Questions to Ask Before Making an Offer on a House
Twenty questions to work through before you put an offer on a house: the listing history, why the seller is moving, the age of the expensive systems, the running costs nobody advertises, and which terms will decide the deal. Some are for the listing agent, some for your own agent, and some you answer from public records.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How long has it been listed, and has the price changed since it went on?
Why ask it
A house sitting well past the local average with one price cut behind it is a different negotiation from a fresh listing. Two or three cuts usually means the market has already told the seller something they have not accepted yet.
Has it been listed before and taken off the market?
Why ask it
Relisting resets the days-on-market counter and hides history. A withdrawn listing often follows a failed inspection or a deal that collapsed, and the reason it collapsed is likely still in the house.
Why is the seller moving, and how soon do they need to close?
Why ask it
An estate sale, a job transfer with a start date, and a seller who is trading up but has not found anything yet all respond to different offers. Someone who needs speed will trade price for certainty; someone with no deadline will not.
Have there been other offers, and what happened to them?
Why ask it
An offer that fell through during inspection is the most useful thing you can learn about a house. Note whether the agent gives you a number and a reason or only says there has been "a lot of interest", which is unverifiable and often meaningless.
Is the seller reviewing offers as they come in, or waiting for a deadline?
Why ask it
This decides whether you should move tonight or hold and prepare. Sellers who set a deadline are hoping to create competition, which means your terms will be compared side by side rather than judged on their own.
What did the last few comparable houses on this street actually sell for?
Why ask it
Asking prices tell you what sellers hoped for; closed prices tell you what buyers paid. If the comparables your agent finds are all further away or from a year ago, that itself is a signal about this price.
Has the seller had an inspection done, and can I see it?
Why ask it
Some sellers commission a pre-listing inspection and share it. If one exists and is being withheld, that is worth noting. If it is shared, read who paid for it and whether the recommended repairs were actually done.
How old are the roof, furnace, water heater and electrical panel?
Why ask it
These are the four items that can cost five figures soon after closing. Ages let you price the risk. "Recently updated" without a year or a receipt usually means someone else said it and nobody checked.
What work has been done on the house, and was it permitted?
Why ask it
Unpermitted additions and finished basements can create insurance problems, resale problems, and demands from the local authority years later. Ask for permit numbers, not a description of the renovation.
Has there ever been water in the basement or crawlspace?
Why ask it
Fresh paint on lower walls, a new sump pump, and stored boxes on pallets are all answers to this question whether or not anyone says so out loud. Ask directly so that a denial is on the record.
What are the current property taxes, and when was the last assessment?
Why ask it
In many places a sale triggers reassessment, so the seller's tax bill is not the bill you will get. Find out how the local formula works before you assume the listed figure is your monthly cost.
If there is an association, what are the dues, what do they cover, and is a special assessment coming?
Why ask it
Dues are the smaller risk. A reserve fund that is short and a roof or elevator due for replacement can produce a bill of thousands with a few weeks' notice. Ask for the minutes and the reserve study, not a summary.
What do the utilities cost across a full year?
Why ask it
A single month's bill from a mild season is close to useless. Twelve months of statements will show whether a large old house is affordable to heat and whether the seller has been living in it comfortably or carefully.
What is the flood zone designation, and what would insurance on it cost?
Why ask it
Zone maps get redrawn, and a house that flooded once may now sit in a mapped zone that requires coverage as a loan condition. Get a real quote before you waive anything, because the premium can change what you can afford to offer.
Has anyone had trouble insuring this house, or made a claim recently?
Why ask it
Prior claims follow the property in industry databases and can make coverage expensive or hard to place. A seller who has been non-renewed knows it. Silence on this point is worth a direct follow-up to an insurer.
What is the seller taking with them, and what stays?
Why ask it
Light fixtures, appliances, window treatments and the shed are routine disputes. Getting the list before you write means you are not arguing about a dishwasher during the final walkthrough.
Are there easements, shared driveways, or boundary questions on the survey?
Why ask it
A neighbour's right to cross the land, or a fence built two feet inside the line, does not show up on a listing photo. These are cheap to discover now and slow and expensive to resolve after closing.
What is planned for the vacant land and the empty buildings nearby?
Why ask it
Local planning offices publish pending applications. A quiet street with a rezoning application filed on the corner lot is a different purchase from the one you toured on a Sunday afternoon.
Which terms matter most to the seller: price, closing date, or fewer conditions?
Why ask it
Sellers rank these differently and the listing agent will often tell you, because a clean sale serves them too. This is the question that lets you spend money where it will actually be felt.
If another buyer matches my price, what would make my offer the one they take?
Why ask it
Asked plainly, this often produces something concrete: a rent-back for a few weeks, a firm date, a larger deposit. It also reveals whether the agent is engaged with your offer or just collecting them.
Turning answers into an offer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Know which source to trust
The listing agent works for the seller
They are allowed to decline to answer and are usually obliged to disclose known material defects. Treat what they volunteer as useful and what they characterise as opinion. Anything that affects your price belongs in writing.
Public records answer more than people expect
Assessor sites, permit databases, flood maps and planning applications are searchable in most jurisdictions and cost nothing. Taxes, permit history, prior sale prices and zoning all come from there rather than from a conversation.
Some answers only come from an inspector or insurer
System ages and roof condition are worth confirming with someone whose job is to find problems, and premium quotes only mean something when they come from a carrier willing to write the policy.
Pricing what you learn
- Convert every ageing system into a replacement cost with a rough date, then decide whether it comes off your price or into your savings plan.
- Add reassessed taxes, real insurance, and twelve months of utilities to the mortgage payment before you decide what you can bid.
- Treat a short association reserve as a bill you have already received, because eventually you will.
- Do not pay for finished space that was never permitted at the same rate as space that was.
- Keep a separate figure for the work you would do in the first year for your own comfort, not for repair. That number is usually larger than people expect.
Structuring the offer
Decide which conditions you will not waive
In a competitive market you may be asked to drop the inspection, the financing condition, or the appraisal gap protection. Decide in advance which of those you can genuinely absorb, in cash, before anyone puts a deadline on you.
Use non-price terms deliberately
Closing date, deposit size, a short rent-back, and flexibility on possession often carry more weight than a few thousand more. Spend them where the seller told you the pressure is.
Write down your walk-away number before you negotiate
Escalation happens in small steps, each of which feels reasonable. A number written down before you were emotionally invested is the only thing that reliably stops that.
Common mistakes
- Accepting "recently updated" without a year, a receipt, or a permit.
- Budgeting from the seller's tax bill rather than the reassessed figure.
- Waiving the inspection to win, without the cash to handle what the inspection would have found.
- Asking every question of the listing agent and none of the public record.
- Treating a verbal promise about what stays with the house as part of the deal.