Selling a house is always accompanied by lots of hard work and even more intricate inquiries. Potential buyers will ask hundreds of questions in order to make sure that your house is the right choice for them. After all, they are not buying a cellphone – they are investing in their future home and they want to make sure that they know everything about it ahead of time. Often times, though, the questions can range from irrelevant to utterly absurd. Some questions will be uncomfortable and arbitrary and others will make you feel like the Inquisition is on your tail. All of this is to say that you have to be prepared to answer lots of questions. Here are some of them.
How old is the house?
Most people will want to know the age of the house in order to take it into account for future repairs and renovations. You need to know this one since it’s one of the most popular and basic questions buyers will ask. Replying with ‘I don’t know’ doesn’t strike much confidence in the house, not to mention your ability to sell it. It’s like walking to a used cars salesman and asking him how old an automobile you’re interested in is just to look at his blank stare. Are you going to buy a car from this man? No, he has no idea what’s he talking about. You will leave the same impression if you can’t answer basic questions. Do your homework. And speaking of homework…
What can you tell me about the history of the place?
This is a really stupid and meaningless question in general but you will be surprised at how many people are asking it. Buyers want to hear some back-story in order to remember your house better. If something interesting has happened there in the past, they are more prone to buying it than when it is just another house. Many underestimate the ramifications of the question. If there have been noteworthy occurrences in the house, be sure to tell them. You can even rehearse telling the story for a better effect.
When was the last time you renovated the house?
This is important. You generally want to make some renovation around the house before you proceed to selling it. Buyers will definitely ask this question because they want to know when will they have to make the next repairs. If a house is cheaper but hasn’t been renovated in five years, it might be more cost efficient to buy a house that is a little bit more expensive but with more recent repairs made to it. This way you will be saving yourself the time and effort. Buyers will definitely take this into consideration.
Is the price fixed?
Let the haggling begin. People love to negotiate prices. It makes them feel much smarter and more superior to the person they’ve haggled with after the negotiation is over. For this reason, many people artificially inflate the prices and let people ‘bring them down’. This way you might get more than you initially hoped for while at the same time leaving buyer under the impression that he was the one taking the better deal and negotiated the better price. It’s a win-win situation.
Is there a meth lab in the basement?
Younger buyers love to joke about this. In TV series ‘Breaking Bad’ there was scene where potential buyers were looking at a house while the protagonists were cooking methamphetamine in the basement. It was one of the show’s funny scenes because one of the buyers insisted on seeing the said basement and the protagonist (and owner of the house) insulted him and told him he couldn’t go to the basement. So now buyers who have watched the show love joking around to the surprise of the few people who have never heard of this hit series.
Of course, there are many more questions buyers might ask. Just do your homework and you will be fine.
Author Bio Box:
July Minor is passionate freelancer blogger and writer. She is keen on home improvement and real estate. She currently works at www.carpetcleanerlondon.org.uk and that is why she is so passionate about home improvement. In her spare time she loves to take long walks.
Shared by Don Zilleri
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