Questions, Questions, Questions...

Questions, Questions, Questions...Real Estate Questions



There were 89 residential home sales in July in the twelve communities covered by this report. The average sales price was $383,974 with almost half the sales being under $200,000. The median price point was exactly $200,000. This compares to 110 sales last August at an average of $299,469.






As a real estate agent, I have to answer a lot of questions each day from customers, clients, and other REALTORS®. You know, like what are the taxes, when was the home built, and where are the boundary lines? One of the most often asked questions I hear is "How much is this place?" It kind of amazes me that someone, either the buyer or his agent, scheduled the appointment and is standing in front of me but doesn't know how much the property is on the market for. But, there are lots of questions and sometimes you know the answer and sometimes you don't. One of the cardinal rules is that you should never make up an answer if you don't know it. That will do nothing buy get you into deep trouble. However, no one ever said you couldn't have some fun.






Many times when we are at a property that is just a little bit off the beaten path and I am dealing with a buyer from out of the area they will often ask "Do they plow the road here?" My standard answer is "Once every winter." That usually brings a puzzled look and then a smile.





When asked why the water appears to be so low in the lake I like to respond that the tide is out just to test them. Buyers that aren’t familiar with the lakes sometimes will ask if you can get from Winnipesaukee to Winnisquam by boat to which I will say "Only if you go really, really fast." Or they ask if you can drive to that $230,000 island property. The answer is usually “No, unless you are driving a boat." “How long does it take to get to Wolfeboro?" “Well, that would be about 30 minutes unless you take the tunnel and then it would be ten minutes.”


And buyers sometimes will ask questions for which there are obvious answers like "Where's the basement?" Around here it is usually under the house. Or "Where does the sun set?" “That would be in the west.” To be fair, that is a hard one sometimes, but I have a really cool app that shows you exactly where the sun rises and sets. Technology is great, isn't it?


It also amazes me when I am showing a home that I have listed that a buyer will often ask "How much will they take for this place?" I guess that's the real estate equivalent of the $64 million question to which the answer is always "Why don't you write up an offer and we'll see."