As experienced real estate agents, we know that buying a home for the first time can be intimidating—but it doesn’t have to be!
A great buying journey often depends on the questions you ask the seller and their agent when visiting the house or apartment.
Below, our agents have listed five helpful questions to help you find your perfect home. We hope you find them useful.
And in the meantime, if we can help you with your property needs, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team.
- How long has the property been on the market? If it has been on the market for more than six weeks, be wary. It could be overpriced with the seller unwilling to negotiate, or there could be major issues with it. Also, be aware that the inventory in the Canadian market is increasing, which means homes will tend to stick around a little longer while buyers remain cautious in our high interest-rate environment.
- Why is the owner selling? The answer needs to be direct and definitive. If the seller has already bought another property, they will be keen to sell. So, this question could provide leverage in a negotiation. The same is valid for divorced or deceased estate sales.
- Is the seller open to price negotiations? As with the previous question, this answer will give buyers a good idea of how keen the owners are to sell the property.
- Has the property received any offers? Whether higher or lower than your intended offer, it’s important to know why other offers haven’t been accepted. Or, whether the seller is currently considering other offers.
- Have any remedial renovations been conducted on the property? Most sales agents will not enjoy telling buyers about a property’s flaws. However, they know further professional inspections will reveal issues. Push the agent for a straight and clear answer to this question.