5 Good Questions Buyers May Not Think to Ask

First-time home buyers have a lot to think about, and sometimes they don't consider all of the factors that will impact their enjoyment of their new home.

A handful of recent home buyers in St. Louis say what they wish they would have asked before buying a property. The issues they raise are valid concerns for anybody buying a home practically anywhere:

For pet owners: How welcome and comfortable will my pet be in this home? Are there any pet restrictions and is there a safe convenient place to walk a dog?
For condo buyers: How often and by how much have the condo fees gone up in the past? Is there a maintenance fund, and how large is it? While past performance is no guarantee, stable fees and good planning in the past is promising.
For homes with basements: Does water sometime seep into the basement or other parts of the home? Has this property ever been flooded?
For everyone: Who are the neighbors? Do any of them have noisy animals or hobbies?
For homes near vacant land: What is the future of the adjacent open land? Just because a piece of property doesn’t have anything built on it now doesn’t guarantee that it won’t.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Casey Newman (06/23/07)
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