When you’re buying a house directly from the owner, the questions you ask carry weight that a listing agent would normally help shoulder. Work through the condition of the roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing; the foundation and any water history; environmental and flood exposure; maintenance records and permits for past work; written disclosures, liens, and easements; the real monthly cost of utilities, taxes, and HOA dues; and exactly what stays with the house. Then back every answer with your own inspection, a title search, and, ideally, a real estate attorney.
Roof, HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing
Start where the biggest future bills hide. Ask when the roof was installed and what it’s made of. Asphalt shingles, the most common residential roofing, last roughly 20 to 30 years depending on grade. A 22-year-old roof with no warranty paperwork and no recent inspection is a replacement you’ll likely fund within a few years of closing.
Ask for the installation date of the furnace and the air conditioner, and whether major components like the compressor or heat exchanger have ever been replaced. Central air conditioners typically last 12 to 17 years and furnaces 15 to 20. A system near the end of its life isn’t a dealbreaker, but it belongs in your offer math.
Ask what the electrical panel is rated for. Older homes sometimes have 60- or 100-amp service, while most newer construction runs 200 amps or more. If you’re planning an EV charger, a home office setup, or modern appliances, a low-capacity panel may need to be upgraded before you can add the load.
Ask what the plumbing is made of. Copper and PVC are generally long-lasting. Galvanized steel, common in homes built before the 1970s, corrodes from the inside out, eventually causing low water pressure, discolored water, and in some cases lead contamination as the zinc coating deteriorates. Galvanized pipes mean budgeting for a re-pipe.
Foundation and Water History
Ask the seller directly: Are there cracks in the foundation walls or floors? Has professional foundation work ever been done? Has the basement or crawlspace flooded or shown signs of moisture? A seller who has lived through several rainy seasons knows things a walkthrough won’t show you. These are the questions that save the most money, so ask them plainly.
Lead Paint, Radon, Mold, and Flood Zone
If the house was built before 1978, federal law requires the seller to disclose any known lead-based paint hazards, provide any available testing reports, and give you at least 10 days to conduct your own lead inspection.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property Ask whether the home has been tested and request the results. If it hasn’t, you have the right to test before committing.
Ask whether the seller has ever tested for radon and what the result was. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that seeps through foundation cracks, and prolonged exposure raises lung cancer risk. If they haven’t tested, plan to during your inspection period.
Ask whether any professional mold remediation has ever been done, what caused the moisture, and whether the underlying problem was actually fixed or just the visible mold.
Ask whether the property sits in a FEMA-designated flood zone, and verify the answer yourself through the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.2FEMA.gov. Flood Maps High-risk zones, those with at least a 1% annual chance of flooding, have roughly a one-in-four chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage, and a federally backed loan on a property in those zones will require flood insurance.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4012a – Flood Insurance Purchase and Compliance Requirements and Escrow Accounts Ask about any past flood claims. The seller’s current insurance bill is not what yours will be.
Maintenance Records, Permits, and the Septic
Ask the seller to share maintenance records and receipts: furnace tune-ups, water heater flushes, gutter cleanings, service contracts. A dated folder tells you the house has been cared for. Years of ownership with nothing to show tells you something too.
For any visible renovation, ask whether the work was permitted and ask to see the permit. Permitted work means a building inspector signed off that it met local safety codes. Unpermitted structural changes, additions, or electrical upgrades can create problems at resale and may not be covered by insurance if something goes wrong. “I’m not sure” is information worth having before you make an offer.
If the property is on septic rather than municipal sewer, ask when the tank was last pumped and inspected. Septic systems typically need pumping every three to five years, and a failing system can cost $10,000 or more to replace. Request the most recent pumping certificate and inspection report. If there isn’t one, add a septic inspection to your due diligence.
Ask whether the house has a home warranty and whether it’s transferable. Some warranty contracts can be assigned to a new owner, sometimes for a small fee, and could cover a major system failure in your first year.
Written Disclosures, Liens, and Easements
Most states require sellers to complete a written property condition disclosure listing known defects and material issues. A handful of states follow a “buyer beware” approach. Wherever you’re buying, ask for a written disclosure early. A seller who resists giving you one, or claims none is needed, is worth a conversation with a local attorney before you go further.
Ask whether there are any liens, judgments, or other claims against the property. Unpaid contractor bills can turn into mechanic’s liens. Tax debts, divorce proceedings, and old mortgages can all cloud a title. The seller may not know about every encumbrance, which is why a professional title search is essential, but their answer tells you what they’re aware of.
Ask whether the seller has a recent survey and whether they know of any easements. An easement gives someone else, like a utility company or a neighbor with a shared driveway, the right to use part of the land, and it does not go away when the property changes hands. If there’s no survey, consider ordering one before closing so you know what you’re actually buying.
CLUE Report and Owner’s Title Insurance
Ask the seller to request a CLUE report on the property. CLUE, the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, is a LexisNexis database that holds up to seven years of insurance claims filed on a property.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. LexisNexis C.L.U.E. and Telematics OnDemand A run of water damage claims, for example, can signal an unresolved problem and raise your premiums. Only the current owner can request it, so if they refuse, note that.
Ask whether the seller has a preferred title company, and know you’re generally free to choose your own. Your lender will almost certainly require a lender’s title policy, which protects the bank, not you. An owner’s title insurance policy is optional, paid once at closing, and protects your financial stake for as long as you own the home against undiscovered liens, forged documents, and ownership disputes.
Utilities, Property Taxes, and HOA Dues
Ask for the average monthly cost of every utility: electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash. Ask about seasonal extremes, because a January heating bill can run three times the June number, and you want to budget for the worst month.
Ask to see the most recent property tax bill or assessment notice, then ask the local assessor’s office how a sale affects taxable value in that jurisdiction. In many places, a sale triggers a reassessment at or near the purchase price. If the seller bought 15 years ago for a lot less than you’re paying now, your tax bill after closing can jump substantially above theirs.
If the house is in an HOA, ask for the current dues, what they cover, and whether the board has approved or is considering any special assessments. Request the HOA’s financial statements and meeting minutes from the past year. Special assessments for road repaving or building repairs can add hundreds or thousands of dollars per owner, and an underfunded reserve is a strong signal more are coming.
What’s Included and When They’re Leaving
Fixtures, items permanently attached to the home, generally transfer with the property. The problem is that “permanently attached” gets ambiguous fast with mounted televisions, custom shelving, or freestanding sheds.
Ask the seller for a written list of every item they intend to leave: appliances, window treatments, light fixtures, built-in speakers, the garage door opener, the shed, garden structures, anything that isn’t clearly personal. Put that list in the purchase agreement. If they want to take the refrigerator or the dining room chandelier, you want to know before you make an offer, not on move-in day.
Ask about timing too. When do they want to close? When will they vacate? If they need a leaseback to stay in the house after closing, your contract should spell out how long, what rent, and what happens if they don’t leave on time.
Protect the Deal: Inspection, Earnest Money, Attorney
Get your own home inspection. This is the most expensive mistake FSBO buyers make, skipping it because the seller seems trustworthy or the deal feels simple. A licensed inspector evaluates structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC for a few hundred dollars, which is trivial next to what the report can uncover. Your purchase agreement should include an inspection contingency, commonly 7 to 14 days, that lets you negotiate repairs, request a price cut, or walk away with your earnest money intact.
Handle earnest money through a neutral third party. Never give the deposit check to the seller directly. Deposit it with a title company or escrow agent so that if the deal falls apart under one of your contingencies, the escrow holder returns it. Money handed to the seller can be ugly to claw back.
Make sure the purchase agreement is complete: price and payment terms, legal description, closing date, how you’ll take title, and your contingencies. The standard three are inspection, financing (protection if your mortgage falls through), and appraisal (room to renegotiate or exit if the home appraises below the agreed price).
A few states require an attorney to oversee the closing. Even where it isn’t required, hiring a real estate attorney for a FSBO purchase is one of the better investments in the whole process. In an agent-assisted sale, the brokers coordinate much of this work. In a direct sale, no one is doing it unless you arrange it.