In last week’s blog post, we shared with you five tips about how to prepare for an open house if you are selling your home. It is just as important to prepare for an open house if you’re a buyer. Here are four additional tips from a few Long & Foster agents.

Tips for Home Buyers

If you’re interested in buying a home, open houses are a great opportunity for you to find what you’re looking for. Here are a few things you should consider before attending open houses.

1. Look within your price point. It is important to be realistic and attend open houses of homes that are within your price point, recommends Carolyn White, a real estate agent in Long & Foster’s Triad office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. You don’t want to waste your time getting excited over a home you cannot afford.

2. Get preapproved. All buyers who are looking for a home should have a pre-approval in hand. “If you fall in love with a home while attending an open house and you’re preapproved, you are in a great position to move forward,” said Lisa Leven Kahn, a real estate agent in Long & Foster’s Haverford, Pennsylvania, office. You can get a step ahead with the Prosperity Buyer Advantage – a complimentary pre-approval that provides you with a commitment letter, setting you aside from the competition.

3. Ask questions and take notes. Attending open houses is a great opportunity to get out there and get educated, according to Gary Ditto, a real estate agent in Long & Foster’s Bethesda Gateway office in Bethesda, Maryland. What did you like? What did you dislike? Take notes, so you can learn from each open house you attend.

4. Don’t make the mistake of missing an open house because you’re not ready to purchase. You are welcome at an open house at any stage of the buying process. Whether you are just beginning to look or you are a serious buyer, you are encouraged to attend open houses, suggests Debban Dodrill, a real estate agent in Long & Foster’s Reston, Virginia, office.

Buying a new home is an exciting phase in life. Be sure to work with your local real estate agent to help you walk through the homebuying process from shopping around to closing.

“It’s simple – find something you love and be prepared to get it,” said Andy Alderdice, a real estate agent in Long & Foster’s Bethesda All Points office in Bethesda, Maryland.