City Profiles > Edmonton Home > Buy a House, Home, Property > What you really need > 15 Key Questions

How to Determine What You Really Need

It is essential to determine what features of a new home are the most important to you. Once you define the requirements you would most like to see, your real estate agent will be able to find the homes that are best suited for you!  

Establish a list of requirements that you most want or need in your new home. Each member of the purchasing property should make a list independently. This ensures that everyone gets what he or she wants. Follow steps A, B and C to complete this list.

A.   Make a list of your top 20 property / home qualities you want:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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10.

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15.

16.

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20.

B.   Now explain why you need them:

  Example: I need five bedrooms

 WHY?

• I really need four bedrooms because I have two kids and I want a spare bedroom and an office which equals five.
• I can have two bedrooms in the basement, one being the spare and one being the office.

Because you've explained why, this allows your agent to look at homes that have three bedrooms on the second floor as well as 4 or 5. This opens the market to different homes, and most importantly the best one for you.

C. Rate them in order of importance from 1 - 20 with #1 being the most crucial

You should never view a home that doesn't have at least the top 3 of your priorities . In the case of two people buying the house together, you should not look at any house that doesn't have the top three from both lists. This ensures that everyone is considered. (Believe me folks, this works!)

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15 Key Questions You Should Ask Before Purchasing a Property:

Take a moment to read through these so that when they come up in the course of our search you will have a checklist of questions to ask:

• What is the neighbourhood like? Are there certain area features that would affect the value of this property in the future?
• What are the prices of the homes that have sold most recently in the area? Is this house compatible?
• What are the realty taxes on the home?
• What are the utility costs? (especially hydro if the home is electrically heated)
• How far do I have to travel for schools, shopping and recreational facilities?
• How close am I to Public Transit?
• What home repairs have been made in the past two years? ( in particular – roof, windows…if no repairs have been done, how old are they?)
• How old is the furnace and the air conditioning system?
• Are there problems with drainage or runoff in the spring or after a heavy rain?
• Does the basement show any signs of moisture? Can it be fixed simply by cleaning/repairing the eaves trough or is it a more serious problem?
• Is there a recent survey conducted by an accredited land surveyor that shows all of the buildings and additions on the property, and that shows all setbacks?
• Did the property have a home inspection done when the present owners bought it? Could you check to see what major and minor problems there were? Does the vendor have a list of those problems that were fixed?
• Is there any important information in the disclosure document?
• Are there any utility easements or encroachments on the property?
• Are there any environmental concerns within the surrounding area?

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