My wife and I have been known to watch a fair bit of television together. Although we share a love of many of the same shows (Twin Peaks, The Mighty Boosh, ...to name a few) our viewing habits are different. She’s happy to sit through marathon sessions of back-to-back-to-back episodes, whereas I like to spread mine out.
When it comes to a show like Mad Men for example, I want time to digest what I’ve seen and let it sink in before moving on. In my opinion, cramming a bunch of episodes in all at once just muddies the experience.
I think the same can be said for viewing properties.
When I'm out with buyer clients I generally like to schedule no more than 4 or 5 homes for us to see. Anything more than that and it can become a bit of a blur.
The most homes I've ever shown a client on one outing is 10. By the end of the tour their heads were spinning and they couldn't remember which house was which. Yes, we took notes and had the listings to refer back to. But it's still difficult to keep them separate in your mind. You inevitably remember one house as having the kitchen that was actually part of another house, etc. The details just blend together.
Houses usually aren't as bad as condos though.
With each house you're driving to a different area. Each has their own yard, their own their exterior, their own unique layout and feel, etc.
Condos on the other hand can be more difficult to differentiate. And it doesn't help that you can often view more condos than houses in the same amount of time. Especially when they're all located within just a few surrounding buildings.
I know that it's tempting to stuff the itinerary with as many viewings as possible. Especially when our lives are so busy already and we're looking for ways to maximize the free time we do have. Shopping for a home is a big deal though.
I would suggest that quality, not quantity, is what you want when touring homes of interest. Work with your realtor to select a handful of real contenders to view and you'll be better off for it.
Happy hunting!
If you’re thinking of making a move and would like to know how I can help, feel free to contact me for more info.