When it comes to property information, you should never stop asking your agent until you are fulfilled, you must never skip any question, you have the right to know, remember, you are likely making the biggest transaction in your life, so being prepared is never a bad thing,
You should obviously ask about the condition of the home, and external factors like flood/hurricane zone, loud neighbors, troublemakers, local gangs, night trains, flying paths. that you can ask to neighbors.
But something as important as the Housing market shouldn’t be left out unanswered, remember, if your market is bad, no amount of money will fix it.
Ask your real estate Agent the following questions:
How the Housing market has performed over the past 3 years?
Your agent/agency can easily give you year over year stats of the local housing market you are interested in buying, to study how it has held up over time until now, and also predict if the market is going to improve or to get worst.
What is the foreclosure rate of the local Housing market?
This is also very easy to pull. It’s another great market indicator. If the rate is high or rising, this means the housing market is going through a significant change. Study this rate plus the housing market performance information from previously above mentioned and this gives you a better image of whether the market is improving or getting worse.
Can I have a copy of the appraisal?
Most people either don’t ask for it, or don’t know that they can request a copy of their home appraisal when getting one on a transaction, and it doesn’t matter if you are paying for it, the bank is the client for the appraisal, not you, so most of the time people won’t give it to you unless you Ask your real estate Agent for it.
Estimated closing costs?
Usually, there is some surprise in the faces of the buyers when closing costs are on the table. for average homes the closing cost are among the $10,000-ish price range, maybe more for a financed deal, money which is usually which is out of the pocket. You can get the seller to help you with some of this if your lender will allows it, usually it is a percentage in the 3% to 5% range.
Will this house pass for FHA financing?
FHA loans are very popular among the first-time home buyers because of the low down-payment requirement of just 3.5%. However, there is nothing perfect. If the property was built before 1978, and there is any visible damage or bug, then it can be a potential holdup. FHA is not easy going with lead paint, and will likely need the failure fixed before the transaction can continue, FHA almost never guarantees loans on fixer-uppers.
I want to buy & flip this property. What’s my asking price after the repairs?
Determine current market value by Paying for an appraisal, there is no other option. Appraisers can process a “Subject to” which means that the definitive opinion of value is subject to the completed listed repairs; also they can pull a hypothetical condition regarding the property. Hypothetically, the property is in excellent condition instead of fair condition, and then the appraiser will study The market of excellent condition properties rather than fair condition ones.
How can I help to sell my house faster?
There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck forever in the housing market and, there are there are lots of reasons behind it, lest list a few:
Poor pictures: This is the most important mistake your agent and you can make. If your agent is taking the pictures, Ask your real estate Agent to check them before uploading them to the MLS. You can search on Trulia and Zillow and study which photos are poorly taken and off-turners and try to understand what is wrong with it so you don’t fall in to the same crack, also check the good ones and try to replicate them as better as possible also, Ask about a professional photographer, it can make a huge difference.
Not hiding your clutter: obviously, do this preferably before taking the photos. Your house has to be organized and nice, make the buyer feel comfortable enough so he/her can picture all of his/her stuff placed in your property, If you have a ton of garbage lying around will not be a nice looking thing to watch,
Timing! Timing! Timing!: Some people think that location is the absolute number one, and it is true, but timing may be a very important number two, Ask your real estate Agent or agency which months are the busiest seasons to sell in your market, generally is summer, but in the case of some locations like Florida, winter comes with a lot of busy markets for snowbirds arriving, this way if you adapt to your market time you’ll get way more traffic when the market is at its fullest. Also in the moment that the property is placed on the housing market you want your home to be visible and everywhere, you’d want to advertise it as soon as it hits the market, The reason for this is when people see the Home for sale sign in front of your house, they are going to research and google your address before calling the agent and if your home is not visible on sites like Zillow or Trulia or other people will forget forget about your house and move on.
What final sale price am I going to get?
usually you home won’t sell for its list price, there is a market reality called list price to sell ratio. Ask your real estate Agent what is your average LP/SP, and assume that your final price will come down to that, so use this as a glimpse of what will eventually you will get.
This compilation of questions was specifically designed for you, a first time home owner or a real estate enthusiast who will like to learn more and be secure and informed on the purchase process, by this time luckily you have asked all these questions and have informed yourself with the best content. the next step is to put all your trust in your agent and all your money into the table, if nothing else goes up you will end up being a Proud Homeowner
Keep researching and informing yourself about this theme because Knowlege is Power.