Questions You Should Ask The Realtor At An Open House

Questions You Should Ask The Realtor At An Open House

Summer time is in full bloom and every single one of us at Brad Roemer Realtor is feeling it. With July just around the corner, the number of open houses has skyrocketed. Individuals and families who were late on the bandwagon to scope up their dream home are furiously trying to score the perfect place for them before the official move-out/move-in season takes full swing.

Perhaps you have been to a good dozen open houses within the last few months without having that ah-ha moment that the home you are stepping your two feet in will be the one you live in for many more years. Before you bite the bullet and make a bid offer on the house, it’s pertinent that you ask the present real estate agents a few pertinent questions.

Is there easy access to public transit/what are the parking availabilities?

Sure, you can simply answer this question by inputting the visiting house’s address into Google and directing it towards your area of work. However, there are questions that still need to be answered such as what are the most accessible public transit routes from the house and whether you will garner free road parking for guests. If you’re searching for a home in the city, these questions are even more pertinent. If you’re looking for a suburban or country home, then understanding how long the commute will take from work can have a high impact on your satisfaction levels.

Have any major renovations recently been done?

If you don’t ask this question, you may be quick out of luck when you do buy the home and find that most of the kitchen appliances have reached the end of their life–something that can easily rack up thousands of dollars from your bank account. Understanding the history of any property you are visiting will well-equip you for what you will potentially be buying into. If you notice that a slew of various renovations have been made, then this may be an indication that the home’s foundation is not properly sound. If you are instead looking to purchase a condo, do not leave the open house without getting a sense of how the building’s management is doing.

Why is this home for sale?

Perhaps this question may make you feel slightly awkward–as if you are a snoop trying to configure the dirty little secrets of the previous homeowner–however it is an essential one even if some realtors don’t like to raise the point. Perhaps the previous family or couple living there has overcrowded the home, or they have moved to another country for a new job opportunity. These items may give you more leverage to provide a lower offer than the asking price. Nevertheless, understanding that this may be the owner’s second home or simply a fixer-upper may mean that you have to play with their guidelines when offering a price point. If you really want the house, your measly offer may get buried from the rest of the offers.

16 Responses so far.

  1. Hello,
    I am soon to be a first time home owner and have been searching for information just as this. Honestly, it is hard to ask most questions to sellers especially if they are selling privately or so i find. It once was there place of dwelling so I can sympathize with that much but it does bring forth some awkward encounters. Almost to the point that i dread bringing it up entirely but i will say i am very thankful that I have begun to. Just as you said, the question why has gave us some serious leverage.

  2. Very informative article is written by Bard Roemer. To read this article a home buyer can understand better what things he should keep in mind before buying a Home. What type of questions he has need to ask to home owners.

  3. It’s always good to ask questions before any major purchase. Anything in life especially anything that is a pivotal moment in life needs careful planning, consideration, and commitment to achieve the perfect end result. This, like in life, is no different in real estate.

  4. Excellent tips!
    With these questions the buyer could have much more information to negotiate better with the real estate agent. Mainly the question of the recent renovations in the house and the motive of sale of the current owners of the houses, are questions that can lead you to buy a house at a better price.

  5. Mr. Brad seems to be one of the rare kind of men that are willing to sell you the game on how to be successful in things that he’s experienced in.

  6. I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.

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