Open houses can feel overwhelming at first. You visit 3 in one day, and once you’re home and pondering their value, you realize you don’t know much about any of them and are struggling to make a decision. We’re here to help. Be prepared to visit your local Open Houses this weekend with these three tips.
Go in with an open-mind.
Have you ever ordered mouth-watering chicken off the menu, and it comes out of the kitchen with a less than desirable hue? Or maybe you test-drove a car you swore you’d never buy, and left the lot with new keys in hand. Either way, life doesn’t always work out as planned. Keeping an open mind when viewing homes is important, because you might fall in love with the unlikely contender. Try to look past the staged photos and dull paint and imagine your life unfolding within its walls. You might be surprised.
Keep your eyes, ears, and nose open.
It’s easy to get caught up in the realtor’s presence, the professional staging, the overpowering air freshener (red flag!), remembering your standard questions, and in some cases, the complementary baked goods. That being said, it is important to check out more than just the size of the rooms and which bathrooms you’d like to remodel if you owned the place. Listening for loud appliances (A/C, water heater, etc), seeing, and sometimes smelling areas that need work will allow you to really think your investment through.
How are the neighbors?
To be clear, we’re not asking you to spy on the neighbors, but simply to be aware of them. This is especially important in the backyard. We’d even recommend driving through the neighborhood on a Friday and Saturday night to see how active they are on the weekends.
Another neighborly tip? Open the home’s windows and see how close they are with the neighbor’s windows. (Is the kitchen window facing their “open-for-air” bathroom window? Yikes.) You’re likely to inadvertently eavesdrop if they’re closer together than you thought.
These are just a few tips to keep in mind during your weekend Open House tours! Even if you’re not quite ready to buy, it can still be beneficial as you may be surprised at what you find to add to your “future home” list!
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