Congrats! You’re ready to buy a new home! You have your mortgage pre-approval letter and 8 showings scheduled for this weekend! But before you head out, do you know how to behave when looking at homes?
There’s a fine line between being an interested buyer thoroughly investigating a home and a creepy peeper.
To help you stay on the right side of that fine line and avoid creepy peeper status, here are a few key etiquette tips for house hunting in Chicago and around the country:
Using the bathroom
It’s always best to avoid this, but chances are somebody will have to go. If you bring the kids, probably a #2 at every single home.
If the home is vacant, it’s no big deal. Just give it a practice flush first. You do not want to discover after the fact that the plumbing is shut off.
If someone is living there, you treat that bathroom like a crime scene. Coming home to discover a stranger used your toilet is devastating for germophobes like me, so there can be no evidence. Especially if you want these people to sell you their house.
Wearing shoes in the house
It doesn’t matter if the ground outside is dry today, it’s also covered with invisible traces of fecal matter - and so are your shoes. You don’t want to drag that through the house you might soon live in, do you? Just take your shoes off or slide on some booties.
The only exceptions to this rule are if the floors look like they’re already covered in fecal matter or you’re a baby wearing those cute tiny useless baby shoes.
Making yourself at home
It’s totally understandable that you want to get a feel for what it’s like to live in a home, but there are boundaries.
Most importantly, beds are off limits! Do not sit on them let alone lie down. I know it’s tempting and you’re tired from all those showings, but would you want some weirdo snuggling up in your bed? Don’t be a weirdo.
Sitting on a couch is OK, but only for a quick rest. NO watching TV. No fixing yourself a snack. No making coffee. No trying out the hot tub.
Looking inside of things
If it comes with the house, it’s generally OK to peek inside. Though it may feel dirty, opening medicine cabinets, kitchen cabinets, refrigerators and even bedroom closets is totally acceptable. Hopefully it goes without saying that trying on clothes is a no-no.
Dressers, armoires or any other piece of furniture are strictly in the no-open zone. There’s no socially acceptable reason to open a stranger’s underwear drawer.
Any questions or house hunting etiquette tips I may have missed? Do tell by clicking COMMENT below!
