If you’ve heard that “the market is crazy” right now, it’s true. One of the biggest challenges for house hunting in fast-moving markets is that you might only have a few hours to make one of the biggest financial decisions of your entire life.
And you might have to do this after seeing a house just once either during a showing or an open house. Some people buy a pair of jeans after trying them on once, but it is insane that sometimes clients have to do this with their dream home.
But we help our clients do it every day, and here is what we, as your real estate buyers
agent, recommend you look for when walking through a prospective home for the first time. So grab your tape measure and get ready for your walk-through of the property.
Before You Step Inside
You have found a house that you like, and set up a showing appointment with us. Before we visit the house together, be aware that there is a very good chance that your visit is being recorded on some type of home security system. This is more common in higher-end homes but homeowners at all price ranges have Ring™ doorbells and other similar devices installed throughout the home even if you don’t always see them.
So be cautious and tactful in your conversations and comments. And don’t ever say anything out loud that would tip your hand from a negotiating standpoint. For example, a seller could watch you mention the highest prices that you would pay and then use that to their advantage.
This applies while you’re inside the house and elsewhere on the property as security cameras can capture conversations from 30-40 feet away which could include the driveway or standing outside of your car.
Review The Overall Condition Of The House
You don’t need to have a home construction professional along with you to identify problems. We’ve got you covered based on years of experience and walking through thousands of homes.
Keep an eye out for settling as you walk up to the house. There is a lot of bentonite clay in Denver that can get wet and turn into concrete when activated can cause structural issues. I look to see if the driveway has cracks and if there are gaps between the garage doors. Other key things to look for outside include the exterior paint to see if it’s been maintained and check for any water damage or wood rot underneath the faucets around the house.
Of course, individual items can be addressed during the home buying process or even after you move into the house. However, you want to have a general idea of how well the owner took care of the house and the property overall. Are the shrubs trimmed, the gutters clean, and trees well taken care of?
What Specific Things To Look For
Everyone has varying degrees of knowledge and experience with these things so if you see a potential problem be sure to make a mental note of it or ask a question.
Don’t hesitate to check to see if everything is in working order: lights, showers, faucets, toilets, garage door opener, mechanicals, etc. If something catches your eye or the water pressure is too low, be sure to ask about the item or take note for follow-up.
Little things such as dusting can be a huge giveaway that the home isn’t as well maintained. I also walk diagonally through rooms and I can tell if it’s leveled or not. Looking in the basement I look for hairline cracks between the edges of the windows because the structure is the weakest around the windows.
As you walk inside the house, take note of the age and condition of appliances, the condition of carpeting and floors, windows, walls, cupboards, and cabinets. Any weird odors? Follow your nose to see what’s up even it means you have to go back to areas you already checked out.
Check doors to see if they’ll stay open. If they keep wanting to slowly close, that could be an indication of the house again not leveled. I open windows to see how easy they open, if they don’t easy the house probably settled.
You can address a lot of items with home improvement projects, and kudos if you are a DIY home renovations type of person, but it is imperative that you have a solid structure if this is going to be a fixer-upper or even a new home for that matter.
Once an offer is accepted, there will be a full home inspection by a Colorado home inspector to help identify and alleviate any concerns you may have about the condition of a prospective property.
Envision Your Family Living There
If the floorplan and yard are working for you, then it is time to really see if the house feels right. Does the floor plan work for your family’s lifestyle? Is there a space for that home office or gym you want?
A popular request is to have the master on the main floor. Other things that become important after looking at various homes, particularly for first-time homebuyers include high ceilings or unique layout features like an eat-in kitchen, first-floor laundry, or a finished basement. These types of things don’t matter in the beginning, but they become more important after looking at more floorplans.
Because of this, don’t eliminate houses too quickly as there may be something you like or really dislike about the house that will better adjust your active home search. A good example might be a cul-de-sac versus a front yard street as you need to go visit the property to see how much traffic is using the road. It may end up not being an issue or it might be a deal-breaker.
Keep an open mind and you might be surprised what you actually like, or maybe don’t like. No matter what, every showing you visit is a chance to make the necessary adjustment to your home search and find your perfect home.
After The Showing
If you like the house, drive around the neighborhood noting the pluses and minuses of the neighborhood. Check out how well neighbors keep up on landscaping, the types of cars, campers, and anything else you can notice from driving by. If you are brave, knock on the next-door neighbor’s door to see who you will be living next to. If they are rude and have six barking dogs, keep in mind that’s probably going to be what you get for the next five years.
Get out your favorite mapping app on your phone to see the route and distance you will be driving to get to work and school as well as shopping, dining, recreation, or your best friends’ house. And don’t worry if there is something that you overlooked as we can schedule a second viewing as we really dive into how the property stacks up against comparable properties with different upgrades.
If you haven’t already done so, it is important that you talk with a mortgage lender to get prequalified based on your income and down payment as well as talk through other financial considerations like interest rate. Our lending partners can help you get approved and this is an important step on the path to homeownership. With a pre-approval, we can also submit a lender letter with your offer.
We do this every day, and that’s why you want an experienced real estate agent on your side. If the house feels like a fit and you decide to move forward, we will talk through the best approach to drafting a winning offer and walk you through the next steps. In our book, the early bird gets the worm and you want your offer to be one of the first received by the seller.