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Aside from photos and the type of home you seek out - What tends to capture your attention when scrolling through tons of listings?
I tend to find myself paying most attention to the photos, numbers, and the information of a homes surrounding area. I also like listings with decent amount of information.
Some hardly say much of anything. I tend to pass on those quickly even if the photos are capturing.
What about you guys? Does anyone here even read property descriptions or gain interest in a home by this?
I think you're approaching the whole thing backwards.
The la dee dah verbiage and pretty photo's are for the seller as they attempt to sell a "home".
You're the buyer... focus on the steak as you go about buying a "house". Ignore the sizzle.
And I'll assume you've been to your bank to be pre-qualified, have adequate CASH available,
and are comfortable buying at well less $$ than what they're willing to lend you.
I understand all that "sizzle" as you call it is for the seller to help "sell" the home.
I wanted to know the thoughts on those things from others who are in the market looking at homes.
As to your questions, I'm not particularly looking to buy a home - I am browsing listings to get a feel for what the market is like, what it's like to search for a home, and sort of gather that basic understanding in learning what to look for.
You have so many sites with tons of listings and information thrown at you. I was curious to what other home seekers look at or what information from these listings captures their attention to call an agent or see the home.
It's interesting you call it sizzle and to sort of ignore that... Then what do you consider the steak and potatoes to pay attention to?
I mean I understand that some of these listings have like this shiny object marketing sort of thing going on lol - but it peaked my interest.
Recently I was talking to a buddy of mine and he shared what he tends to look at most when browsing listings to schedule a visit. For him - it was basically any information regarding numbers (HOA costs, taxes etc), quality of the photos, background of the agent (experience), and of course the obvious features that he's looking for.
I think the criteria changes depending on your financial situation and what you plan to do with the house, live in it full time, is it a vacation home, or is it a rental investment. When we bought our first home the price and taxes were most important. When we bought our second house location, property size, taxes, then price.
Our most recent home which started out as a vacation home and became our permanent home it was location, house size, price, carrying costs. As we got older and could afford more, price and carrying cost became second to what I wanted where I wanted.
Currently considering a smaller northern summer home and I look at the pictures backwards. I look for view, location, and amenities. Those are always last in the listing. I can upgrade anything in the house. I can't change the location.
I think the criteria changes depending on your financial situation and what you plan to do with the house, live in it full time, is it a vacation home, or is it a rental investment. When we bought our first home the price and taxes were most important. When we bought our second house location, property size, taxes, then price.
Our most recent home which started out as a vacation home and became our permanent home it was location, house size, price, carrying costs. As we got older and could afford more, price and carrying cost became second to what I wanted where I wanted.
Currently considering a smaller northern summer home and I look at the pictures backwards. I look for view, location, and amenities. Those are always last in the listing. I can upgrade anything in the house. I can't change the location.
Makes sense for sure. I definitely see where you're coming from in that taste or desires can change based on certain factors over the years.
I sort of think listings are comical when scrolling through. Sometimes you catch a really nice or decent looking home, has the amenities or bedrooms/bath you are looking for, but is extremely vague in description or listed features that they share with you.
Then you see listings with tons of features and a variety of descriptions.
I do notice and often think to myself, why is there a description section if most are basically writing out the features that are listed further down the page? I really don't understand what the point of it is for. Kind of gives you a weird impression on the listed realtor -
Do they create these listings or to home owners selling the property create them?
Where up north are you looking to go for your summer home? Depending on where you look, you can probably find some really nice land to go with it or be surrounded by some amazing outdoor spots (woods, lakes, farms).
I do love homes with lots of detailed listings and pictures of each room. Measurements are a bonus.
Honestly I’m looking for homes that are very clean and well cared for. Don’t care if the carpet and cabinets are original (I don’t mind a time capsule) but what about a well maintained furnace or newer roof and windows? Someone who has spent on the home systems and worked to maintain the property is a much bigger eye catcher to me. I’m wary of flips and renos, on the other hand, because so many have shoddy work and cheap finishes to the exclusion of the unsexy-but-crucial bones of the home.
Aside from photos and the type of home you seek out - What tends to capture your attention when scrolling through tons of listings?
I tend to find myself paying most attention to the photos, numbers, and the information of a homes surrounding area. I also like listings with decent amount of information.
Some hardly say much of anything. I tend to pass on those quickly even if the photos are capturing.
What about you guys? Does anyone here even read property descriptions or gain interest in a home by this?
I don't even start looking until I have prioritized specific things up front:
Where I prefer to live.
The deal breakers in the house or property itself: how the house sits on the acreage, views, light, impressions of the neighbors, garage, number of bedrooms (for an office, library, studio, etc), usable size of rooms, some specific needs in the main living room (I have a large indoor aviary to accommodate), etc.
How much I am comfortable spending.
Only if a house meets these do I start paying attention to listings. It eliminates so many options that won't be worth the time or energy to look at or those that might confuse the whole issue. The last realtor I used commented that I was pretty easy to work with. I had a clear idea what I wanted and didn't get distracted, but the wants weren't outrageous, they were attainable. She also commented how common it was that buyers really had no clue what they wanted in a house. I can't imagine shopping that way.
I don't even start looking until I have prioritized specific things up front:
Where I prefer to live.
The deal breakers in the house or property itself: how the house sits on the acreage, views, light, impressions of the neighbors, garage, number of bedrooms (for an office, library, studio, etc), usable size of rooms, some specific needs in the main living room (I have a large indoor aviary to accommodate), etc.
How much I am comfortable spending.
Only if a house meets these do I start paying attention to listings. It eliminates so many options that won't be worth the time or energy to look at or those that might confuse the whole issue. The last realtor I used commented that I was pretty easy to work with. I had a clear idea what I wanted and didn't get distracted, but the wants weren't outrageous, they were attainable. She also commented how common it was that buyers really had no clue what they wanted in a house. I can't imagine shopping that way.
You make some really good points.
How you search for a home and your method has also opened my eyes in what to consider firsthand.
That's a pretty scary thought how many seek without fully having a clue of what they want or are looking for. This is the biggest investment for majority of people to be made and a single mistake can cause a domino effect of problems.
Do they create these listings or to home owners selling the property create them? Both. I've created some and I've had realtors create some.
Where up north are you looking to go for your summer home? Depending on where you look, you can probably find some really nice land to go with it or be surrounded by some amazing outdoor spots (woods, lakes, farms). Haven't totally narrowed it down yet. One possibility is Delaware shore. I have a sister in south Jersey and Del. property taxes are next to nothing. However, since we live in FL near the beach, husband is more interested in mountains with a view, so also looking at eastern TN.
Apparently, I can't just answer without adding text past quote, so here's more text to make the system happy.
The answer is every one is different. I think photos are most important, then details, then description.
I am not a floor plan reader, I want to see how the house “feels” in the space.
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