Questions to Ask Before Signing

When you're considering an offer on your property, the questions you ask determine what you learn. This page provides questioning frameworks—what to ask, how to ask, and when to ask—designed to surface real information before you commit.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Each type of real estate transaction has specific questions that matter—and those questions aren't obvious until you understand how the transaction works.

In a cash or wholesale offer, the critical questions involve assignment rights, earnest money amounts, and inspection period terms. In a subject-to transaction, the questions center on liability, payment monitoring, and due-on-sale risk. Seller financing brings questions about default remedies and regulatory compliance.

The problem: if you don't know how each structure works, you don't know what questions to ask. "Do you have any questions?" invites you to ask about what you understand. It doesn't help you ask about what you don't know exists.

How to Ask Effective Questions

Vague Questions Get Vague Answers

Generic questions invite generic responses. Specific questions—those asking for concrete details, documentation, or verifiable facts—produce answers that reveal whether the deal is solid.

Vague: "Are you a legitimate buyer?" Specific: "Can you provide a bank statement showing funds for this purchase, dated within the last 30 days, from a verifiable financial institution?"

Vague: "What happens if something goes wrong?" Specific: "If you miss a payment, how many days before it appears on my credit report, and what remedies does the contract give me?"

Vague: "Is this a good deal?" Specific: "What is your calculation for this offer price? What after-repair value are you using, what repair estimate, and what profit margin?"

The transformation: same intent, different specificity, different information yield.

Knowing how to ask is half the picture. Knowing when to ask determines whether your questions have leverage behind them.

When You Ask Matters

Questions have timing windows. Some questions work best before any contract is signed—while alternatives still exist. Others can wait for the review period but shouldn't wait until closing.

Before any contract: Questions about buyer capability belong here. Proof of funds, entity verification, track record, references from previous sellers. These questions establish whether this buyer can actually close. Asking after signing means you've committed before knowing if they can perform.

Before any contract: Questions about assignment rights, contingencies, and exit clauses belong here. Understanding whether "and/or assigns" appears in the buyer field, what conditions let them exit, and whether vague approval contingencies exist—this information shapes whether to sign at all.

During review period: Questions clarifying contract terms—what specific provisions mean, how timelines work, what happens in various scenarios. These refine understanding rather than change the fundamental decision.

The pattern: leverage diminishes after commitment. Questions that require leverage should precede commitment.

Recognizing Evasion

Non-Answers That Sound Like Answers

A response can feel like an answer without actually providing information. Recognizing these patterns helps distinguish explanation from deflection.

Generalization: "That's pretty standard" or "Most contracts have that" in response to questions about specific terms.

Deflection: "You don't need to worry about that" or "That rarely comes up" when asked about risks or failure scenarios.

Future promises: "We'll handle that at closing" or "That's something we can discuss later" when the question concerns pre-signing terms.

Confident vagueness: "It's all in the contract" or "The documents explain everything" when asked to explain specific provisions.

A single non-answer might indicate a misunderstood question. A pattern of non-answers across multiple questions—especially on different topics—is itself informative. What a buyer won't clarify reveals as much as what they explain.

For a full assessment of warning signs and red flags, see Red Flags and Warning Signs.

Question Categories

Verification Questions

Verification questions request documentation rather than assurance. The answers either exist and can be produced, or they don't.

Funding verification:

• "Can you provide a bank statement dated within the last 30 days showing funds sufficient to close?"

• "Is the proof of funds from a verifiable financial institution?"

Entity verification:

• "What is the legal name of the entity on the contract?"

• "Is the entity registered with the state? When was it registered?"

• "Who is the registered agent?"

Track record verification:

• "How many transactions of this type have you completed?"

• "Can you provide contact information for two previous sellers from similar transactions?"

Payment monitoring (for subject-to or seller financing):

• "Will payments go through a third-party servicer?"

• "How will I verify that payments are being made?"

These questions share a structure: they ask for things that either exist or don't, can be verified or can't.

Beyond verifying buyer capability, a second question category probes what happens when transactions don't go as planned.

What Happens If Questions

Every transaction can fail. How failure affects the seller varies by structure. Questions about failure modes surface whether protections exist or gaps remain.

For any transaction:

• "What happens if you can't close on the scheduled date?"

• "Under what conditions can you exit this contract?"

• "What happens to earnest money in different scenarios?"

For subject-to transactions:

• "If you stop making payments, when does it appear on my credit?"

• "What happens if the lender calls the loan due?" (This refers to the due-on-sale clause—a rule in most mortgages that lets the bank demand full payment when the property transfers.)

• "Does the contract include a due-on-default clause that lets me reclaim the property?"

For seller financing:

• "What is the foreclosure process if you default?"

• "How long does foreclosure take in this state?"

• "Can I inspect the property during the loan term?"

These questions probe the scenario the buyer may prefer not to discuss. For a comprehensive framework on seller risk across structures, see Understanding Seller Risk.

Putting It Together

Active Information Gathering

The questions above share a common premise: information that matters must be actively extracted. Buyers present selective information—benefits emphasized, risks minimized. What they volunteer reflects their interests; what you ask reflects yours.

The prepared approach: Before meeting with a buyer, write down questions. Having a list prevents forgetting important topics under social pressure. It also signals to the buyer that you're organized and serious. The question categories above—verification, timing-based, failure mode—provide a starting framework.

Verbal versus written: Verbal explanations can differ from written contract terms. Before signing, try this exercise: ask the buyer to walk through the contract section by section, explaining what each part means. Note any gaps between what they say and what's written. Then document: send an email summarizing what was discussed and ask for confirmation. This creates a record if verbal representations later diverge from the text.

What written terms control: In most states, written contracts override prior verbal agreements. This is called the parol evidence rule. If a buyer says "we'll handle that" but the contract says something different, the contract governs. Questions about what's in writing deserve the same weight as questions about what's being said.

Key Point: The frame shift: from "they'll explain if I ask" to "I must extract what I need to know." The right questions, asked at the right time, with documentation of the answers—this is how information asymmetry narrows.

Learn More

Understand the structures:

• Subject-To Transactions — what questions matter for this structure

• Seller Financing — what questions matter for this structure

• Cash and Wholesale Offers — what questions matter for this structure

• Loan Assumption — what questions matter for this structure

• Lease-Options — what questions matter for this structure

• Short Sales — what questions matter for this structure

Related action pages:

• Red Flags and Warning Signs — what patterns signal problems

• What To Do Next — actions after you've gathered information

Go deeper:

• Understanding Seller Risk — comprehensive risk framework across structures

For questions specific to your situation, the structure pages above provide targeted detail on what matters for each transaction type.