KNOWING the right questions to ask when buying a home can save you hundreds of pounds in the long run… but estate agents wanting to push a quick sale don’t want you to know that.
Luckily, one estate agent has lifted the lid on exactly what you should be asking and looking for when viewing your next potential home.
Megan Eighteen has been in the biz for 15 years and knows all too well the tactics that rogue agents might pull to get an easy commission check.
She is Vice President of property sector regulator ARLA Propertymark which makes sure estate agents abide by a strict ethical code.
And while Megan is a good egg, she warned how unregulated agents might try to pressure you into buying a home that’ll soon require costly work.
The property professional has exclusively told Fabulous everything to be weary of and ask during your next property visit.
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PUSHY ESTATE AGENTS
Salesmen are known for their pushy tactics, and rogue estate agents are no different.
Megan urged buyers to tune in to whether the person showing them around a home is using “selling signals” and subconsciously laying on the pressure.
“An estate agent that’s asking you if you’re going to make an offer while on the viewing is a red flag for me,” she explained.
“One that’s ramming it to you and telling you that you need to make an offer, that for me is a red flag.”
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However, an estate agent looking for constructive feedback and asking open questions – like how the property compares to others you’ve viewed – isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
CLADDING COVER UPS
Following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, where unsafe combustible aluminium composite cladding accelerated flames, estate agents are choosing not to list homes without safety clearance.
However, some still might try to flog a dangerous home in pursuit of a quick sale.
“When you’re buying a flat, you need to ask about cladding,” Megan said. “It’s really hard to get a sale through now without the safety of the cladding being tested.
“No good estate agent will put a flat on the market unless they’ve already checked that there’s a safety certificate in place.”
The expert advised asking your estate agent whether an EWS1 form is in place, which serves as evidence that a building with potentially combustible cladding has had a fire safety assessment.
BOILER BLUFFS
It might sound like a boring question when you’re picturing all of your lovely furniture in your new home, but a faulty boiler can cost you thousands down the line.
“People really overlook boilers,” Megan explained. “People will just look at a boiler and think it looks modern, but boilers have looked the same for about 15 years now.
“So really, what looks like a modern boiler might be quite old by now.”
A bad estate agent might skim over boiler details in hope you’re not clued up, but Megan urged buyers to ask about the boiler's age and service history.
“A boiler system that goes down is a really expensive mistake,” she warned.
WINDOW WORRIES
Only checking whether the windows are double glazed could be a pricey mistake, Megan said.
She urged people to check that they open and close properly, and that you have all the necessary keys to them.
“Most insurance companies won’t give you insurance if you don’t have a set of window keys,” she said.
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“It might not seem like a big deal, but it is.”
A rogue estate agent looking for a quick sale might try to glaze over fiddly things like this, but knowing your windows are totally secure will make taking out insurance a much smoother process.
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