If you are buying property there are some things you must tell an estate agent, especially if you don't want to waste your time looking at properties that won't be a good deal, writes David Lawrenson.

Plus, when you find a good property, by asking the agent the right questions, you discover if the vendor is likely to play ball and accept your offer.

Make it clear you are an investor!

Before we look at the questions you should ask the agent, first off you must tell the agent at the outset exactly what you want, what you are looking for and what you don't want.

This immediately puts you ahead of the average non investor house-hunter, who may be a bit vague.

Of course, you should tell them that as an investor you will be able to move more quickly than someone who has to sell a property first or give notice on a place that is being rented.

Another plus for you should be that, if the vendor is in a chain, you can move as slowly as the vendor wishes in order to fit in with him.

This added flexibility regarding timelines is something that most buyers won't be able to offer and may mean that a vendor may prefer an offer from you than one from a non-investor buyer - even if the non investor buyer offers a higher price.

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Estate agents and solicitors like an easy life too.

And given the choice between a potentially jumpy first time buyer / someone in a chain and a nice easy-going investor it's easy to see which type of buyer they would prefer.

The investor has done it all before, may have all the time in the world and won't be hassling every 5 minutes.

Even if that's not entirely true, it's still the impression you should give the agent.

So, use this to your advantage.

Questions for the Agent

So what should you ask the agent?

1. Find out how long the property has been on the market

In some cases it may be obvious.

If it is now the middle of summer and the photo of the exterior of the property shows snow lying on the ground and bare trees, you will know already that it has been on the market for at least four months. Yes, some vendors are so stupid that they never think to get a more up to date photo taken.

If it's not obvious from the photo, ask the agent.

Yes, I know that agents are supposed to work for the vendor, but some will be only too happy to give information away if they think it will secure a sale.

And the length of time it has been on the market is often something that they will tell you.

2. Have any previous sales fallen through?

Again, some agents will tell you this.

If the answer is that a previous sale or sales have fallen through, then the next challenge is to find out why.

Perhaps there is something structurally wrong with the property. If so, you need to know.

If the agent is not forthcoming on this, tell him that you intend to get a full survey done anyway, so he may as well tell you now so that you can frame an offer that reflects the facts.

After all, it could be much harder to get the vendor to knock thousands off, following a survey, once he has already psychologically got used to expecting the higher price.

Estate agents fully understand this so should pay ball and come clean on any defects.

3. Why are they selling?

Some agents will reveal quite a bit on this one, while others will give little away.

In my experience, an agency manager will reveal more than junior staffers, providing they trust you.

But see if you can spot any clues in the house too. Often the clues are there, especially if there has been a divorce or bereavement.

Following a divorce, most people may be keen to move on and accept a lower offer that gets the house sold and allows them to quickly set up somewhere else afresh.

Also, if the property is tenanted and the vendor is a landlord, most landlords will be happy to accept an offer if the tenants have actually moved out or are about to.

If the tenants are still there, when you come to view, ask them politely when they are moving out.

Always take the opportunity to ask the tenants questions too - I'm always amazed how many landlords fail to brief their tenants. (When selling, because I always treat my tenants well, I have always co-opted them to say nice things to any potential buyer!)

Whenever I have sold a property that was previously tenanted but now unoccupied, I always try to give the impression that the property is still occupied.

So, if you are buying, try to see around these tricks and look for signs that the vendor (or tenants) may have really moved on.

Lights set on timer switches and a lack of food in the fridge is a dead give away that the property is really empty.

4. Did you price the property?

This is a good one to ask the agent.

If the agent didn't personally value the property, he may well be inclined to say that the price is too high, and may even add that the vendor will probably accept X.

Even if he doesn't, it is still worth asking what he thinks the property will actually sell for.

Of course, rather than ask the questions directly one after another it's always best to ask them casually and in no particular order in order to build rapport with the agent.

And use things that you see in the property as prompts for your questions.

In conclusion, agents want to sell property, but you can learn a lot about the price to pitch at just by asking the right questions.