You should typically bring a few things to a house viewing: your phone for photos and notes, a list of questions, key measurements, your must-haves and deal breakers, and your real estate agent.
After all, you’re usually there to do more than just get a feel for the place. A little preparation helps you make better use of the viewing and come away with a clearer idea of whether the home is actually right for you.
In this post, we’ll walk through five things to bring to a house viewing and how each one can help.
1. Phone
Your phone is worth having out during the viewing, not just tucked away in your pocket. If something catches your eye, having it on hand makes it much easier to take a photo or make a quick note so you don’t have to rely on memory later.
Though listing photos can be a good reference point, they won’t necessarily show every single detail of the home. You might notice something they missed, or want to remember how a certain room or feature looked from a different angle. By the time you’ve seen a few places, those details can get mixed up pretty easily.
Just remember to ask before taking photos, especially if the home is still occupied. Not everyone wants their personal property on display.
2. List of Questions
A house viewing can bring up a lot of questions, but it’s easy to forget half of them once you’re actually walking through the property. So, why not write them down ahead of time?
It’s not like you need to show up with a page-long checklist. Focus on the things that could actually affect your decision, whether that’s:
- The age of a major system (roof, HVAC, boiler, etc.),
- Recent work on the home
- What’s included in the sale
- Approximate utility costs
Your agent can help fill in the gaps too. If something comes up during the viewing that you hadn’t thought to ask about, they can usually help you figure out what information is worth getting before you move any further.
3. Tape Measure and Key Measurements
It can be surprisingly hard to accurately judge room size just by looking at it. Something can feel spacious during a viewing, then turn out to be a much tighter fit once you start thinking about the furniture you already own.
So, don’t be afraid to bring a tape measure to a home viewing. If you already know the dimensions of the bigger pieces you plan to keep, you can check the doorways, ceiling heights, and room lengths and widths while you’re there and get a much better sense of whether it will actually work.
4. Must-Haves and Deal Breakers
Before you’ve had any viewings at all, sit down and get clear on what you actually need, what you’d like to have, and what would make you walk away. It gives you a much better baseline for judging each property, especially once you’re standing in a home with a feature you really like.
Of course, a renovated kitchen or great backyard can be easy to get excited about, but neither one changes the fact that the home may still be missing something important to you. Keeping your priorities in mind makes it easier to look at the whole property instead of letting one standout feature do too much of the convincing.
5. Real Estate Agent
A viewing can look very different when you have a real estate agent by your side. While you’re deciding how the home feels, they can do things like pay attention to the details that may affect your next move, ask the listing agent for more context, and flag anything that may be worth a closer look before you get too far ahead of yourself.
And really, that extra perspective can be especially useful when you like a home. It’s a lot easier to stay objective when you have someone there who knows what to look for and can help you separate a minor issue from something that deserves a second look.
Still Need an Agent to Bring to a House Viewing?
If you still need a real estate agent to bring to your next house viewing in the Southern Georgian Bay area, Hawkins Real Estate Group can help. We know the local market and can help you look at each home more closely, ask better questions, and figure out what makes sense if you find one you want to move forward with.
Get in touch with one of our agents today.
