The best part of the house buying process is getting to tour homes! Our agent drove us around, told us about each neighborhood and pointed out any local attractions. The quality time spent with our agent touring homes, also helped us get to know each other. (Having a solid relationship with her was key to us not going completely insane)
When pulling up to a potential home, I recommend paying attention to the block the house is on, the neighbors and immediate surrounding area. Changing where the house is located or who your neighbors are can be incredibly expensive and time consuming (remember that HGTV reality show "Haulin' House" that followed professional home movers?)
It's important when you're walking around, to ask your agent any question you may have. Be an oversharer - like you're one of those people on Facebook or Twitter wanting everyone to know that you are craving mac n'cheese. Be vocal and open about your likes and dislikes. If your agent rocks, he/she will be taking mental notes. At one point, our agent knew whether or not we liked something before we told her.
Some questions we asked ourselves:
When pulling up to a potential home, I recommend paying attention to the block the house is on, the neighbors and immediate surrounding area. Changing where the house is located or who your neighbors are can be incredibly expensive and time consuming (remember that HGTV reality show "Haulin' House" that followed professional home movers?)
It's important when you're walking around, to ask your agent any question you may have. Be an oversharer - like you're one of those people on Facebook or Twitter wanting everyone to know that you are craving mac n'cheese. Be vocal and open about your likes and dislikes. If your agent rocks, he/she will be taking mental notes. At one point, our agent knew whether or not we liked something before we told her.
Some questions we asked ourselves:
- How much sunny garden space do we have?
- Are we too close to our neighbors?
- Where are the property lines?
- Can we imagine ourselves living here?
- What comes with the house? (appliances, light fixtures, etc.)
- Why is there a toilet in the middle of the bedroom? (no kidding! it was random)
Spend as much time as you want in the house. Don't feel rushed if you want to explore or just sit down and get a feel for it. Also, feel free to leave if you don't like the house. The house's feelings won't be hurt because it was just not meant to be.
Don't worry about taking pictures the first time. Nowadays, you typically get a small 3-4 page printout about the house with pictures. You can also go back as many times as you want to see a house and even bring a panel of specialists before making an offer. Our panel consisted of my best friend, my parents and a 7 month old they were babysitting (he liked all the houses we saw.)
We also drove by the house during different times of day. Our agent also recommended going by Saturday or Sunday morning to see how it felt.
Everyone said, once you find the right home - you'll know. That is 100% true. What they don't tell you is you will promptly become obsessed with the house until your offer is accepted (more on that later.)
To recap:
- Pay attention to where the house is located and who your neighbors are
- Ask lots of questions
- Overshare
- Take as little or as much time as you want
- Always ask "do you see yourself living here?"
- Have fun! Cheesy, I know. But, everything before and after the home tours will be stressful so enjoy these moments :)
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