When you buy a house, there are a lot of things to think about. One item that should be on every buyers to do list is to obtain as much information about the property as possible. Before closing, an opportunity exists to learn important things about the home from the seller – things no one else may know.
Although a seller may have no legal obligation to answer your questions, it can’t hurt to ask. Plus most sellers are happy to tell you about the home. Here are 10 things to ask, some of which depend on how far you are moving:
- Are any appliances under warranty?
- Do you have product manuals for appliances, and anything else such as outdoor watering or lighting systems?
- Are there any specific instructions of how to care for any outdoor plants?
- What are the names and phone numbers of immediate neighbors?
- If you have children:
- Are there children living nearby?
- Is there a school-bus stop?
- What day is trash pickup? Recyclables?
- What are your favorite restaurants in the area?
- Can you recommend a dry cleaner, plumber, electrician, mechanic; etc.?
- What companies did you use for lawn care, pool cleaning, or house cleaning?
- Are there keys (or any spares) for the doors, mail box, or gates? Are there any light switches that operate outlets or something unexpected?
These are questions that the seller doesn’t provide answers to in the Seller Property Disclosure Statement, if one is provided in the transaction. As a result, the seller may be able to give you the kind of information it can take months for you to accumulate – if you ever get it.
The ability to ask questions while in the home is a major advantage to being present during the “walk-through”. The walk-through is typically held right before the day of closing. At that time, the buyer should check to see if the home is in substantially the same condition as when the contract was written, and that any repairs that seller promised to make appear to be done. But familiarizing yourself with the property, by asking questions of the seller, should also be a goal of the walk-through.
Potential obstacles to this goal is that the seller is not required to attend the walk-through by the standard Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract used in Arizona. Of course, if the property is a foreclosure or sold on a distressed basis, there may not be anyone has any knowledge of the home.
At SimplySOLD, we always recommend that our buyers take advantage of the walk-though opportunity. Plus, we are not so lazy to not accompany you – a SimplySOLD representative is always present at a walk-through, even if our buyer is unable to show. We can help you gather information and make your purchase as pleasant as possible. Call or contact us at www.simplysoldaz.com to find out how we can help you with your next home purchase.
