An open house, or a particular period of time when a house that is for sale is open for prospective buyers to visit, can be a very useful tool in the home purchasing process. It gives you a chance to really get a feel for a home, often without the pressure of being there one on one with a realtor.
To make the most of an open house experience, it’s important to keep the following tips in mind.
Don’t Be Too Dazzled
There are a lot of tricks that people who are trying to sell their home will employ so as to make their home the most desirable to prospective buyers. A fresh coat of paint, the smell of freshly baked cookies in the air, and candles burning are all common open-house prep tricks. The seller wants to create a warm, cozy, “you could live here” feeling in his or her home, and he or she wants you to subconsciously feel at home in the home. However, don’t let bells and whistles like nice new furniture (which won’t be there once you move in) overshadow the real issues in the house. Is the house in good condition? What type of work are you going to have to do once you live there? Appearances can be deceiving. A disclosure sheet, or a list of known structural issues with the house, is a great idea.
Pay Attention to Others
Most open houses, particularly in highly populated areas, will have a lot of other people at them while you’re there. Don’t be intimated by the crowd; embrace it! Or, at least, listen in. Pay attention to the types of reactions that the home is getting from others. The benefit of having so many sets of eyes in the house is that possible problems are easier to identify when so many are looking for them.
Knowing how many people are at a given open house will also help you to gage how many people are interested in a particular home and how competitive putting in an offer might be.
Look Around
Chances are that you will have looked at a listing for a home online before attending an open house, but be aware that the open house is a much better opportunity to get a feel for a space. Once you’re in the home, you can see how the rooms relate to one another, how big the space is, and how you feel within it. It’s also a good idea to get a feel for the neighborhood when you’re at an open house. Take a walk around the block and see what you think.
Use Your Resources
If the listing agent is the party hosting the open house, ask as many questions as you can think of. Some great questions to ask are:
- What renovations have been done to the house, and when?
- Were any upgrades made to the house?
- Why are the current homeowners moving out of the house?