Questions to Ask Your Estate Agent

Moving house is a stressful process which involves a lot of small details that can’t be ignored. If you own already and are moving into a new home, then you have twice as much work to do because you have to worry about both buying and selling. Additionally, there are a lot of interests involved in the sale of any home – the buyer’s, the seller’s, the estate agent’s – making it hard to make sure that you’re getting the best deal. There are lots of things you’ll want to ask your estate agent on both ends of the bargain. That’s why we’ve put together two lists of questions–one for buying and one for selling–all of which you should remember to ask at the start of the process.

Buying

Why is the owner selling?

The estate agent may not want to answer your question and doesn’t have to. But if they do, it may give you some valuable bargaining information. For example, maybe the owner needs to move cities because of a new job. In this case, you know there is pressure on him or her to sell, and you can use that to your advantage.

How many times has the property changed owners in recent years?

The answer to this question should give you a hint about whether there are major problems with the house. If the property has changed hands many times, you’ll want to find out why. Ask the estate agent, and if possible get in touch with former owners.

What is the asking price based on?

It’s a good idea to get exactly what the seller thinks the major strengths of the home are. Some agents might also let slip that they think the home is over-valued, which will give you another bargaining chip.

What are the taxes and utilities?

You want to make sure you know all the fees involved, especially the overhead fees that you’ll have to keep paying after the purchase.

Selling

What’s the process for valuing the property and setting the asking price?

A good estate agent should be able to give you specific reasons for a given asking price. If it’s too high, the property will stay on the market for a long time, and may never sell. If it’s too low, you might not get what you deserve for the house. Whatever number your agent gives, make sure they back it up with evidence.

Take me through the selling process

For a good agent, this question contains a lot of sub-questions. Who are our potential buyers? How long will the home take to sell? Do deals often fall through? Will I get the asking price? Will I be dealing with other agents, or just you? If the seller doesn’t answer in detail, you may want to ask all these questions directly.

How are you different from other agents?

Since their profession is sales, agents are always going to be ready to sell themselves, so this question may not get you anything more than the copy from the real estate group website. But the answer may also be telling. If you ask it to multiple agents, you could find out that some offer perks that others don’t.

Asking the right questions of your estate agent will help you build a good working relationship with them which in turn will help you get the best deal when buying or selling a property.