Questions to Ask Before Making an Offer on a House
Work through this the day before you write an offer.
An offer is the moment casual interest becomes a commitment with deadlines attached. The right time to notice a missing answer is before you sign, not after.
Contract terms, contingencies, timelines and deposit rules vary significantly by state and by agreement. Use this as a prompt list and confirm specifics with the appropriate professionals.
About the property itself
- What are the actual ages of the roof, HVAC, water heater and electrical panel?
- What work has been done, and can permits and final inspections be produced?
- Has there been water intrusion, and was anything remediated?
- What conveys with the home, in writing?
- Is it public sewer or septic, city water or a well?
- What disclosures exist, and have I read all of them?
Money questions
Every figure here varies by property, lender, insurer and locality. Get your own numbers rather than reusing a seller's.
- What is the current property tax bill, and how does reassessment work locally after a sale?
- What will insurance realistically look like for this structure and location?
- What are HOA dues, what do they cover, and what is the assessment history?
- What have utilities cost over the last twelve months?
- What is my full estimated monthly payment from my lender, including escrowed items?
- What cash do I need at closing, per my lender's estimate?
- What repairs are foreseeable in the first two or three years?
Contract terms to understand before signing
- Which contingencies are included, and what does each one actually let me do?
- What are the deadlines, and what happens if one is missed?
- How much earnest money, held by whom, and under what conditions is it at risk?
- What is the proposed closing date and possession arrangement?
- Who pays which closing costs under this offer?
- Are there any seller-requested terms such as a rent-back?
Positioning questions
- What comparable sales support this price, and how comparable are they really?
- How long has this home been on the market, and why?
- What matters to this seller besides price?
- What would I regret if I lost this home — and what would I regret if I won it?
- What is my walk-away point, decided before negotiation starts?
Questions to ask yourself
Write the answers down. They are your defense against momentum later in the process.
Example: the open-answer test
Before an offer, list every open question and mark who owns the answer. If more than a couple of high-impact items are still owned by nobody — roof age, HOA assessments, permit status — that is the work to finish first. It is normal for some items to remain open until the inspection and contingency periods; the point is to know which ones and to choose that deliberately.
Common mistakes
- Deciding a price before knowing the monthly carrying cost.
- Waiving contingencies without understanding what each one protects.
- Skipping HOA documents on a property governed by an HOA.
- Setting a walk-away number during the negotiation instead of before it.
- Leaving the biggest unknown unanswered because it felt awkward to ask.
Frequently asked questions
What should I know before making an offer on a house?
At minimum: the real ages and condition of major systems, the full monthly carrying cost from your own lender and research, what the contract's contingencies and deadlines commit you to, and your own walk-away point.
Can I make an offer before an inspection?
Offers are commonly written before an inspection, with the inspection handled inside a contingency period. What contingencies are available and how they work varies by state and by contract.
How much earnest money is normal?
Amounts and handling vary by market and agreement. Ask what is customary locally, who holds it, and specifically under what conditions it can be returned.
Should I offer over asking price?
That depends on the property, the local market and your own numbers. Decide your maximum before negotiating, based on what you can carry monthly rather than on what you might win.