Which Questions to Ask When House Hunting

Baltimore Real Estate Podcast with Lee Tessier

If you're in the market for a home, you need to ask the right questions. Today we have a set of preliminary questions that every house hunter should be armed with.

When house hunting, there are a lot of questions you should ask in order the find the right home at the right price and in the right condition. First, you’ll want to have a consultation with your buyer's specialist to go through all the things that are important in terms of wants and needs in your next home—the needs are always the most important. We also want to drill down on the wants as well so that everyone is on the same page. Since there is never a truly perfect home, we want to focus on hitting all the needs. Buyers always have a laundry list of wants, but what are you willing to sacrifice because of pricing or inventory?

Be sure all your needs are covered before focusing on the wants.

When you see a home, one of the first things you should ask is how many days it has spent on the market. If it's a hot property that shows well and is priced appropriately, it could go in as quickly as one to three days. Sellers who start with their price too high and are forced to come down may be on the market for closer to six months. Then, you'll want to look at the updates and overall condition of the house. Look at the major mechanicals of the house, like the roof and whether there have been water or mold issues, for example. Ask your agent about the things that they run into on a regular basis. If you’d like a full list of the questions you should be asking as a Baltimore home buyer, reach out to us by phone or email and we'd be happy to set you up. We want to make sure the home buying process is a great one for you.