Hi there home buyer! I’ll bet you are excited to buy your next home, and you can’t wait to scour the property portals and start shortlisting and viewing? So many buyers like you jump in straightaway to ask for a viewing. Then you start looking at homes one after the next. And you find yourself disappointed by what you see.
Why is this happening? Well, it’s highly likely because you’re not asking the right questions to the listing agents before you go visit the home. Asking the right questions helps you to thoroughly qualify each home before you set up a viewing and avoids heavy disappointment and nasty surprises at viewing time.
In this article, I’m going to take you through the top 6 questions that a thorough and discerning buyer’s agent or a buyer should ask before she sets up a viewing for you, so you don’t exhaust yourself viewing unsuitable units and getting fatigued by the whole process! Make sure you read to the end of the article, because the 6th question is something most buyers don’t even think to ask until it’s time to make an offer! And then it might be too late.
Question 1: Can I have a floorplan?
Many listings already come with one, but if it doesn’t, always ask for this. It’s just not worth a trip to view the place if the floorplan doesn’t make sense for your family. From the floorplan, you’d be able to see how many ensuite bedrooms there are, whether there’s a balcony, whether there’s a yard, helper’s room and helper’s bathroom at the kitchen area, and many other factors that could turn out to be dealbreakers. A floorplan tells you a lot. So ask for this right off the bat, and study it before requesting a viewing.
Question 2: Where is the unit facing? What is the view?
For some, the north-south-east-west orientation is important and can immediately eliminate a home from the start. Some need to know this for fengshui reasons, and others might want to avoid the afternoon sun shining directly into the house. Whatever the reason, see if you can get pictures, videos or information of what your main view is. Also check if you will be looking directly into your neighbour’s living room or bedroom and vice versa? Will that be acceptable for you? Is a pool view OK for you? Or, do you need to see greenery out your window? Find out in case there’s a dealbreaker that will make the decision for you.
Question 3: Any construction or major roads nearby?
Have you ever been to view a house and realise the loud noise coming from the nearby expressway or construction and feel like walking out of there straightaway? If you don’t mind this, that’s awesome. That gives you so much more choice. But if it matters, ask before going to see the house. It saves you so much time. I’ve been on a balcony once of a beautiful home on the East Coast with amazing sea views, but when standing on the balcony, we almost had to shout to each other to be heard. That was an on-the-spot dealbreaker for my buyers.
Question 4: Which schools within 1 KM?
Now this might be a question you can answer yourself. There are some cool apps that can hep with this (not Google Maps, though!). But nonetheless, if you’re a family with kids that will go to primary school not far in the future, please find this out first. I’ve had many buyers go to viewings, fall in love with a home, only to find out later that they are not keen on any of the primary schools that are within 1KM of the house, and had to give up on their plans to proceed. Save yourself this pain by check this info first.
Question 5: What’s it like to commute to school or work?
If you or any of your kids take public transport to school or work, check what the commute is like. A quick route check on Google Maps will tell you how well connected the house is to your workplace or school. If it looks a little indirect or difficult, don’t eliminate the house too quickly. Ask yourself: If I love what I see, will I be willing to do this commute just to be able to have this home? If yes, it may not be a dealbreaker after all.
And now we come to the bonus question. The one that most buyers don’t ever think to ask and it bites them right at the end, sometimes even killing the deal altogether.
Question 6: How much cash is required above bank valuation?
For many home buyers, you have made your calculations almost to the T, knowing exactly how much cash downpayment you need to put into the purchase, and this may or may not include some cash for renovations too. Many buyers are not left with much liquidity for cash required over valuation. So before you even view a place, ask how far the bank valuation is above the seller’s desired closing price. It could save you a lot of time and heartbreak.
What’s Next?
So these 6 questions are by no means an exhaustive list. You might have more specific questions depending on your exact needs. But it’s a great start so you’re not going to look at every unit that makes it past your search parameters . That’s too many!
Now that you know this, you’re ready to go out there and view those houses! At which point, you will probably ask yourself: How will I know which house is right for me? If it fulfils all my criteria, should I just go for it? That sounds like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised how many people are unsure if they should proceed to make an offer on a home or keep looking for a better one.
In my next article I’ll share with you tips from home-buyers on how they really knew the home was right for them. There are 6 very obvious clues that will help you decide.
Click here to read that article now: How To Know When You’ve Found Your Dream Home?
If you have any questions for me, let’s talk!
- You can reach my on WhatsApp by clicking here.
- Or send me an email at properties.nadia@gmail.com
Talk to you soon!
