Why Home Buyers Should Look at a House Multiple Times Before Buying
Love at first sight is a tricky thing, especially when it comes to home buyers and their home shopping experience. Whether it’s the first house you look at or the thousandth, there will come a time when you walk into a house and absolutely love it. It will have most, or all, of the things that you are looking for, and it will just feel like home. You may be tempted to write an offer on it immediately, but you could regret that decision.
It is recommended that home buyers visit the house multiple times and at different hours of the day before writing an offer on the house. You want to really see what the neighborhood is like, and that can vary greatly based on day or time that you are visiting the house.
So before making an offer, home buyers will want to drive by the house during the following times.
Before work
Google Maps might say that it only takes 30 minutes to get to work from the house, but if you are driving during rush hour, you might be surprised to find out that it takes closer to an hour. Pick a day and leave home early to drive to the house before work. Then you can see what the neighborhood is like early in the morning and how long your commute will actually take you.
Mid-morning
The neighborhood might seem quiet if you go to your showing in the evening, but be completely different if you are there during working hours. Some home buyers have been surprised to find out that there was a quarry nearby that they didn’t notice when looking at the house. Once they were moved in, the sound and vibrations were hard to handle.
This is also a good time to see if there are a lot of people home in the neighborhood during the day or if it’s pretty much abandoned as people are all at work.
When school lets out
This is especially important if the house you are looking at is anywhere near a school. A normally quiet street can be jam packed with cars as parents fight to pick up their children and buses are headed out on their routes. You can also notice if your yard is the one that kids cut across to head home.
Dinner time
When you leave work, drive directly to the house to check your evening commute. This is also a good time to see what the neighbors are up to. You will be able to tell if there are lots of families out and about playing in the yards.
After 9:00 pm
Drive through the neighborhood with your windows down after 9:00 pm on a weekend to see if it’s a party area. You will learn quite a bit about the habits of your neighbors when you do this.
If this seems extreme to you, remember that you are going to be living in the house. All of these things will impact home buyers for good or bad once you are moved in. It’s helpful to know before making the decision to buy.