I know that a vast majority of people decide to travel because they want to get themselves familiar with new cultures, traditions, and people, to taste food they’ve never tried before, and many other things.
Even though that’s a completely legit reason, if you have enough free time on your hands, maybe you should use that opportunity for something else that’s not only interesting but potentially beneficial for you.
When I say this, I refer to going to open houses. Why do I think that this is such a good idea? There are a number of reasons why I found this to be exciting and if you would like to uncover them then keep scrolling!
You’ll Find Out If You Can Afford One Or Not
I know that buying a house may not be the first thing on your mind while on this journey, but who knows, what if you fall in love with this place and you decide that it would be a great idea to have a property at that particular destination?
But before you consider this option, it would advisable to first browse the neighborhood that you like to see what’s at your disposal. There are a lot of fantastic websites where you can find open houses to visit when you’re traveling that offer a vast selection of properties. One of them is exp realty which (unlike some untrustworthy companies that are prone to scamming their consumers) is packed with adroit agents who are going to help you pick the best house for you.
What I generally love about these sorts of sites is the fact that they offer houses at different price ranges, meaning that everyone is going to be able to find something that’s not going to blow their budget.
Therefore, if you already decided which neighborhood seems like a good match for you, then I would advise you to attend an open house whenever you have time, just to see how much money it takes to buy a specific home.
It Gives You The Chance To See If People Are Truly Interested In A Certain Property
It’s no secret that when sellers are yearning to sell a particular home, they tend to oversell interest in it and make you believe that if you do not obtain it in an instant, then someone else will do it instead.
And the truth is, that’s not always the case, but that’s not something you can easily determine unless you attend an open house event. This way, you will be able to quickly conclude what is the real level of interest for a specific property.
And only then you’ll be able to decide whether you really want to make an offer or not, which is a great thing.
You Do Not Need To Schedule Anything
Those of you who have purchased a house before are probably familiar with the fact that you are obligated to schedule an appointment in order to discuss everything with a real estate agent. Fortunately, that’s not the case with open house events.
You can practically arrive whenever you want to browse the house that piqued your interest in a relaxing and welcoming environment. I know that this entire process can oftentimes be very overwhelming which is why it’s always much better to attend these kinds of events because you’ll be in a stress-free environment where no one is going to force you to make any decisions fast.
And as I stated above, you do not need to worry about scheduling, due to the fact that these events normally have an hours-long window to allow any potential homebuyer to browse the property thoroughly.
You’ll Learn What You Actually Want And Need
We all have a vision of a perfect place where we want to live someday, but the question is, do all of us truly know what we want and need when it comes to this? I guess the answer is no. Before we start browsing the houses that seem appealing to us (for numerous reasons) we normally think that a place of a certain size and square footage is ideal for us.
Or we may think that things like a fireplace, balcony, swimming pool, or garage are not something we want and need. And then we finally get the chance to see a specific property “face to face” only to realize that we were wrong right from the start in terms of our desires.
But fortunately, that’s something that you can easily prevent if you decide to attend an open house event. Namely, during these events, you are able to walk through different houses so you can finally conclude what you truly need.
Pictures And In Person Impression Is Not The Same
If you’re not yearning to buy a house as soon as possible because it’s not something that’s urgent to you, then browsing them online is an acceptable choice. However, if you’re not just looking around but actually want to obtain a home in a flash, then this option may not be the best one.
Why is that? Well, that’s because there are so many websites that are dedicated to this, then once you see all that in the store, it’s going to be difficult for you to narrow down several houses because there are so many that you like.
Plus, to be honest, there are a plethora of homes that look much better on the internet than they do in person. Not to mention the fact that you cannot easily determine some things when you’re looking at the screen, such as the size of the rooms, how spacious generally that place is, etc.
In some instances, sellers have a tendency to leave out some important parts just so they could make a particular property a lot more appealing. But luckily, none of these things can happen when you are attending an open house.
Namely, during this event, you will get the opportunity to see every inch of that space first-hand and see if there are some issues that you might perceive as problematic that will deter you from acquiring that house.
Generally speaking, what I love about these events is the fact that give you a glimpse of what your life would be like if you purchased that place. As I previously told you, although you may think that you know exactly what you want, you can never be one hundred percent sure of your decision until you see that house “face to face”.
You Determine Your Own Pace
As I stated above, the environment that you have at these events is a lot more pleasant and relaxing in comparison to the conventionally scheduled viewings where homebuyers are frequently very nervous because they are not sure how much time they have to explore a particular space.
Luckily, open houses are a lot more flexible when it comes to this which is of huge importance when you’re on the road. For example, if you decide to attend these sorts of events when traveling, you’ll be able to properly organize yourself without stressing out about anything.
You can decide to explore some landmarks at the destination you traveled to first thing in the morning and then later on, when you’re done with it you can pay a visit to an open house event.
And no one is going to criticize you for it because, as I’ve said, they are a lot more flexible. No one is going to rush you to do everything fast which means that you get to explore the house at your own pace and then later on decide whether you’re going to buy it or not.
Get An Insight Of What The Neighborhood Is Like
I know that to a vast majority of homebuyers, the house they are about to buy is their number one priority. And that completely makes sense, however, don’t forget that it’s also important to take the neighborhood that you’ll potentially live in into account as well.
What if the house you’ve picked seems amazing at first glance, only to realize that the area where it is located is potentially very noisy or far away from the city center, some attractions that you like, and many other things?
That’s something that you cannot determine if you’re just looking at the pictures of the property you like. And that’s why it’s of huge importance to attend this event because you’ll get an idea of what your life is going to be if you eventually move there.
Nobody Will Force You To Buy The House
No matter how nice a seller may seem to be at first glance, bear in mind that, at the end of the day, these people work for money which means that it’s in their best interest to sell you the house.
And that’s especially the case if you’re interested in an area where the demand for properties is relatively low for a longer period of time so they urgently need to hunt down a person who is going to buy a house.
And then if sellers notice that you are even remotely interested in a certain house, they are going to do whatever they can to rush you into obtaining a home. Yes, whether you believe it or not, these things really happen.
What I’ve recently found out (that shocked me) is that in these types of situations, a lot of homebuyers experience so-called buyer’s remorse. That’s particularly the case with millennials.
Namely, that’s because the sellers were probably way too pushy with them because they wanted to convince them to buy a specific house. Therefore, if you would like to avoid something, then the best thing that you can do is to first do your homework, which means attending several open house events so you can figure out if you truly like that space or note.
If you attend a couple of them, you will simultaneously “refresh” your wish list and more importantly, prevent buyer’s remorse. The more you visit them, the better because you are going to become a lot more confident about the things you want and don’t want which is always essential.
You Will Also Get To Meet The Realtor
Another huge advantage that mustn’t be overlooked is precisely this one. Namely, if you attend this event, you will get the chance to come across the realtor which is a great thing because these people are perfectly familiar with every inch of the house due to the fact that they prepare themselves for a few hours in advance before they decide to blast off an open house event.
If you’re interested in getting your facts straight when it comes to a certain home, then there’s no better way to do so than by talking to a realtor. Keep in mind that this person knows everything that’s relevant to the house (which includes its history as well).
So as soon as you arrive at this event, then make sure to hunt down the realtor so you can discuss all these aforementioned topics. Who knows, maybe the two of you are going to form a good relationship that both of you can benefit from.
Things To Consider Before You Pay A Visit To An Open House Event
There are a variety of factors that need to be taken into account as you attend this event and below, I’ll mention the most important ones:
- Square footage preference
- How many bedrooms do you want your house to have
- How many bathrooms do you need?
- Would you like to have a huge backyard or the balcony will get the job done?
- What sort of layout do you generally love? Divided spaces? Open spaces? Or?
- What sort of neighborhood amenities are most important to you?
- Are you more interested in an older house that potentially requires some upgrades or something that’s entirely new and modern?
I know that you may didn’t think of this first when you decided to visit some interesting destination, however, as you can see, there are so many great benefits to attending these types of events.
