Many first-time home buyers feel that once they have enough money saved up, they’re ready to put an offer on a home. But, while having enough funds is essential, if you want your first experience of buying a home to be a good one, you need to know more. You need to know the right questions to ask when buying a house.
Ask These Questions Before Buying a Home
In a way, you can’t ask too many questions. Buying a house is the largest investment you’re probably ever going to make, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also, whether you want to live in Markham or Keswick, houses for sale aren’t as plentiful as they were not too long ago. That means you need to do your research to find the one that you can call home.
- Ask Your Real Estate Agent – You’re right, this isn’t a question. But finding the right agent is perhaps the most important step to finding the right home. So you need to ask prospective agents lots of questions. Here are just a few. Are you a full-time Realtor®? How much experience do you have? What homes have they sold in the areas you’re interested in?
- Do I Need to Be Pre-Qualified or Pre-Approved for a Mortgage Before I Make an Offer? While being pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage isn’t a prerequisite for buying a home, it is very important. First, pre-qualified just means that, based on general information about your personal finances, the bank or mortgage broker will give you an amount of a mortgage that you would qualify for. Being pre-approved guarantees you can get the mortgage for which you were approved.
- What Are All the Extra Costs Involved? The offering price may be the largest cost you have to consider, but it isn’t the only one. You may also need to be ready for mortgage insurance, legal fees, home inspection fees, title insurance, and more.
- Ask About The Home – Again, this isn’t a question by itself, but it’s a good idea to ask lots of questions about the houses you’re interested in. Try to find out how many previous owners were in the house. Make sure you get a home inspection to learn about any structural issues. Also, many buyers fail to check out some of the ‘hidden’ appliances that are important in the home, including the furnace, water heater and air conditioner.
If you liked this post, check out our recent post about one big reason why Markham is a desirable place to buy a home.