What Should a Buyer Check Before Purchasing a Home

Home Buying Due Diligence

Just imagine you bought your first home. The pride and enjoy is exuding from you because you’ve fulfilled your quest for the American dream.

The quest for first time buyers to join the ranks of home ownership is alive and well.

Hopefully, if you are reading this you have not completed your home purchase with doing some serious home buying due diligence. In the excitement of buying a home for the first time, lots of folks pay attention to nothing but the home.

There are so many distractions when buying a home for the first time. Most people think about nothing else when they are going through it.

If you are like most, you’re probably thinking about how you will decorate the place, where you will buy furniture and when you will have your first party.

Of course, these are all great things to think about. Unfortunately, though this is really putting the cart before the horse.

When you are buying a home, you need to be one hundred percent certain it is the right decision. In the article referenced above at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you will see exactly what you should be thinking about when it comes to due diligence.

Here are just a few things among money you should do before signing on the dotted line.

1. Google the address of the property – By doing so you should be able to discover any issues that were made public either about the home itself or the neighborhood in which it is located.
2. Get the home inspected – this goes without saying. You should never buy a home without doing a home inspection. Beyond the structure of the building you might also want to check for other potential red flags including radon, mold, water quality and the septic system if there is no sewer.
3. Talk the neighbors – the neighbors are usually a pretty good resources to get honest answers on anything you may want to know about.
4. Ask for a sellers disclosure statement – the seller’s disclosure is a document that details not only the history of ownership but repairs and improvements that have been made to the home. It is great to get the owners history of the house. Most owners are honest and will put any history of blatant issues.
5. Speak to town hall about permits – you should always make sure the seller has taken out appropriate building permits when they were required. You would not believe how many people skip out on the permitting process.

These are just a few examples of due diligence a buyer should conduct when purchasing a home. Don’t forget to view the reference at Maximum Real Estate Exposure for all the rest.

You’ll be glad you did!

Other Palinterest Articles Worth Reading

• Home improvements that could reduce value.
• Dual agency is a conflict of interest.

Use these additional resources to make smart real estate decisions.