Questions to Ask Listing Agent Before Submitting an Offer
Twenty questions for a buyer, or a buyer's agent, to put to the listing agent before writing an offer. The listing agent works for the seller, so these are aimed at the facts they can share and the preferences that decide how an offer is received.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How long has it been on the market, and has the price changed since it was listed?
Why ask it
Days on market and price cuts are usually public, but the agent's account of why the price moved is not. A reduction after two weeks suggests it was listed high; a long listing with no reduction suggests a seller who is not yet ready to be realistic.
Was it listed before this, with another agent or at a different price?
Why ask it
A relisting resets the days-on-market counter and hides history. Asking directly often surfaces a failed earlier attempt, and the reason it failed, an appraisal, an inspection, a buyer's financing, tends to be the thing that will affect you too.
Have you had offers already, and what happened to them?
Why ask it
You are not asking for amounts, which they may not share. What matters is whether offers came and collapsed, which points at a problem, or never came at all, which points at price.
Did anything fall apart after an inspection?
Why ask it
A previous buyer walking away post-inspection is the single most useful thing you can learn before writing an offer. Sellers in many places must disclose known defects, but a deal that died quietly may not be covered by that, so ask plainly.
Is there anything about the house that puts buyers off when they walk through?
Why ask it
Agents hear the same objection at every showing, whether it is the road noise, the layout upstairs, or the smell in the basement. Most will tell you, because it helps them sell, and it shows you where you have room to negotiate.
Are you, or anyone at your brokerage, also representing a buyer on this property?
Why ask it
Dual agency and in-house buyers change the dynamics and are disclosed differently in different states. You are not accusing anyone of anything by asking; you are establishing who is advising whom before you share anything about your position.
How is the seller reviewing offers, as they arrive or at a deadline?
Why ask it
This determines your entire approach: a rolling review rewards moving quickly, a deadline rewards a strong single number. If a deadline was set and then extended, that tells you the response has been thinner than hoped.
How many people are seriously interested right now?
Why ask it
Expect an optimistic answer, so listen for specifics: second showings booked, an inspection scheduled, a lender making calls. Vague talk about a lot of interest with no concrete activity behind it usually means less competition than implied.
What matters to the seller besides price?
Why ask it
Nearly every seller has a secondary priority: certainty, a specific closing date, keeping a piece of furniture, knowing the house goes to a family. A listing agent may share what the seller has authorized, and that is where you can win without paying more.
Do they need to close by a particular date, or would they want to stay on after closing?
Why ask it
Timing flexibility is often worth more than a few thousand dollars in price. Learning that they need three extra weeks, or a short rent-back, lets you offer something valuable that costs you comparatively little.
Is their sale dependent on buying something else?
Why ask it
A seller who needs to secure their next home introduces delay and risk into your timeline. Knowing this before you write means you can price the uncertainty or make your own dates conditional in a way that protects you.
Has an inspection been done already, and can you share the report?
Why ask it
Some sellers commission a pre-listing inspection. Getting it early tells you what to expect, though it is not a substitute for your own inspection, since the report was paid for by the person selling the house.
What is on the seller's written disclosures, and can I see them before I write?
Why ask it
Disclosure requirements vary by state and by property type, and reading them before offering is far better than discovering an item during your contingency period. Anything the seller knows and has not written down is worth asking about directly.
What work has been done in the last few years, and are there permits and invoices?
Why ask it
Recent work sounds reassuring until you find out who did it. Named contractors, permits and receipts are checkable; a renovation described only as updated by the owner tells you to plan for a closer inspection of that work.
Is any of the work unpermitted, and has that come up before?
Why ask it
Unpermitted additions affect insurance, financing, resale and sometimes square footage in the listing. Agents will often answer this because it will surface in any careful transaction, and it is much cheaper to find out now.
What is staying with the house, and what is being excluded?
Why ask it
Fixtures, appliances, window treatments, mounted televisions and sheds are common sources of late disputes. Getting the list before you write means it goes into the contract rather than into an argument a week before closing.
Are there easements, liens, boundary questions or shared access I should know about?
Why ask it
Title work will find these eventually, but finding them now can change your offer or your willingness to make one. A shared driveway or an unrecorded agreement with a neighbor is easier to evaluate before you are committed.
If there is an HOA, what are the current dues and is a special assessment pending?
Why ask it
A pending assessment for a roof or a facade can be a large unbudgeted cost that lands on whoever owns the unit when it is levied. Ask for recent meeting minutes and the reserve position, not just the monthly figure.
Would the seller rather have a higher price with conditions, or a cleaner offer for less?
Why ask it
This asks the agent to rank the two things every offer trades between. The answer often reveals a seller who has been burned before and now values certainty, which is useful if your financing is solid and your timeline is short.
What would you tell a buyer not to include in an offer for this seller?
Why ask it
Framed this way, the question invites the agent to keep you from wasting everyone's time, which serves their client too. Answers are usually specific: no long inspection windows, no requests for repairs, nothing contingent on selling your current home.
Talking to the other side's agent
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Remember whose agent this is
Everything you say may reach the seller
The listing agent has a duty to their client, which generally includes passing on anything useful you reveal. Assume your comments about budget, urgency and how much you love the house will be reported accurately.
Ask about facts and preferences, not confidences
Questions about condition, history, process and what the seller values are fair and often answered. Questions about the lowest number the seller would take put the agent in a position where a straight answer would breach their duty.
Let your own agent ask where possible
Agent-to-agent conversations are more candid, partly because both sides understand what can be said. If you are unrepresented, ask in writing and keep the replies.
Get the answers that matter in writing
A verbal assurance about a new roof or an excluded chandelier is worth little later. Anything that would change your price belongs in an email or in the contract itself.
Check separately, whatever you are told
- Property taxes, assessed value and past sale prices are usually available from the county or local records office. Do not rely on the listing figures.
- Flood zone status, school assignment and zoning come from official maps, and they change. Confirm them yourself rather than through the sale.
- Insurance is worth pricing before you offer. Prior claims, roof age and location can all affect whether coverage is available and what it costs.
- Utility costs are best confirmed with the provider or from twelve months of the seller's bills, since a partial year hides the worst months.
- Permits are searchable in most jurisdictions. A permit history that does not match the renovation you were shown is a specific thing to raise.
- Keep your own inspection even when a pre-listing report exists, and pick the inspector yourself.
What buyers get wrong here
Revealing the top of your range
Mentioning what you could stretch to, or that you have been outbid twice already, hands the other side information you cannot take back. Talk about the offer you are making, not the offer you could make.
Treating enthusiasm as leverage
Telling the listing agent this is your dream house feels like relationship-building and functions as a signal that you will pay more. Warmth is fine; declarations of attachment are not.
Taking the agent's condition summary as an inspection
Agents are not inspectors, and an honest agent may simply not know the age of the furnace. Their answers are a starting point for what to look at, not a substitute for looking.
Asking everything at once by phone
Twenty questions in a single call gets you rushed answers and no record. Group them: history and process first, then condition and documents, and put the document requests in writing.