Depends on how hot the market is, whether you get a chance for a second viewing before making an offer. I’ve offered on several houses after one 30-40 minute viewing. When my offer has been successful, I’ve shown up for the inspection and had another look around while the inspector does their thing, then the inspector walks me through any areas of concern.
How much time at the house did you spend at the inspection visit? Was that an opportunity to further negotiate or even walk away if you or the inspector discovered serious enough issues?
Once the inspection report is out, that can be an opportunity to adjust price or even cancel the contract (if the contract specifies the sale is subject to inspection)
Experiences may vary and I had a slightly lax experience as the place I purchased was uninhabited at the time (so lax they let me use the garage for several weeks ahead of close). In my case, the inspector did an initial inspection for about an hour, then spent a little under an hour walking and talking me through what he found. I then had quite a soft end time of when I had to leave, but my realtor had to stay with me and lock up after. Owners were not present at the inspection, any negotiations based on findings would have not been in person or at the property.
Overall, I'd say I spent roughly 30 minutes in the place before making an offer and 2 hours in the place between having my offer accepted and closing.
Your inspection time should absolutely be more time for you to be present and you should be sure the contract you present to sellers includes provision that you may walk away during inspection period for any reason and will get your earnest money back. Aim for minimum 2 weeks inspection period.
your contract should include a period of time during which you can have various experts inspect the home for problems. your contract should stipulate that you may break the contract if unacceptable (to you) conditions are found in the home during that time. you may also negotiate during this time for repairs. negotiations can look like a lot of different things. it can be a price cut. it can be the sellers paying for all or part of repairs. it can be an insurance claim made by the seller on their insurance. your realtor should be talking you through all of this.
In my market you have one visit to decide and need to put in your offer, well above list, by the end of the day. I've lost out on 4 houses, each one we saw once, each one we offered $30k + over asking, with a traditional mortgage.
Nope. Westchester NY. It's probably not gonna happen for us, we are competing with people who are buying their weekend (or second weekend) home and have the cash to pay like a million upfront and we just don't.
We have a house, it's just really, really small - like an apartment-level small. We are just waiting honestly, looking at what we can and trying to not get caught up in paying more than we can really afford. Are you renting right now?
Also to answer your question a bit further, you would visit again during the inspection (unless you waived it, don't). Once you're in contract you could reach out about visiting more to measure and such if you'd like.
The first house we bought, we did one viewing (30 minutes) and knew it was “our house” after 9 months of searching. Our offer went in the next day. We also had hours during the inspection.
Our current house, we viewed once and made an offer the same day after months of remote viewings. We were not present for the inspection.
Before our current house, we put an offer on a house that we only viewed remotely and backed out when we visited for the inspection.
That is so helpful to see someone who has the range of experiences. What were the issues with the inspection that were bad enough to make you to back out?
We already knew that the house was smaller than we liked but there was a large outbuilding that could have been used as an extra family/game room and/or office. Turned out that not only was it unpermitted (which was common in an area populated by grow houses, lol), but clearly violated a bunch of zoning laws and would have cost a bundle to take down. So we walked away and, that same evening, a new listing popped up. We were the first to view it the next morning and we are living in it now. So it all really turned out for the best.
Under contract now and we saw the house once on a private showing. Maybe 30 mins? Offered on it after that. Then did inspection which was about 2 hours, but prob could have stayed longer if need be. Then we will do final walk and close.
We offered on 6 other houses just with an open house viewing. We live in a hot market and you dont really get a chance for multiple viewings.
Saw a house for 30min and made an offer from their living room at 8:45pm before they had a chance to sign another irrevocable offer at 9pm. If you have seen enough houses and know what to look for in the walk through, go for it!
Ha! Imagine getting to take time before deciding. If you haven’t decided before you leave the house here you have no chance, hell if you dont make the offer while in the house you probably have no chance.
Unless youre in a randomly very dead market if youre indecisive you will never get a house unless youre buying one thats way over market value.
Yes, assuming your realtor is writing the contract in this way. Have them go over it with you and explain things. Don't be worried about how many questions you have either.
Of course. Get yourself a realtor, its free theyll talk you through this stuff since you are obviously a first time buyer with that question. Inspection is there to go through the house for you, viewing a home is rarely a time for you to look for issues yourself as most people have no idea what to actually look for.
You can back out, change offers, ask for credits, all after. Seriously if youve never done this before and dont know how to buy a house a realtor needs to be your first step.
Im an architect and I always know very quickly - on the first visit Im usually 90% sure. My last one - I had been looking a while, like three years, but could never find the right one. I saw this one pop up on the market. Loved the location. House was rough, one owner for 40 years, which was ideal for me. A friend even sent me a text about it because he knew it was just what we wanted. They had an open house I went to when my partner was at work - then called my realtor to set up a showing for both of us. Made an offer right after the showing. Once we got under contract I spent a lot more time there learning the house and all of its issues, which I knew it would have.
Current house I bought at the end of 2022. The market was terrible - nothing on the market, and what was out there was overpriced garbage homes. I had given up and was in a rental. A realtor called me out of the blue about a pocket listing - an unfinished modern, custom new build about 70% complete - a shell more or less. He described the location and I knew exactly which house it was. He told me what the owner wanted and I knew it would work financially. I went to see it with him the next morning and made an offer. She didn’t even counter she just accepted.
This is really going to be market and place-in-life dependent. Really there's no right amount of time.
Myself for example as a FTHB I was buying close to the bottom of the market, that meant old lower quality homes. Basically buying the same cheap shitty rentals I have been doing all my life. So I knew what to expect. Spending hours agonizing over the peeling paint on the fascia and having a roofer and a painter come check everything out is pointless. (I was remote in Alaska) I had my realtor do a video walkthrough, I had an inspector come out, had a single follow up specialty inspection (structural), did an in person walkthrough for about 15 minutes, did final walk through day of closing. I probably had inspectors in the house for a total of 2 hours, and I was personally in the house for about an hour before everything was closed.
Now, my next home that I plan to roll equity into, I will want to buy with far fewer projects baked in, I will be at least one step up the property ladder so I will expect more from the place. I will be in a much stronger buying position, so things like negotiating repairs I expect will take a lot longer.
We sort of had to move quickly and we also just knew this house for us. It took us 1 time to look at the house and thought about it for a whole day then gave the EM and signed the purchase contract.
One and done. Knew the neighborhood we wanted to live in, what our budget was and what we wanted in a house. We were pre-approved and I was acting as my own realtor. I went to see the house, it was a new construction and not completed yet, told my husband I loved it and we put down the down payment the next day.
27 years ago my husband wanted to look at some new model homes for design ideas on the other side of town in a semi rural area. I did not, I liked where we lived and the new place was in the boonies, hot and dusty. I was bored so I went along with him anyhow. An hour and a half later we were signing papers. I love this place and the friends I’ve made here. Best impulse buy ever.
Sometimes you just know right away.
We spent probably 10 minutes in it and just knew. We are moving from out of state so we won’t see it again (aside from two other drive bys in the evening and weekend to check the neighborhood out) until we close.
Both of our house purchases (first in 2020 and second in 2024) we saw the property and decided to make an offer then and there. Time spent on the property to tour with our realtor around 30 minutes, confirmed we wanted to put an offer in with our realtor before leaving the property, offer submitted within a few hours. Both times we revisited the property during the inspection process to review with our inspector and realtor. But yes, in our particular market, viewing to offer has happened in a very short (hours) amount of time.
Saw the house once. Knew right away it was the one, but still went to see the second house we had scheduled to see that day. It was no contest, the first house was hands down the better house and we loved it.
We said we wanted to make an offer on the first house and our realtor said to wait a day, they were going to lower the price. The next day they lowered the price and we put in a full price offer which they accepted. We got the house.
When ya know, you know.
First house? One showing, probably 30 minutes. It was a wreck from (non-paying) renters who were difficult about allowing people in, but it was enough to see the good bones of the house, and the price was right.
Second house? Hours! I had went to 2 showings, the owners were out of state for a while so I was allowed plenty of time to walk around. After making the offer, I was there for the lengthy inspection, and met with the sellers several times. It was a unique historic home, I was thrilled to find it, and they were thrilled to find someone who loved it like they did.
Lol it is market dependent. I did a single appointment about a day after it was listed, put the offer in a couple days later. But I have done plenty of house searching, so I knew what to look for and what I could skip out on, etc etc.
We had 2 viewings before we offered, one inspection with us present, and a 3rd viewing after offer accepted for measurements taking. That was in 2021 though.
We did one showing with our agent and my mother, who happened to be free that day and came with us. A few days later, we did another showing with both of my parents, my agent, plus a few friends who have previously done trades work to sort of pre-inspect the house. Each showing was probably an hour or so. We were there 4ish hours for the inspection, then we did another visit to measure and take pictures so we could start buying materials, like flooring, paint, window treatments, etc. That visit was probably an hour or two. The house was unoccupied and had been overpriced, so it had sat on the market a very long time, which gave us the luxury of not needing to rush anything, plus good leverage for negotiating down price since we were the only offer. This was in the Minneapolis area in October of 2021, so definitely during the crazy times for most folks in our area.
Currently in the process of purchasing a home. Our first time going to the house we spent an hour, maybe a little longer looking the place over. We made an offer later that afternoon and had paper work signed by end of that same day. Went back for the inspection and were there for 2-3 hours that day. Inspection showed small issues with the roof which were expected since the roof is 20 years old. We had a company quote us for repairs/replacement and were there for about an hour that day. We’ve spent about 5 hours total in or around the house from first look (end of May) til now. Set to close beginning of Aug.
I bought both of my homes before things turned upside down in 2021/22 so keep that in mind. With my first, I went to an open house (15 minutes) and then did two follow up walk throughs (maybe 15 minutes and 30 minutes) then an inspection (maybe an hour) and a final walk through (15 minutes). So I’d guess less than two hours total. The second was an open house (15 minutes) and then inspection (probably two hours, bigger house) then final walk through (15 minutes). I’m not sure what more we could’ve learned or done or noticed with more time.
30 minutes for the initial viewing for me. But like someone else mentioned, if you have an inspection contingency, that usually gives you another opportunity to spend time on the property before things begin to finalize. The inspection for my condo took about two and half hours. It's a good time to bring a tape measurer and jot down some notes.
We’ve been all over the board on this one.
Most recent purchase, we made two visits before making an offer. Each was 20-30 minutes. I went for the home inspection which took about five hours, and I used the sitting around time to take some measurements for furniture.
Time before that was just one visit. Maybe 30 minutes. We were moving from out of town, so didn’t have time for another visit and we weren’t there for the home inspection either.
The one before that, we made two visits before offering. And only came to the end of the home inspection to get the highlights.
Beyond the home inspection, we’ve never made another visit to the home pre-closing. Except for the final walk through, of course.
Now we are selling our old house, and we have received several offers on the first day. Each potential buyer has only visited once, 30-45 minutes each.
We did one showing with our agent and my mother, who happened to be free that day and came with us. A few days later, we did another showing with both of my parents, my agent, plus a few friends who have previously done trades work to sort of pre-inspect the house. Each showing was probably an hour or so. We were there 4ish hours for the inspection, then we did another visit to measure and take pictures so we could start buying materials, like flooring, paint, window treatments, etc. That visit was probably an hour or two. The house was unoccupied and had been overpriced, so it had sat on the market a very long time, which gave us the luxury of not needing to rush anything, plus good leverage for negotiating down price since we were the only offer. This was in the Minneapolis area in October of 2021, so definitely during the crazy times for most folks in our area.
The person who bought my home last year was there 45 minutes the first time. The next day she was there with family for 30 min and I think she came one other time for 20 min but that may have been after the offer. She was our first showing and bought our house
This so property dependent. I bought average with livestock. We did two separate walkthroughs, each about an hour, an inspection, and a separate visit with owner present to manage the livestock so we could inspect the entire property, which took a lot of time, and a final walkthrough. Probably five hours physically on property from first look to close over the course of several weeks.
Previous house? 30 minutes inside, 30 minutes inspection, 20 minutes final walkthrough.
I'm that buyer though that also flips every switch, turns on every faucet, etc etc etc.
By the time we viewed the house we purchased, we had visited about 15-20 houses. By that time, we knew what we wanted (and didn't want) and we had a good appreciation of what our budget could give us and what was out there. Our wish list was realistic based on supply.
We toured the house and within 30 minutes told the agent we wanted to make an offer.
I knew pulling into the long gravel road in the middle of fields/trees, that I’d make an offer on the place. So long as the house wasn’t falling apart that is. But I was after land specifically, found a place I could afford with 10 acres(typically the price for a place like this is $100-150k higher than I am paying). Figure out what you really want in a house. Don’t let the lack of “upgrades” like granite countertops and stainless appliances keep you from a home(these things will be outdated within a decade anyway). I spent a total of about 60min on site, but knew I’d make an offer before I got out of my vehicle.
We looked at ours twice and made an offer the next day... Probably a little over an hour total time. Then we had two weeks time for inspections and were back in the house for over two hours during that time.
In our area we have a form called “Sellers Property Disclosure”.
Every house I take people to see or see myself has a three step process. 1) View it Online. 2) Read Disclosure. 3) Visit the House.
While the disclosure isn’t an end all be all it does save time with a few houses.
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My wife saw the last two without me.
At least I was at the closing of the past house.
This past one I was at the other side of the world and my wife closed on my behalf with a power of attorney.
So I just spent over a million buying a house that I never saw and personally never signed for.
Now that’s trusting your spouse!
I would tour a home at least 2x before offer, and walk or drive the block and neighborhood 4-5 times at different times of the day to see what it feels like on weekdays, weeknights, weekends, etc. I would also walk or drive from the house to the nearest park, grocery store, library, my office, etc. You can visualize this on google maps if you don’t have the time. Try to talk to neighbors too.
Our area has very little inventory, especially in the neighborhood we wanted to be in. We made an offer after about ten minutes in the house. This is my dream home; there was no way I was going sleep on the offer.
Was there any concern that What appeared to be your dream home after 10 minutes had issues that you were not able to identify in such a brief time? Or was it kind of like, inventory is so low that we'll buy it and we can afford the cost to handle any potential problems that may arise later?
It was a combination of being prepared to take on house projects and the cost associated with them and having an inspection so that if anything truly crazy came up, we could negotiate.
After we locate a house we are interested in these are my steps:
If any step fails we abandon the house.
1. Research house to see if there are any liens, make sure property has water and sewer/septic, any other issues.
2. Wife views house to see if it passes her requirements. She takes a very thorough video.
3. Contact realtor and ask to read all notes and disclosures.
4. I view house and do a preliminary inspection. Chat with neighbors.
5. Make an offer and try to get in contract.
6, Final, More thorough inspection, with or without professionals. This is usually the last time I will view it.
All said and done, we may spend up to 4 to 6 hours with a house before we buy, depending on how involved inspections are.
That may have worked in your area in the past - but it's completely unrealistic in many markets right now.
Lein search is done during title work while the house is under contract. Title insurance covers future leins for you - and Seller must provide clear title, which means all leins must be cleared by the seller one way or another - via their title insurance and/or payoffs.
Well and Septic are done during the time that the house is under contract - Some areas even require sellers to pay for those inspections, and they must be done within the 30 day closing timeframe.
Inspections are done within a given timeframe while the house is under contract.
In my market many times you have to make an offer sight unseen. A lot of houses by me are sold before they hit the market or sold within hours/days of hitting the market. Most don’t even need to do an open house.
In all of mine I knew within 5 minutes
Depends on how hot the market is, whether you get a chance for a second viewing before making an offer. I’ve offered on several houses after one 30-40 minute viewing. When my offer has been successful, I’ve shown up for the inspection and had another look around while the inspector does their thing, then the inspector walks me through any areas of concern.
How much time at the house did you spend at the inspection visit? Was that an opportunity to further negotiate or even walk away if you or the inspector discovered serious enough issues?
Once the inspection report is out, that can be an opportunity to adjust price or even cancel the contract (if the contract specifies the sale is subject to inspection)
Experiences may vary and I had a slightly lax experience as the place I purchased was uninhabited at the time (so lax they let me use the garage for several weeks ahead of close). In my case, the inspector did an initial inspection for about an hour, then spent a little under an hour walking and talking me through what he found. I then had quite a soft end time of when I had to leave, but my realtor had to stay with me and lock up after. Owners were not present at the inspection, any negotiations based on findings would have not been in person or at the property. Overall, I'd say I spent roughly 30 minutes in the place before making an offer and 2 hours in the place between having my offer accepted and closing.
Your inspection time should absolutely be more time for you to be present and you should be sure the contract you present to sellers includes provision that you may walk away during inspection period for any reason and will get your earnest money back. Aim for minimum 2 weeks inspection period.
What do you mean by inspection period?
your contract should include a period of time during which you can have various experts inspect the home for problems. your contract should stipulate that you may break the contract if unacceptable (to you) conditions are found in the home during that time. you may also negotiate during this time for repairs. negotiations can look like a lot of different things. it can be a price cut. it can be the sellers paying for all or part of repairs. it can be an insurance claim made by the seller on their insurance. your realtor should be talking you through all of this.
In my market you have one visit to decide and need to put in your offer, well above list, by the end of the day. I've lost out on 4 houses, each one we saw once, each one we offered $30k + over asking, with a traditional mortgage.
Yikes. What market is that? Did you finally get one?
Nope. Westchester NY. It's probably not gonna happen for us, we are competing with people who are buying their weekend (or second weekend) home and have the cash to pay like a million upfront and we just don't.
Unfortunately that is our market as well (close enough). What are you doing in the meantime?
We have a house, it's just really, really small - like an apartment-level small. We are just waiting honestly, looking at what we can and trying to not get caught up in paying more than we can really afford. Are you renting right now?
Yup
Also to answer your question a bit further, you would visit again during the inspection (unless you waived it, don't). Once you're in contract you could reach out about visiting more to measure and such if you'd like.
The first house we bought, we did one viewing (30 minutes) and knew it was “our house” after 9 months of searching. Our offer went in the next day. We also had hours during the inspection. Our current house, we viewed once and made an offer the same day after months of remote viewings. We were not present for the inspection. Before our current house, we put an offer on a house that we only viewed remotely and backed out when we visited for the inspection.
That is so helpful to see someone who has the range of experiences. What were the issues with the inspection that were bad enough to make you to back out?
We already knew that the house was smaller than we liked but there was a large outbuilding that could have been used as an extra family/game room and/or office. Turned out that not only was it unpermitted (which was common in an area populated by grow houses, lol), but clearly violated a bunch of zoning laws and would have cost a bundle to take down. So we walked away and, that same evening, a new listing popped up. We were the first to view it the next morning and we are living in it now. So it all really turned out for the best.
Under contract now and we saw the house once on a private showing. Maybe 30 mins? Offered on it after that. Then did inspection which was about 2 hours, but prob could have stayed longer if need be. Then we will do final walk and close. We offered on 6 other houses just with an open house viewing. We live in a hot market and you dont really get a chance for multiple viewings.
Saw a house for 30min and made an offer from their living room at 8:45pm before they had a chance to sign another irrevocable offer at 9pm. If you have seen enough houses and know what to look for in the walk through, go for it!
Ha! Imagine getting to take time before deciding. If you haven’t decided before you leave the house here you have no chance, hell if you dont make the offer while in the house you probably have no chance. Unless youre in a randomly very dead market if youre indecisive you will never get a house unless youre buying one thats way over market value.
You still get to back out though if your inspection discovers something bad enough, no?
Yes, assuming your realtor is writing the contract in this way. Have them go over it with you and explain things. Don't be worried about how many questions you have either.
Of course. Get yourself a realtor, its free theyll talk you through this stuff since you are obviously a first time buyer with that question. Inspection is there to go through the house for you, viewing a home is rarely a time for you to look for issues yourself as most people have no idea what to actually look for. You can back out, change offers, ask for credits, all after. Seriously if youve never done this before and dont know how to buy a house a realtor needs to be your first step.
An experienced full time realtor and not someone who does it as a side job.
I made an offer without my then husband seeing it by the time I hit the top floor of my five story NYC brownstone. Best decision I ever made
Im an architect and I always know very quickly - on the first visit Im usually 90% sure. My last one - I had been looking a while, like three years, but could never find the right one. I saw this one pop up on the market. Loved the location. House was rough, one owner for 40 years, which was ideal for me. A friend even sent me a text about it because he knew it was just what we wanted. They had an open house I went to when my partner was at work - then called my realtor to set up a showing for both of us. Made an offer right after the showing. Once we got under contract I spent a lot more time there learning the house and all of its issues, which I knew it would have. Current house I bought at the end of 2022. The market was terrible - nothing on the market, and what was out there was overpriced garbage homes. I had given up and was in a rental. A realtor called me out of the blue about a pocket listing - an unfinished modern, custom new build about 70% complete - a shell more or less. He described the location and I knew exactly which house it was. He told me what the owner wanted and I knew it would work financially. I went to see it with him the next morning and made an offer. She didn’t even counter she just accepted.
This is really going to be market and place-in-life dependent. Really there's no right amount of time. Myself for example as a FTHB I was buying close to the bottom of the market, that meant old lower quality homes. Basically buying the same cheap shitty rentals I have been doing all my life. So I knew what to expect. Spending hours agonizing over the peeling paint on the fascia and having a roofer and a painter come check everything out is pointless. (I was remote in Alaska) I had my realtor do a video walkthrough, I had an inspector come out, had a single follow up specialty inspection (structural), did an in person walkthrough for about 15 minutes, did final walk through day of closing. I probably had inspectors in the house for a total of 2 hours, and I was personally in the house for about an hour before everything was closed. Now, my next home that I plan to roll equity into, I will want to buy with far fewer projects baked in, I will be at least one step up the property ladder so I will expect more from the place. I will be in a much stronger buying position, so things like negotiating repairs I expect will take a lot longer.
We sort of had to move quickly and we also just knew this house for us. It took us 1 time to look at the house and thought about it for a whole day then gave the EM and signed the purchase contract.
Did you visit more times before closing?( I hope that question makes sense- still trying to wrap my head around the entire buying process)
We did a final walk through and I constantly looked at pics of it online.
One and done. Knew the neighborhood we wanted to live in, what our budget was and what we wanted in a house. We were pre-approved and I was acting as my own realtor. I went to see the house, it was a new construction and not completed yet, told my husband I loved it and we put down the down payment the next day.
Saw a house at 7:00 pm and made an offer the next morning at 10:00 am that was accepted.
27 years ago my husband wanted to look at some new model homes for design ideas on the other side of town in a semi rural area. I did not, I liked where we lived and the new place was in the boonies, hot and dusty. I was bored so I went along with him anyhow. An hour and a half later we were signing papers. I love this place and the friends I’ve made here. Best impulse buy ever. Sometimes you just know right away.
We spent probably 10 minutes in it and just knew. We are moving from out of state so we won’t see it again (aside from two other drive bys in the evening and weekend to check the neighborhood out) until we close.
Both of our house purchases (first in 2020 and second in 2024) we saw the property and decided to make an offer then and there. Time spent on the property to tour with our realtor around 30 minutes, confirmed we wanted to put an offer in with our realtor before leaving the property, offer submitted within a few hours. Both times we revisited the property during the inspection process to review with our inspector and realtor. But yes, in our particular market, viewing to offer has happened in a very short (hours) amount of time.
Saw the house once. Knew right away it was the one, but still went to see the second house we had scheduled to see that day. It was no contest, the first house was hands down the better house and we loved it. We said we wanted to make an offer on the first house and our realtor said to wait a day, they were going to lower the price. The next day they lowered the price and we put in a full price offer which they accepted. We got the house. When ya know, you know.
First house? One showing, probably 30 minutes. It was a wreck from (non-paying) renters who were difficult about allowing people in, but it was enough to see the good bones of the house, and the price was right. Second house? Hours! I had went to 2 showings, the owners were out of state for a while so I was allowed plenty of time to walk around. After making the offer, I was there for the lengthy inspection, and met with the sellers several times. It was a unique historic home, I was thrilled to find it, and they were thrilled to find someone who loved it like they did.
Lol it is market dependent. I did a single appointment about a day after it was listed, put the offer in a couple days later. But I have done plenty of house searching, so I knew what to look for and what I could skip out on, etc etc.
We had 2 viewings before we offered, one inspection with us present, and a 3rd viewing after offer accepted for measurements taking. That was in 2021 though.
I visited one time for about 20 minutes.
We did one showing with our agent and my mother, who happened to be free that day and came with us. A few days later, we did another showing with both of my parents, my agent, plus a few friends who have previously done trades work to sort of pre-inspect the house. Each showing was probably an hour or so. We were there 4ish hours for the inspection, then we did another visit to measure and take pictures so we could start buying materials, like flooring, paint, window treatments, etc. That visit was probably an hour or two. The house was unoccupied and had been overpriced, so it had sat on the market a very long time, which gave us the luxury of not needing to rush anything, plus good leverage for negotiating down price since we were the only offer. This was in the Minneapolis area in October of 2021, so definitely during the crazy times for most folks in our area.
Currently in the process of purchasing a home. Our first time going to the house we spent an hour, maybe a little longer looking the place over. We made an offer later that afternoon and had paper work signed by end of that same day. Went back for the inspection and were there for 2-3 hours that day. Inspection showed small issues with the roof which were expected since the roof is 20 years old. We had a company quote us for repairs/replacement and were there for about an hour that day. We’ve spent about 5 hours total in or around the house from first look (end of May) til now. Set to close beginning of Aug.
I bought both of my homes before things turned upside down in 2021/22 so keep that in mind. With my first, I went to an open house (15 minutes) and then did two follow up walk throughs (maybe 15 minutes and 30 minutes) then an inspection (maybe an hour) and a final walk through (15 minutes). So I’d guess less than two hours total. The second was an open house (15 minutes) and then inspection (probably two hours, bigger house) then final walk through (15 minutes). I’m not sure what more we could’ve learned or done or noticed with more time.
30 minutes for the initial viewing for me. But like someone else mentioned, if you have an inspection contingency, that usually gives you another opportunity to spend time on the property before things begin to finalize. The inspection for my condo took about two and half hours. It's a good time to bring a tape measurer and jot down some notes.
We’ve been all over the board on this one. Most recent purchase, we made two visits before making an offer. Each was 20-30 minutes. I went for the home inspection which took about five hours, and I used the sitting around time to take some measurements for furniture. Time before that was just one visit. Maybe 30 minutes. We were moving from out of town, so didn’t have time for another visit and we weren’t there for the home inspection either. The one before that, we made two visits before offering. And only came to the end of the home inspection to get the highlights. Beyond the home inspection, we’ve never made another visit to the home pre-closing. Except for the final walk through, of course. Now we are selling our old house, and we have received several offers on the first day. Each potential buyer has only visited once, 30-45 minutes each.
We did one showing with our agent and my mother, who happened to be free that day and came with us. A few days later, we did another showing with both of my parents, my agent, plus a few friends who have previously done trades work to sort of pre-inspect the house. Each showing was probably an hour or so. We were there 4ish hours for the inspection, then we did another visit to measure and take pictures so we could start buying materials, like flooring, paint, window treatments, etc. That visit was probably an hour or two. The house was unoccupied and had been overpriced, so it had sat on the market a very long time, which gave us the luxury of not needing to rush anything, plus good leverage for negotiating down price since we were the only offer. This was in the Minneapolis area in October of 2021, so definitely during the crazy times for most folks in our area.
We bought in 2021 - toured the house in the evening and made an offer the next afternoon. It was a long night.
The person who bought my home last year was there 45 minutes the first time. The next day she was there with family for 30 min and I think she came one other time for 20 min but that may have been after the offer. She was our first showing and bought our house
House bought in 2017, we knew we liked it as we drove up the driveway
This so property dependent. I bought average with livestock. We did two separate walkthroughs, each about an hour, an inspection, and a separate visit with owner present to manage the livestock so we could inspect the entire property, which took a lot of time, and a final walkthrough. Probably five hours physically on property from first look to close over the course of several weeks. Previous house? 30 minutes inside, 30 minutes inspection, 20 minutes final walkthrough. I'm that buyer though that also flips every switch, turns on every faucet, etc etc etc.
I had 30 minutes to see it and offers were due within 6 hours of when I saw it ( hot market here with multiple offers on almost every house)
By the time we viewed the house we purchased, we had visited about 15-20 houses. By that time, we knew what we wanted (and didn't want) and we had a good appreciation of what our budget could give us and what was out there. Our wish list was realistic based on supply. We toured the house and within 30 minutes told the agent we wanted to make an offer.
Took us about 20 minutes to decide. We only saw four houses but once we saw the yard we were in love.
I knew pulling into the long gravel road in the middle of fields/trees, that I’d make an offer on the place. So long as the house wasn’t falling apart that is. But I was after land specifically, found a place I could afford with 10 acres(typically the price for a place like this is $100-150k higher than I am paying). Figure out what you really want in a house. Don’t let the lack of “upgrades” like granite countertops and stainless appliances keep you from a home(these things will be outdated within a decade anyway). I spent a total of about 60min on site, but knew I’d make an offer before I got out of my vehicle.
We looked at ours twice and made an offer the next day... Probably a little over an hour total time. Then we had two weeks time for inspections and were back in the house for over two hours during that time.
I’m in New Hampshire. I saw a great house last Sunday afternoon, submitted an offer Monday morning, offer accepted Monday afternoon.
In our area we have a form called “Sellers Property Disclosure”. Every house I take people to see or see myself has a three step process. 1) View it Online. 2) Read Disclosure. 3) Visit the House. While the disclosure isn’t an end all be all it does save time with a few houses.
1.5 days from when I first saw it to offer. I vetted it first and then my husband went after.
0 My wife saw the last two without me. At least I was at the closing of the past house. This past one I was at the other side of the world and my wife closed on my behalf with a power of attorney. So I just spent over a million buying a house that I never saw and personally never signed for. Now that’s trusting your spouse!
I went to an open house for like 20 minutes and knew. Put in an offer the next day
Twice and a total of about 40 minutes. We have bee in 2 years and love it so much.
I would tour a home at least 2x before offer, and walk or drive the block and neighborhood 4-5 times at different times of the day to see what it feels like on weekdays, weeknights, weekends, etc. I would also walk or drive from the house to the nearest park, grocery store, library, my office, etc. You can visualize this on google maps if you don’t have the time. Try to talk to neighbors too.
Our area has very little inventory, especially in the neighborhood we wanted to be in. We made an offer after about ten minutes in the house. This is my dream home; there was no way I was going sleep on the offer.
Was there any concern that What appeared to be your dream home after 10 minutes had issues that you were not able to identify in such a brief time? Or was it kind of like, inventory is so low that we'll buy it and we can afford the cost to handle any potential problems that may arise later?
It was a combination of being prepared to take on house projects and the cost associated with them and having an inspection so that if anything truly crazy came up, we could negotiate.
that makes a lot of sense
After we locate a house we are interested in these are my steps: If any step fails we abandon the house. 1. Research house to see if there are any liens, make sure property has water and sewer/septic, any other issues. 2. Wife views house to see if it passes her requirements. She takes a very thorough video. 3. Contact realtor and ask to read all notes and disclosures. 4. I view house and do a preliminary inspection. Chat with neighbors. 5. Make an offer and try to get in contract. 6, Final, More thorough inspection, with or without professionals. This is usually the last time I will view it. All said and done, we may spend up to 4 to 6 hours with a house before we buy, depending on how involved inspections are.
That may have worked in your area in the past - but it's completely unrealistic in many markets right now. Lein search is done during title work while the house is under contract. Title insurance covers future leins for you - and Seller must provide clear title, which means all leins must be cleared by the seller one way or another - via their title insurance and/or payoffs. Well and Septic are done during the time that the house is under contract - Some areas even require sellers to pay for those inspections, and they must be done within the 30 day closing timeframe. Inspections are done within a given timeframe while the house is under contract.
In my market many times you have to make an offer sight unseen. A lot of houses by me are sold before they hit the market or sold within hours/days of hitting the market. Most don’t even need to do an open house.
Open houses are useless anyway.