Useful Items To Take When You Attend An Open House

Attending an open house gives you the chance to see how the home you've been looking at online feels in person — and if it might be worth putting an offer on. It's a good idea to prepare before you visit homes for sale. When you walk through the doors, it can be easy to get a little overwhelmed with your new surroundings, but the proper preparation in advance can ensure that you make the most out of your visit. Here are a handful of useful items to take when you attend the open house.

Tape Measure

The information packet available to people attending the open house typically includes a set of floor plans and details about the home, but it's a good idea to take a tape measure with you. You won't necessarily have to measure the size of the rooms — these details will be clearly laid out in the info packet — but the tape measure can come in handy in other ways. For example, if you have certain furniture, you can measure it in advance and then use your tape measure to estimate how the furniture would fit and look in the new home.

Camera

If you have a smartphone with a camera, carry it into the open house with you; if you don't have a smartphone, take a small digital camera. Snapping some photos can be useful if you're serious about making an offer on the home. While there are a number of photos in the online listing that you can browse, there might be something that isn't pictured that you'd like to document to look at later on. It's courteous to get the listing real estate agent's consent before you take photos in the home, however.

List of Questions

When you browse the listing in the days leading up to the open house, it's probable that some questions will come up. It's worthwhile to write these down on a sheet of paper that you can take to the open house with you. You'll have an opportunity to talk extensively with the listing real estate agent, and having a list of questions handy will make it easy to get the answers you want — instead of forgetting some of your questions and having to call the agent after the open house. For example, if you're curious about the heating bill for the home, write it down and make sure to bring it up at the open house.