When looking searching for your home and, before putting in an offer, or in some cases shortly after the offer is placed, you should ask your agent to help you find answers to a few questions that can help with making that big decision. “ Is this the right home for me. “
Here are a few questions you might want to ask.
If you’re looking at condominiums ask about association rules, if there’s a set of guidelines you’ll be required to adhere to, know what they are. Association rules can range from paint schemes to lawn design , pet restrictions, and more. Be aware before locking yourself into a deal. You should make sure your agent when writing up the offer puts a condo review contingency. This will allow you to review the condo documents, i.e. rules and regulations of the association, the budget you want to make sure the association has money in reserve for any unforeseen issues that may arise. And you also want to make sure there are no planned special assessments. What you don’t want is shortly after you move in to find out that all the decks are being replaced and your share is $5,000.00. By adding this contingency and asking the right questions you can avoid such problems
Pest control: ask the seller or association if they are currently treating the property for pest if so what specifically are they doing ,and how much it costs, this can help you plan financially as well as having a sense about how the seller is keeping up with pest issues, if any. But keep in mind with all offers your agent should include a home inspection at which time you’ll discover during the inspection if the property has any pest issues or not, so in addition to what you may find out ahead of time you certainly will know for sure after the inspection.
Home insurance company: Your lender will require you to have home owners insurance prior to closing. Find out from the current owner who they are insuring the property with. Most insurers will want to keep the business so when shopping around for insurance, include the current provider in your search. If you’re a cash buyer you don’t have to worry about the lender, however you still should have home owners insurance in place at time of closing.
Floor plans are always a nice piece of information. Those plans will have actual room dimensions which may help you decide if all your furniture will actually fit. In addition the plans will also give you an idea what actually belongs to the unit, this of course is only important for condo purchases. Most selling agents will include those on MLS, but if they don’t have them online you can find them on public records which your agent can help you with it.
Some people might suggest you asking for utility bills, to gage your budget. While in theory that sounds like a great idea I would caution you. Everyone’s usage is very different , for example the current owner could like their home at a balmy 78 degrees from the first cold day in October till Spring, while others might keep their thermostat at 68 degrees for the same time period. Each case will give you a very different average. Your needs are not the same as others. The same would go for electricity, the current owner may turn on no lights at night only use a fan in the Summer and turn in at 9p. While others may turn the A/C on all Summer long, keep almost every light on and stay up watching TV till midnight. Again the outcome is different than what you might do. So while it may be useful I wouldn’t recommend my buyers relying on that information or honestly even asking for it.
If you are looking to purchase a house in Milton, MA then contact a local Milton, MA real estate agency for more information and with any questions that you may have.