Questions to Ask the Seller at Closing
Questions for a buyer who is in the same room as the seller on closing day, or on the final walkthrough just before it. This is the last scheduled moment both parties are together, so it is the right time for keys, codes, accounts, service history and the small facts nobody writes down.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
Can we go through every key, remote and code together before we sign?
Count them physically: house doors, deadbolts, mailbox, shed, gate, garage remotes, keypad codes, window locks, any safe or storage unit. Missing keys turn into a locksmith call, and once the seller has driven away the phone tends to stop being answered.
- 2
Is there an alarm or camera system, and whose account is it on?
Doorbell cameras and smart locks stay tied to the seller's account until they remove them, and some systems can only be released from the original login. Ask them to unenrol devices at the table rather than promising to do it later.
- 3
Where are the main water shutoff, the gas shutoff and the electrical panel?
Everyone assumes this was covered during the inspection, and it usually was not shown to the buyer. You want to know before a pipe bursts, not during. Ask whether the panel is labelled and whether any labels are wrong.
- 4
Which utility accounts are in your name, and what date are you closing them?
A gap in service is the most common closing-day mistake. Some utilities pull the meter or shut a service off entirely if the seller closes their account before your account opens, and reconnection can take days and a fee.
- 5
Do you have the manuals, warranties and installation receipts for the appliances and systems?
Several manufacturer warranties on furnaces, water heaters and roofs transfer to a new owner only with proof of the original installation date, and sometimes only if the transfer is registered within a set window. The paperwork is worth more than it looks.
- 6
Who installed or last serviced the heating, the roof and the water heater?
Company names give you people who already know the house, which is worth a great deal on the first cold night. It also lets you check whether a system that was described as recently serviced actually was.
- 7
What size is the furnace filter, and how often did you change it?
A small question that saves a trip and tells you something. A seller who knows the filter size and the interval has probably maintained the rest of the house the same way. A blank look is mild information too.
- 8
Are any service contracts still running: pest, lawn, alarm, pool, septic?
These are usually annual, sometimes prepaid, and often set to renew automatically on the seller's card. Find out which ones transfer, which need cancelling, and whether anyone will show up next Tuesday expecting to be let in.
- 9
What day is rubbish and recycling collected, and are there rules about bins?
Trivial until your first week, when the bins are still out on Thursday and there is a notice on them. Ask where the bins are stored, whether the town supplies them, and whether one is staying with the house.
- 10
Where is the post delivered, and have you filed a forwarding order?
Cluster boxes, locked boxes and rural routes all have their own key situation. Confirm the forwarding order is in, because mail that keeps arriving for the seller for a year is a small but persistent nuisance you cannot fix from your end.
- 11
Is there anything about this house that only you would know?
Ask it open and then wait. This is where you get the breaker that trips when two things run at once, the door that has to be lifted to lock, the window that leaks only in a north wind. It is the most valuable question of the day.
- 12
Which paint is where, and did you leave any of it?
Colour codes and leftover cans save you from repainting a whole wall to patch a scuff. If none was left, ask for the brand and colour names, and whether the ceilings and trim were done in something different.
- 13
Can we confirm what is staying and what is going?
Fixture disputes usually happen after the seller has removed something you assumed was included: a mounted television bracket, curtain rods, a shed, a light fitting. Walking it now, against the contract, is the only cheap time to resolve it.
- 14
If there is a well or septic system, when was it last tested or pumped?
Ask for the service company, the date, the tank location and whether a lid is buried under the lawn. Septic and well maintenance runs on a schedule that restarts from the last service, not from your move-in date.
- 15
Do you have a survey, and are there any boundary or access agreements with neighbours?
Shared driveways, a fence built a foot inside the line, a neighbour who has always parked on a corner of the lot. Informal arrangements are not in the title work and become your problem the moment you change them.
- 16
Is there anything ongoing with a neighbour I should know about?
Disclosure rules cover the property, not the people. A running dispute about a tree, a boundary, noise or an easement will arrive at your door whether or not it was on any form. Most sellers answer honestly at this point because the sale is done.
- 17
Who is the contact for the association, and are dues paid through what date?
Ask for the manager's name and number, the portal login instructions, the current dues, and whether any special assessment has been discussed but not yet levied. Proration on the settlement sheet does not tell you about a vote coming next month.
- 18
Have you made any insurance claims on the house?
Prior claims attach to the property in industry claims history and can affect what your own insurer will charge or cover. Whether or not it was disclosed, hearing what happened and what was repaired is worth the question.
- 19
Are the repairs from the inspection agreement finished, and do you have the receipts?
Bring the list to the table. Ask for invoices rather than assurances, since a receipt names who did the work and gives you a warranty claim if it fails. Anything incomplete is easier to hold in escrow now than to chase afterwards.
- 20
What is the best way to reach you for the next few months?
Mail, a missing remote, a question about the sprinkler timer. A phone number and an email address, offered while everyone is still friendly, resolves nearly all of it. Offer yours in return for their post.
Closing day logistics
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
What to bring to the table
What to bring to the table
- 1The inspection agreement with the repair list, so you can check items off against receipts rather than memory.
- 2A copy of the contract's inclusions and exclusions list for the fixture conversation.
- 3A written list of the keys, remotes and codes you expect, so nothing is settled by counting later.
- 4Your own phone, to photograph serial numbers on the furnace, water heater and any appliance under warranty.
- 5A notepad. The answer to the question about house quirks is usually a rapid list you will not remember by evening.
Things to settle in the first week
Things to settle in the first week
- Rekey or change every exterior lock regardless of how many keys you were handed. Copies exist that nobody is tracking.
- Confirm each utility account transferred on the date you were told, rather than assuming it did.
- Remove the previous owner from any smart device, doorbell or thermostat account still showing them as an administrator.
- Cancel or transfer the service contracts you decided not to keep, before the next automatic renewal.
- Locate and label the water shutoff and the panel breakers yourself, and check what actually turns off.
If the seller is not at the table
If the seller is not at the table
Many closings happen separately, or entirely by mail, so the two parties never meet. In that case ask your agent to send this list as written questions before closing, and to request the answers in writing. A short seller questionnaire returned by email is worth more than a promise to call, and the final walkthrough becomes the only in-person chance to confirm keys, codes and what is staying.