6 Questions to Ask Your Home's Seller Before Moving In

Half the fun of house hunting is visualizing thefun you’ll have when the seller clears out andthe place is yours, all yours. But wait onesecond, partner once the seller is gone, so is arich repository of information about your newhome. Most sellers know things abouttheir/your home, and the neighborhood, whichcould make your life much easier, for years tocome.

What’s the history of the house? Many disclosure forms and laws require the sellers to divulge a number of things about the history of the property, from how it’s been maintained, to what systems have broken down, to whether someone has died on the property. However, you might like to go deeper, finding out such things as whether the property was a rental, whether they recommend a set maintenance schedule (grab the gardener’s number, if you like the lawn!) for any part of the property, or whether they are aware of any interesting stories about past inhabitants or uses of the property that might provide useful or just plain old interesting information.

2. Where to go and who to know? Home sellerscan be the best source of information thatdoesn’t seem super important, but can actuallytake a long time to figure out yourself, like whichof the 6 dry cleaners on the main drag does thebest alterations, or which neighbor organizesthe Neighborhood Watch or the pug playgroups.

3. What surprised them when they movedin? Pleasantly or otherwise - moving in is alwaysthe occasion for a surprise. They might havebeen surprised at how friendly the neighborswere, how much light a particular room gets at agiven time of day, how many people could fitaround the table in the dining room atThanksgiving or how noisy/quiet the schoolacross the street is. If they were surprised, youmight be, too - so it’s great to know whatshocked them before you move in.

4. Where is it and how does it work? Where doyou take the trash out to, and on what day ofthe week? Where are the emergency water andelectrical shutoffs, the breaker box and theutility meters? Where’s the thermostat or thespecial wrench that turns on the gasfireplace? How does that work? Some of theseare things a good home inspector will cover, butif yours didn’t or you weren’t able to make theinspection, some kind home sellers will happilybrief you on these items.

5. Is there anything you’d like to leave? Thereare really two flavors of this question. First, youmight have your eye on some item of the seller’spersonal property, like a perfectly-sized print orperfectly-shaped breakfast booth, that you’d liketo buy from them - if so, make an offer!

6. What did I forget to ask? Whether you’re anew homeowner or new to the area, this iswhere you throw yourself on the seller’s mercyand ask them to tell you anything you mighthave forgotten to ask. It’s not overkill toexchange phone numbers or email addresses -now, every transaction isn’t this friendly orcordial, but many are or could be. It’s definitelyin your best interests to leave the transaction ongood terms with the seller.

Buyers: what other things would you like the seller to tell you before you move in?

Randy BettInvestment Realtor/Author/Investor

Real Estate Professionals Inc.Better Group Real Estate 202-5403 Crowchild Trail NWCalgary, AB T3B 4Z1

Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1Fax:403-208-0082Toll Free fax:888-711-6801

Randy Bettwww.BetterGroupRealEstate.ca