Important Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Home

You saved up money for your down payment and closing costs. Then, you found an agent you love and trust. After searching and searching, you finally found the Southern California home of your dreams. But before you put in an offer to buy a home, you might want to ask your real estate agent a few important questions first.

Important Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Home

Is This a Home YOU Would Buy?

Sometimes, you just need to ask a blunt question like this to get an honest response. If your REALTOR® sings its praises, then yay! But, if they respond with concerns, it might do you well to heed their warnings. The decision ultimately lies on your shoulders. However, input from a professional can make this decision easier.

What Contingencies Should I Ask For?

Typically when you buy a home, it is normal to ask for some contingencies. These clauses set conditions on an offer in order to complete a sale. When you include contingencies and they are not met, you (the buyer) can legally walk away with your earnest money in hand. For example, you may need to sell your current property before you can buy a new one (home sale contingency). Or you want to make sure the house appraises for the sale price (appraisal contingency). Lenders will not approve a loan for more than a property is worth at the time of the sale.

Another smart contingency to ask for is a home inspection contingency. Your inspector may end up finding issues that you did not see on your initial walkthrough. In turn, you might go back and negotiate for the repairs (or their costs). Or, if you feel the issues are insurmountable for you, you may choose to walk away from the deal. Finally, a mortgage contingency means that if the bank does not approve your loan, you are not responsible for buying the new home in question. As you can imagine, sellers are not too keen on this possibility. Reduce the chances of this happening by obtaining pre-approval or pre-underwriting status before you start looking for a new Southern California home.

When is the Next HOA/Condo Assessment Due?

California has almost 50,000 HOAs in the entire state. Almost one-quarter of all California homeowners live in an HOA community. That includes condos. So, you run a good chance of buying a home that is part of an HOA. Every so often, the HOA runs an assessment to determine if they need to collect additional fees from homeowners for things like community improvements, repairs, etc. These are one-time payments required by homeowners that go above and beyond their regular monthly fees. It helps to know when the last assessment was done. If it has been a while, you may be in for another one soon.

Do You Have Any Recommendations for…?

Finally, unless you personally know someone in the area, your REALTOR® may be able to recommend a home inspector, a handyman for both the little things and the big things, a landscaper, a real estate attorney, etc. It never hurts to ask.

Muna Dionne, your Inland Empire specialist with Coldwell Banker Realty