Guide
Questions to ask an estate agent and solicitor before buying
A useful question produces information you can verify. Record the answer, its source, the evidence still needed and the person who can explain its implications.
Toolkit source pages: Viewing checklist, page 4; building safety, page 8; agent and solicitor questions, pages 12–13.
Establish the property facts
Confirm the exact unit, tenure, approximate area, occupancy and current tenancy position. Inspect visible condition and communal areas. The Toolkit highlights windows, damp, ventilation, heating, electrics, plumbing, roof or external fabric where visible, lifts, parking and storage. A viewing checklist is not a professional survey.
Ask the estate agent for evidence
Ask how long the property has been marketed, whether previous offers failed and why, what comparable sales support the asking price, and the seller’s preferred timescale. Request current rent, service-charge and ground-rent information, known major works or disputes, and the documents already available to a buyer.
Give the solicitor the unresolved questions
Ask about title or lease issues, restrictions affecting intended use, unusual ground-rent provisions, major-works enquiries and missing documents. For building safety or remediation, ask which assessments, funding arrangements or liabilities are relevant. The need for a particular certificate depends on the building and transaction.
Questions to ask
- Which answers are backed by documents?
- What needs a surveyor, solicitor or lender to confirm?
- Are there missing documents that should stop exchange?
- What costs or obligations need explanation before I commit?
Turn answers into a decision record
Keep the issue, evidence, estimated impact and action required together—the same approach used by the PDF’s red-flags worksheet. Update the record when documents arrive. Do not treat a reassuring verbal answer as resolution of an issue that requires professional review.
Educational material only. This guide is general information, not personalised financial, mortgage, tax or legal advice, and it does not guarantee any outcome or return. Consider speaking to a suitably qualified, regulated professional about your own circumstances.