5 Questions to Ask Before You Commit to a Property

Making an offer is a significant step. 

Read: What to Check Before Buying Any Property 

Before you take it, there are five questions worth answering.

1. Is this property in the right location for my actual life? Not a desirable location in the abstract. The right location for how you live day to day, or for the tenants you're targeting if you're buying to let. Proximity to the things that actually matter to your situation. Location is harder to change than anything inside the property.

2. Have I seen comparable properties, or am I comparing this to my expectations? Buyers who haven't seen enough properties in a market tend to have miscalibrated expectations. You might be excited by something that's average, or dismissing something that's genuinely good value. Seeing enough of the market to know where a property sits within it is important before you make an offer.

3. What does this property cost in total, not just the purchase price? Legal fees, transfer taxes, inspection costs, and mortgage fees all add to the real cost of purchase. The offer you make should reflect what you can actually complete the transaction for, not just the headline price.

4. Have I done basic due diligence on the title and condition? Before an offer, not after. Discovering a title problem or a structural issue after you've made an offer puts you in a worse negotiating position. At minimum, confirm the title is being checked, and the property has been physically inspected.

5. Am I making this decision with a clear head or an emotional one? Property buying involves real emotion, and that's not inherently a problem. But emotional decisions made without checking the practical questions tend to be the ones buyers regret. If you feel pressured by a timeline, a competing buyer, or a seller's urgency, that pressure should make you slower, not faster.

Five questions. They take less than an hour to work through. They change the quality of every offer you make.

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