Questions to ask the sellers when you buy
Before you make an offer or agree a price, you should ask the seller some important questions.The answers might make you change your mind or lower your price, or they may reassure you
that you are making the right decision.
Why are you moving? If it's because of the unreasonable neighbours, then you need to know that.
How long have you lived here? If the seller only moved in six months earlier, that’s a sign there is something wrong with the property, the area or the neighbours which is driving the seller out again.
How long has the property been on the market? If a property has been on the market for a long time while other properties are shifting quickly, it's a sign that there is something wrong with the property which previous buyers have found, or that the property is overpriced.
Have any previous sales fallen through and, if so, why? A seller won't want to tell you the answer to that one, but it's really quite a reasonable thing to ask. If there is some problem - a problem with the title of the property, or something which would only be revealed by a detailed survey, such as subsidence - you need to know it now before you invest time and money in the purchase.
What items are included in the sale? There have been cases where the seller has even dug up the concrete base and pole for the washing line and taken them away in the removal van! You need to clarify upfront that all the light fittings, carpets, curtains, and kitchen equipment will be left and included in the price. Otherwise, the seller may try to add something to the price for those items later. You also want to make sure about bathroom and kitchen units. They may look fixed but often they are easily removable and you don't want to have an argument about that when the moving day arrives.
What are the neighbours like? That's a fair question. If they have late parties every Saturday night, you need to know it.
Is the area noisy at all? If there are regular midnight Hell's Angels reunions, you ought to know.
Have you done any works to the property? If the seller has done a lot of conversion work or built a garage or extension you want to know about it. Your surveyor will need to look at the work and make sure it was done properly and your solicitor will need to check that all necessary consents were obtained. You even want to know if any decoration has been carried out because that can be a clue that there is some problem like dampness being deliberately concealed behind a fresh layer of paint or plaster (especially if only one little bit of the property received the treatment).
When can you move? Hopefully the seller has already found a property to buy so that any deal would go through in a reasonable time frame. But if the seller has not yet found a property to buy, that may affect your decision, especially if you need to move in quickly to meet some deadline like getting your children into the local school.
What is the parking situation like? You definitely want to know how easy it is to park in the street and whether there are any residents’ parking permits.
What is shared? You need to know if there is a shared garden, a shared driveway, or shared services.
When was the boiler and central heating system installed?
What improvements would you make if you were staying?
When does the garden get the sun?
Have you ever been burgled?
What are local schools like?
What are the outgoings? Council tax, payments under the lease such as service charges, power bills?
No concealment
The old rule applicable to property transactions was “caveat emptor” – Latin for “let the buyer beware”. This meant that it was up to you to carry out investigations into the property you were buying, and if there was some terrible defect you didn't spot, then that was your problem.
The seller is still not under any obligation to draw your attention to any physical defects. If tiles are falling off the roof, it is up to you to spot it, or have a survey. You can't complain later that you weren't aware the roof had to be replaced.
But the seller cannot actively conceal the problem. If he re-plasters and paint walls so you won't know there is rising damp there, then you can sue him later when dampness reappears.
Legal defects are another matter. If there is some problem with the seller's ownership (or “title”) of the property, he is under a duty to disclose that. For example, if someone has a right of way through the back garden, that has to be disclosed.
Other sources of information
You can get environmental information on your property and the surrounding area -- the flooding risk for example -- on www.homecheck.co.uk