When you visit an open home or by appointment, every minute is valuable.
You may have multiple houses to view that same day, so you quickly need to size the property up and decide whether it could suit your needs.
Use these questions and prompts as a checklist to make the most of your viewing.
Where is the sun?
Which rooms will be sunny in the morning? Which ones in the afternoon? How will this change throughout the year? It’s so easy to walk through a home looking at its features, without stopping to think about the sun aspect.
Remember, you can change everything about a property, except where it is, and how much sun is available in that spot.
Look past clutter, dark colours and lack of cleanliness.
These three things shouldn’t put you off buying a home. Why? Because they can all be fixed for minimal cost.
Take notes.
If you are viewing multiple houses in short succession, you will quickly learn that it’s hard to remember specific details of every property. Take the brochure and give it a score out of 10 on the front page & write your notes on the back. What did you like? What didn’t you like? You can add these notes to the app on Trademe Property for easy reference later on.
Could you live here?
This is the key question to ponder as you leave the property. If the initial answer is ‘no’ then ask yourself why you feel that way. Is it because of things you can potentially fix, like an old bathroom or kitchen? It’s important to be clear on this because if the aspect that is putting you off is something you can change, then you shouldn’t discount the property entirely.
If you aren’t completely sure, schedule a second look( I am available and recommend this greatly). Our opinion of a property can change markedly (for better or worse) once we re-visit it a second time.
Don’t focus on questions you can answer later.
Buyers often end up having long conversations at open homes about price, potentially wasting valuable time they could be using to learn more about the property. You can always discuss price expectations later, either over the phone with your salesperson or at a second visit. Your first viewing though should be all about the property and determining whether you could live there.
Ready to start looking?
Give us a call to talk through your buying criteria. We can keep you posted on any new properties coming to the market that might suit you.
The market has moved a lot this year so it’s important you have accurate, up-to-date guidance. We can give you an approximate sale price estimate and also provide tips on where you might be able to add value to your home with minimal expense before going to market.
Call Coralie today to book your appointment to view – Open Homes won’t be back till Early Spring.
