By Wayne Chaulk
Over the many years I have been selling real estate and helping buyers purchase country properties I have experienced the challenges of gathering important information on a property to assist in both marketing listings effectively and in helping buyers make wise choices in their purchasing process. Below are many of the frequently asked questions that can come from prospective buyers on country properties. I strongly recommend that if you are planning to sell your property in the near future that you gather and know the answers to as many of these as possible and provide as much helpful information for the process as possible. Having these details and information available improves buyer confidence, enhances the presentation of the property and helps achieve a more positive inspection process.
- What is the water like? Flow rate and quality? Is there a chemical report and driller’s report I can review?
- Where is the well located? How deep is it? When was it last serviced – (shock chlorinated/pump replaced?)
- Is this property on a Co-op water system or an individual well? If Co-Op water what is the annual rate?
- How large is the septic tank and where is it located (a diagram is useful)? Has it been serviced regularly?
- What water processing equipment is in the home? (labelling the equipment is very useful)
- How old is the furnace and what is its efficiency rating? Has it been serviced regularly?
- Age of windows, type and are there any broken seals?
- Has there ever been any water damage? If so was it properly remediated?
- Is the basement concrete or preserved wood? If preserved wood is there an engineer’s report? Very important as homes with preserved wood foundations often get some buyer resistance although there is nothing inherently wrong with a wood basement if designed and installed properly. They are just not as common and have a shorter life than concrete.
- Are there Home Owner Association fees? Who manages it? What does it cover?
- Are there Restrictive Covenants on the property? What are they?
- Who was the builder of the home? How old is it?
- Is the plumbing Poly B?
- Size of wall construction – 2×4 or 2×6?
- Would I be able to build another outbuilding on the property? (MD bi-laws)
- Does the school bus come by this location?
- What country schools would my kids go to? What grades in each?
- What are driving times to closest shopping/amenities?
- Where are the boundaries of the property? (boundary staking is helpful)
- Is there are Real Property Report to review? (Order one if there isn’t!)
- Can I further subdivide the land (MD bi-laws)
- What are the monthly utility costs?
- What are the annual taxes?
- Has the property been recently appraised for mortgage or estate purposes?
- How old is the roof? Has there been any recent hail damage?
- What renovations have been done? (Back-up information and related invoices would be helpful)
- Who are the neighbours? Are they helpful, friendly, look after their property?
- How many horses/animals can I have on the property? (MD guidelines)
- Is any suite on the property legal (i.e. it includes MD required suite design and services)
- Who does garbage pick-up?
- Who ploughs the roads and when?
There are other questions arise, but these are many of the most common ones.