Going To An Open House? Always Check These Items Before Showing Interest In A House

Preparing for an open house can be nerve-wracking if you're in an area where houses sell quickly. However, you do need to take time to look at the house carefully -- if you try to put down an offer immediately because of competition, you could end up with a house that is not terrible shape and that does not offer what you want. When you inspect a house during an open house, you have to ask several questions and look at various features. Here are some features you should check out before you express interest. If these don't meet your needs, it may be a good idea to move on to the next showing.

Water Pressure

Turn on faucets, and if possible (and with permission), flush the toilet. Not all houses will have the same water pressure, but if the water flow coming out of faucets seems to be a lot weaker than you're comfortable with, or it comes out with such force that you find it difficult to control the flow, it's a sign that there's either something very wrong with the plumbing in the home, or the local water supply is unreliable. It's possible that a plumbing problem might not be enough to turn you off buying the house -- after all, plumbing can be fixed -- but if the local water supply is weak and barely delivers water to the house, that is a major issue that can have adverse effects on your quality of life.

Window Views

Sometimes you get lucky and find a house with spectacular views out of one of the windows. If you find that with this house, that's a plus. But you should be more concerned with whether the windows in the home overlook, or look into, places you don't want to see. Your neighbor's bedroom, for example -- you don't want to see what goes on in there, and that also means the neighbors can see into your bedroom.

Storage Space -- for Everything

It's one thing to proclaim you'll cut down on what you buy and reduce what you have. It's quite another to have to do that because the previous owners of the home and the architects all decided you didn't need closets or cabinets. Check out the storage space in the home, from bedroom closets and kitchen cabinets to hallway storage and garage shelving. Don't worry about there being merely less storage than you'd like; you can always buy extra. But if there's almost no storage -- if the bedroom closets are laughably small, for example -- then you would have to provide a lot more than you might be willing to pay for. That could be a real problem should you buy the house.

There are obviously more items you need to look at when you buy a home, but these are some of the things that can be real dealbreakers for people. It's better to start looking at other homes for sale rather than to put money down on one that doesn't really fit your needs. A real estate agent like those at Mark Fox Company will be able to help you locate additional listings and open house showings.