Planning a Day of Looking at Homes With Your Realtor? Below Are Tips for Successful House Hunting!

Planning a day of showings with your realtor?

Below are some helpful tips to keep you focused and organized for that specific day. It’s also important to have an initial conversation with your realtor and go over your specific wants and needs. This will help narrow down your search and keep you on the right path, plus make your experience that much more enjoyable.

1. Bring a notepad: Or remember to dedicate a page on your phone to add details about the homes you just saw. Often properties start to fuse together, and you’ll forget keep important details to help differentiate the homes you just saw.

2. Location, location, location: Think about the distance to work, schools, grocery stores, friends and family you frequently visit. You will also want to know if there are any new developments and/or infrastructures that will change the dynamics of the area now and in the near future.

3. Upgrades & Renovations: There are many changes, upgrades, or improvements that can be made to a home. You’ll need to decide if you want to do yourself or hire the correct skilled trades. Keep in mind whether you’ll have the time and budget to allow for a full renovation or if minor repairs are more in line with how you plan on spending your free time. Remember wall colours can be changed. Carpets can be removed. Moulding, curtains, lights and even walls can be modified, updated or replaced.

4. Parking: How much will you need parking now or in the future? It’s an important question to ask yourself to ensure the criteria you are working with either includes parking or doesn’t on the property. You also want to make sure your vehicle(s) will fit. If the property you are interested in doesn’t have parking, will street parking be an option. You will want to explore the bylaws in the area regarding parking.

5. Shape & Size of Rooms: It is important to take a good look at the layout to make sure not only you but also your furniture can fit comfortably in the space. Shapes have a massive impact on the way your home feels.

6. Kitchens and bathrooms: Kitchens and bathroom are two areas of the home with the most traffic. For this reason, they will also be the costliest rooms in a home. Make sure you pay attention to these rooms to avoid unnecessary expenses.

7. Laundry: Your laundry room’s location must be a perfect balance in ways that work for the household. It should be conveniently located but not to close to living areas that noise becomes an issue. Keep the laundry room within a realistic distance of the areas of the house where you work and relax. You would also want it large enough to accommodate big appliances. Locating the laundry room at or near electrical and plumbing points, sturdy floor, plus a venting location, will save you considerable amounts of money and time. Flexible, convenient and space all coordinate with the ultimate need to tap into a range of utilities and access points that can be difficult to move or extend.

8. Storage Space: This is a perfect opportunity to declutter items before taking them to your new home. Often as you’re packing, you’ll run across items that no longer have a significant value or bring you joy into your life anymore. Depending on how creative you can get with your storage, you will want to make sure that there is enough room to store your belongings without things becoming cluttered or unliveable. Keeping items as organized as possible and finding furniture to incorporate extra storage solutions is also a great idea.

9. Lighting: Natural lighting is something that is often overlooked in your house hunt, especially if you are viewing a home at night, or in the middle of winter. General lighting is just as important to a home, as it helps improve the mood, creates a warm and bright ambiance as opposed to a gloomy and unattractive space. Insufficient lighting will make family members and friends avoid the areas while also making a room feel cramped. Think about how important natural and general lighting is to you and make note of the time of day when you do your showing.

10. Take a second look? If you think you found the one but need to make sure, take a friend or relative that may notice critical detail you overlooked. Pay attention to the lighting, time of day, colour of the walls, placement of furniture. Going on a different day can make a huge difference. Also, take traffic and driving directions to and from into consideration. More importantly, it is best to revisit the home to finalize the offer and spend time in the actual space that will be home.

Written by Carol Neira (carol@jj.team)