Questions to ask and what to look for when buying a House
Like many others, Im always out on the lookout for some property bargains, however when I do find a house its so easy to get caught up with certain bling an forget all about the must have important features you really require in a house.
I have put together a list of question to ask when dealing with agents, these question are broken down in to two type; contact by Phone or contact Face to Face ie: at the property inspection or open house.
Contacting the Agent by Phone Questions:
- Location, address
- any Strata Fees or is it torrens title
- Council Rates
- Facing (north)
- Age of building
- Size Sq meters
- Parking, carport or lock up garage
- Is is Tenanted, How Much
- How long has it been on the market for
Inspecting the Property at an Open House Questions:
- Expected price range
- any Strata Fees or is it torrens title
- Council Rates
- Age of building
- Size Sq meters
- Tenanted How Much?
- How long has it been on the market for
- Why? What’s the Motivation for selling
- Water Supply Common under Strata
- Does it have GAS, Supply Common under Strata?
- is there a Shared Laundry or private
- Visitors Parking
- Sewer Diagram (line)
- any Contract or Easements allowing other access through block
- Any up coming Developments in the area eg: a new Highway through the middle of the property
Things to consider when buying a property
- affordability, can you really afford this
- stamp duty
- safety
- nice neighborhood/visually appealing
- good schools in the area
- mature trees
- walkablility
- low traffic street or quiet cul de sac
- low maintenance exterior
- well-maintained
- sufficient storage, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space
- easy access to highway and airport
- closer to the kind of employment career that you do
Home Loan Questions
- Setup Fee, it is deferred
- Ongoing fees, monthly fees
- can you make additional repayments
- is there a redraw facility or offset account
- can split fixed / variable interest
- is there an Early Termination Payout what is the period %
- redraw fee
- Self Employed
What I look for when buying a home
- Air-conditioning, I prefer ducted aircon = reserve $10g’s to fit and install
- kitchen large enough to have 3 people in it close to living room and dining = $20g’s to renovate
- location, close to work schools and parks
- prefer 1 extra bathroom = add $10g’s to renovate
- 3 bedroom, at least 2 built-ins = $1g per room to install built-ins
- hallway storage space for blankets and towels
- laundry large enough to install ironing board
- potential for outside decking and Jacuzzi
- area to place my treadmill and gym
- garage or car space for at least two cars
- place to store power tools eg a shed or in a garage
- neighbours, high fences concealing views, no double story windows peering into yard
- windows peering into neighbours windows
- street light, loud exhausts taking off from the lights interrupt sleep
- close to some shops, within 8 minutes walk
- look for finishings, mouldings, down lights etc.. $10g’s
- total block size greater than 370sqms
- no power lines or easements
- remember add stamp duty to the price