Do:
- Be mindful of your shoes. If the seller requests you remove your shoes, please respect that. If not, be sure to wipe your feet before you enter the house. You want to be sure not to traipse water, mud, salt, or snow through someone’s home.
- It’s ok to look closely and open closets, but don’t touch the seller’s personal belongings. Don’t rifle through any dressers or furniture that isn’t being sold with the home.
- It’s ok to open the fridge and other appliances if they are being sold with the home, but don’t help yourself to any food or drink. (And yes, this has happened.)
- If you’re house hunting with your kids, keep a close eye on them. Don’t leave them unsupervised and help them understand what is ok and not ok to touch and explore.
- In the unlikely event that the sellers are home, greet them with a smile and avoid asking them direct questions about the home or why they’re moving.
- If you’re buying a condo, make sure to check out the shared facilities, parking and locker. Your agent might have to sweet-talk the concierge to get access.
- Leave the home exactly as you found it. If the lights were on, leave them on. If they were off, turn them off. Be sure the agent locks all of the doors that were locked.
- Be respectful with requests for showing times. 10 am to 8 pm is fairly standard. Early morning and late night showings aren’t generally appreciated by the seller.
Don’t:
- Cancel a showing last-minute. The Seller has likely gone to a lot of effort to prepare the home for you and made plans to leave it so you can explore at your leisure. If you need to cancel, give plenty of advance warning.
- Say anything that you wouldn’t want the seller to hear, including your motivations, budget, or how much you like/hate the home.
- Mock the seller’s decor or take pictures of their personal belongings to share on social media. They’ve let you into their home and deserve respect.
- Lay on their bed. Jump on their bed. Sit on their couch. You’re there to see the home, not test out their furniture.
- Bring your dog to a showing. If you can’t leave them at home, leave them in the car (obviously not in extreme temperatures).
- Use the bathroom. If you absolutely must, make sure you leave it in the same condition it was in when you arrived. But try to avoid using their bathrooms and visit a coffee shop instead.
- Forget anything in the home. That includes coats, umbrellas, sweaters, phones and tablets. It’s their home – don’t get too comfortable.
- Wear heavy perfumes or cologne or decide to eat your tuna sandwich in someone else’s home. Smells linger.
- Go to a showing without your agent present. If your agent gives you the lockbox code, that’s a huge no-no and they could lose their license. Get a new agent.
- Smoke in their driveway or in their backyard.
- In short: Don’t do anything in the Seller’s house that you wouldn’t be comfortable with a stranger doing in yours.