Questions to ask before making an offer
After viewing a property that we were very interested in, we would send across follow up questions before deciding whether or not to make an offer. We refined this list of questions as we viewed more properties and so I’m sharing it on the blog so you can ask these questions right from the start of your property search!
We also have a different list for new build properties but first let’s cover the questions for homes which aren’t new builds.
Please do bear in mind that a lot of the flats that we viewed were leasehold, so some questions may not be relevant (or may need rewording) for freehold houses.
Here are the questions that we asked:
1. What is the remaining lease length?
2. How much is the ground rent per year and how often does it increase?
3. How much is the service charge per year?
4. How much is the council tax?
5. Who was the developer?
6. How old is the property?
7. Have there been any repairs to the flat?
8. Are there any major works planned for the communal area and/or this building?
9. Have there been any major works in recent years?
10. Has there been any serious crime in the flat and or building?
11. Is there a resident’s association?
12. Is there a sinking/reserve fund? If yes, what is the current size? When was the last time you had to contribute and how much?
13. What type of boiler is used and how old is it?
14. Are there any specific issues we should be aware of with the property?
15. Who are the neighbours and have there been any issues?
16. If there is cladding, has it been tested and is there a document which confirms that it meets the latest government guidance?
I’ve included below why we asked these questions.
1. What is the remaining lease length?
A short lease was a deal breaker for us as it impacts the value of the property and could be difficult to obtain a mortgage. I discussed it in this post.
2. How much is the ground rent and how often does it increase?
We had read news articles about doubling ground rents and how it could mean it would be difficult for the owner to sell the property or re-mortgage.
3. How much is the service charge per annum?
Hubby and I set a budget for the cost of owning our own property and within that budget it included the maximum we were willing to pay for service charge. There was one flat that we viewed and the service charge was over £4k per year! It did have more facilities such as, a gym and pool. We decided that we didn’t want to pay so much as the service charge might increase in future years.
4. How much is the council tax?
This was helpful for our budget calculation so we would have a clearer idea of what all the costs would be for owning the property.
5. Who was the developer?
Before making an offer, we looked online for relevant articles, to see what their previous developments were like and whether their developments had they won any awards.
6. How old is the property?
We were looking for a property which was less than 20 years old.
7. Have there been any repairs to the flat?
This was an important question for us as we didn’t want to have to incur repair costs after we moved in. For instance, if there had been issues with the boiler, in the second viewing we would take a closer look and add that to our budget for potential repair costs.
8. Are there any major works planned for the communal area and/or this building?
We asked this so we could see whether there would be a large bill coming our way if we did buy the property.
9. Have there been any major works in recent years?
For one property that we viewed, we were informed the landlord had to contribute to major works on the roof a few years ago, which resulted in thousands of pounds.
10. Is there a sinking/reserve fund? If yes, what is the current size? When was the last time you had to contribute and how much?
We wanted to check there is sufficient funds for major works and to give us an idea of how much we would have to contribute.
11. Has there been any serious crime in the flat and or building?
We wanted our home to be safe so wanted to be aware of any serious crime.
12. Is there a resident’s association?
This would be a useful forum to raise issues as a collective voice and deal with concerns relating to the development and share information.
13. What type of boiler is used and how old is it?
Having lived in a flat with a faulty boiler, we wanted to make sure it was relatively new to minimise the need for boiler repair costs if we bought the property.
14. Are there any specific issues we should be aware of with the property?
We asked just in case we didn’t spot the issue during the viewing.
15. Who are the neighbours (is it a family, working couple, students etc) and have there been any issues?
This was in case there are noisy neighbours next door and to see if the seller had made complaints previously.
16. If there is cladding, has the cladding been tested and is there a document which confirms that it meets the latest guidance.
Read more about our experience in a later post!
I appreciate this is a long list and not every question would be relevant to you but just wanted to share what we felt was important when making such a significant investment.
There are also more questions in the below articles which could help you create your list of questions:
As this is a long post, I’ll cover the questions we asked for new build properties in a separate post.
All the best with your search!
Jess
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