucial inquiries. Your real estate agent is an important resource for collecting valuable information on a particular property.

Make sure your real estate agent answers the following questions before you make an offer.

What is the home’s worth in the current market?

Your agent can’t tell you what to offer, for ethical reasons. However, he or she can provide you with tons of comparable sales to give you a better understanding of the home’s worth. The agent can give you prices of similar homes that have been sold within the last few months. That will help you judge if whatever you want to offer or the seller’s asking price is fair.

For what period has the property been sitting on the market?

Knowing the period that a home has been up for sale helps you determine how much room for negotiation you have. If it’s been languishing for a long time without any significant offers, there are high chances of the seller accepting a lower price.

Are there problems with the house?

Even a picture-perfect house could have issues that your untrained eye could easily overlook. With the experience of the real estate agent, you can uncover several current issues of the house. Problems don’t necessarily imply you shouldn’t purchase the house. They can be factored into the price to help you get a more favorable deal.

Is the seller flexible?

A seller can find lowball offers to be insulting. You can avoid offending the seller and losing your shot at the property by finding out about his or her flexibility from the real estate agent. Ask if the seller’s asking price is actually negotiable, the minimum price that he or she is willing to accept, and if he or she is willing to help out with the closing costs.

How much are the monthly utility costs?

You can’t avoid paying utilities, so it’s good to know how you’ll have to adjust your monthly budget beforehand. Ask your agent to find out the average utility costs from the homeowner’s agent.

What’s the home’s location like?

Location is an important consideration in real estate. Ask about various features of the neighborhood such as traffic flow, noise levels, and its proximity to employment options, retail stores, and schools.

When can I move in?

You should also find out when you’ll be able to move into the house. That will help you and your preferred movers prepare adequately for the moving date. Your agent may tell you that the move can take place after the closing or once the seller finds another home.

The answers you get will give you the confidence to make the right move on a house that’s ideal for you.

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We’ve been the leaders in moving and storage in the Bay Area since 1997. No job is too large or too small for us. No matter the size of your move, we’ll give you peace of mind by safely moving your possessions and offering clean, climate controlled storage solutions. All our crew members have undergone professional training and are CPM certified. Complete our online form or call us at 877-797-4253 today to schedule a move or request a quote.