Be Prepared to Deal with Common Buyer Inquiries About Your Home

With any type of home sale, potential buyers will always have questions they want to ask. If you’re represented by a real estate agent, he or she usually knows ahead of time the kinds of questions that’ll be asked because they’ve heard most of them in the course of their career. But there are many common questions asked and it will be helpful for you to know the answer to them. 

While any home might have a great sale price, the amount of property taxes can add significantly to a mortgage payment. Especially on apartments you’ll often get questions on whether or not you have a communal fee.

Many communal fees are relatively inexpensive, but in some projects, these fees can be a few hundred euros a month.

Another question that’s usually asked is what the cost is to provide electricity to the home and the price of other utilities. If an electric bill is outrageously high, that can sway a potential buyer’s decision. What one family uses won’t necessarily be what another family uses. If the utility bill isn’t a fixed one, tell the potential buyer an average of what he or she might have to pay.

One of the main questions that buyers want to know the answer to is what the state and age of the roof is. While this information is usually in the listing description, buyers will still ask about it. That’s because replacing a roof can be an expensive endeavor - not to mention it can cause damage if it leaks. You might be asked if your home has a problem with insects like ants, spiders, roaches or if it has a problem with mice.

Even if you don’t, but you did have in the past before you had the home treated, you may need to tell the buyer that. You may also get asked about home insurance. Having a home insurance in place to cover the appliances and the heating and air that can transfer to the buyer is often a helpful selling feature because buyers will often want the appliances included in the sale.

Sometimes buyers will ask why you’re selling the home. It’s more of a question geared toward protecting themselves than it is a truly nosy one. You might get asked about the neighbors. If you have a terrible neighbor, you may have to disclose that information. Potential buyers may ask you about the area - such as what the schools are like and what types of amenities are nearby.

Sometimes buyers will ask if you’re open for a price negotiation because they look at properties they can’t afford at the asking price, but could if it came down some. 

If you’re someone who wants a full asking price and you know you’re not going to budge from that, tell buyers there’s very little wiggle room in the asking price. That way, they don’t waste their time and you don’t waste yours.

Author: Christos Nikolaou

BEng Mechanical Engineering, MSc Real Estate, ETEK Property Valuer, Register and Licensed Real Estate Agent.

Christos Nikolaou is the founder and Managing Director of Property Canvas, he holds a license as an Estate Agent from the Association of Real Estate Agents of Cyprus and he is a registered Property Valuer in the Technical and Scientific Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK). He is the author of our “Be Prepared to Deal with Common Buyer Inquiries About Your Home ” and is a certified advance negotiator.