Fell In Love at the Open House? Look Again.

4 Things Buyers Often Miss When Viewing A Home For The First Time

One of the things I actually love about a slower real estate market is that buyers have something they haven’t always had in a hot market:

Time.

Time to think.
Time to ask questions.
And most importantly, time to go back and see a home again before making a decision.

Because here’s the thing about an open house…
You walk through the door and everything looks great.

The house is clean. The furniture is beautifully arranged. The lights are on. Maybe there are flowers on the counter and music playing in the background.

You’re excited.

And when you’re excited, it’s very easy to see what you love about a home and miss some of the simple things that could affect how much you actually enjoy living there every day.

So if you’re looking at homes right now, take advantage of the slower market.

Go back.

Here are a few things I would look at the second or third time around.

1. The direction of the sun

This is one of the easiest things to overlook at an open house.

Where does the sun come up? Where does it set? Which rooms get morning light? Which ones get afternoon sun?

It can make a huge difference to the temperature of your home, the amount of natural light you get, glare and reflections, and even how you use your outdoor space.

If you’re hoping to grow vegetables, for example, you’ll want to know how much direct sunlight that garden actually gets.

A home can feel completely different at 11 a.m. on a sunny Sunday than it does at 4 p.m. on a hot summer afternoon.

Go back at a different time of day if you can.

2. The imperfections

At an open house, everything is designed to look its best.

And that's the point.

But once you've fallen a little bit in love with the house, it's time to slow down and look a little closer.

Are those just cosmetic imperfections, or could they be signs of something bigger?

Are there cracks? Water marks? Areas that have been freshly painted? Doors that don't close properly? Floors that feel uneven?

Of course, you'll have your home inspection if you make an offer, but there are also things that simply come down to:

Can I live with this?

When we bought our home, we came back three times before making an offer.

And it took three visits for us to realize that the front of the house was painted a completely different colour than the other three sides.

We had been so focused on everything we loved about the house that we hadn't noticed it.
The front of the house was brown and the sides were white… this was not a small difference. We still laugh about it today.

But it’s also a great reminder that sometimes you simply need to see a home more than once.

3. The layout

A layout can look fantastic when you're walking through an open house.

Open concept has been incredibly popular for years, and there are lots of reasons why.

But don't just ask yourself, “Does this look good?”

Ask yourself:

“How will we actually live here?”

Where will the kids hang out?

Where will you work?

Is there enough separation and privacy when you need it?

How does the kitchen connect to the outdoor space?

Can you easily get from the garage to the kitchen with groceries?

Does the flow make sense for your family?

These are the things you don't necessarily think about when you're walking through a house with 20 other people.

But they're the things you'll notice every single day once you live there.

4. The practicality

This is a big one.

When we walk into a home that has been beautifully decluttered and staged, it's very easy to underestimate how much storage we actually need.

Everything looks so clean and calm.

There isn't a jacket hanging over the chair. There aren't 14 pairs of shoes by the front door. The kitchen counters are completely clear. The pantry looks beautifully organized.

It can almost feel like you're walking into a magazine.

And it's okay to think, “I could live like this.”

But very few people actually live like they're living in a magazine.

So be honest with yourself about how your family really lives.

If you need a garage, you need a garage.

If you need a big pantry, you need a big pantry.

If you have a lot of coats, sports equipment, luggage, tools, Christmas decorations or whatever else your family has accumulated over the years, you need somewhere to put it.

Look at the closet space.

Look at the kitchen cabinetry.

Look at the pantry.

Look at the mudroom.

Look at the garage.

And don't just look at whether there is some storage. Ask yourself whether there is enough storage for the way you actually live.

Because storage is one of those things you can very easily underestimate when you're walking through a beautifully staged home.

And once you move in, it's not something you can easily fix.

That beautiful, uncluttered home you fell in love with may have looked that way because everything that didn't fit was temporarily removed.

So take a really honest look at your own life.

Don't buy the lifestyle you wish you had. Buy the home that supports the lifestyle you actually live.

That's what that second or third visit is really about.

Stop looking at the house as a beautiful property and start imagining it as your home.

A slower market gives you the opportunity to do exactly that.

So if you've found a house you really like, don't feel pressured to make a decision simply because you loved it at the open house.

Go back.

Look again.

Come at a different time of day.

Open the closets. Stand in the backyard. Sit in the living room. Think about where you'll put your furniture. Imagine a rainy Tuesday morning instead of a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Because sometimes the things that make a home look amazing aren't the things that make it the right home for you.

And in a slower market, you have the luxury of taking a little more time to figure that out.

Shelley Hird
North Shore and Downsizing Specialist 
www.shelleyhird.com