Ask these Questions before you make an Offer

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement once you have found a home that seems to perfectly fit the bill, but don't sign on the dotted line before you have gathered some facts.

Asking a few pertinent questions can quickly help you determine whether or not the chosen property is indeed your dream home, and may even save you some money.
The first question you should ask is why the property is being sold, as this can help you structure an offer to purchase that really meets the seller's needs. For instance, if the seller has been transferred to another area or is under financial pressure to sell, he may be willing to drop his asking price slightly in return for a quick and easy transaction.
On the other hand, a home that is being sold because the owners are entangled in divorce proceedings, or a home that is part of a deceased estate, may not be your first choice if you are keen on a quick and straightforward transaction, because the process could get entangled in complicated legal procedures.
If the owner admits to selling for other reasons, such as noisy neighbours, extensive planned developments that will alter the character of the neighbourhood, or a high crime rate, you will have to make a decision about whether or not you will be able to cope with those particular circumstances.
Then, if interested in the home, it is time to find out more about the property itself. Ask the agent for a written list of known defects if he or she did not disclose this at the start.
Sellers are obliged to disclose all known defects and while some could easily be rectified by a handy homeowner once he has taken occupancy, other defects may require professional - and potentially expensive - repairs. In either case, you will be quite within your rights to get estimates for repair work and use these to negotiate a lower purchase price.
It is also helpful to ask about previous problems with the property and how these were resolved. This will give you an opporutnity to personally inspect previous repairs or, if in doubt, to engage a professional to do an inspection. Rising damp, for instance, may have been addressed with damp-proofing, but if the underlying problem has not yet been remedied, you may well find that the problem returns. Roof leaks that have been repaired may require an inspection of the supporting structure to make sure the trusses are still in good condition.
The next set of questions you should ask relates to how the seller arrived at the asking price. Find out if he used a comparative market analysis (CMA) to arrive at a fair price and then ask the agent to supply you with a copy. The CMA will list the actual selling prices (as opposed to the advertised prices) of comparable homes that were recently sold in the neighbourhood, and will help you decide whetehr or not the asking price is indeed fair. If not, you may want to use the information to negotiate a better deal.

Article courtesy of August National Property Junction Magazine