Can I look at houses if I'm not pre-approved/no realtor?

tiffheater · November 2013

So, we are not pre-approved yet. We are paying off debt, and should be done with it in the next month or so. But, we've been looking at homes and trying to narrow down where we want to live. Looking includes driving by and snubbing our noses at houses we can afford: that are falling down, in bad neighborhoods, or across the street from hideous commercial sites.

I finally found a house I love and have been chatting a bit with the real estate agent showing. I want to go see the house, but is it ok that we are not pre-approved yet? And we don't have a realtor. I'm just excited and want to look inside! I have not been to a house showing yet, what can I expect? What do I keep my mouth shut about?

iteachkids81 · November 2013

maybe start by going to a few open houses? We are just in the process of buying our first house now (we close in a few weeks!) but we started looking at open houses a few years back.

I find that going to open houses helped us decide right away what some of our must haves were-- I absolutely must have a driveway, which was something I never thought to put on my list until I looked at houses that didn't have one.

Plus open houses can be a great way to meet a realtor. If you hit it off with a realtor from an open house you can tell them the criteria you want in a house and they can send you listings to homes that fit.

During a regular house showing, 99% of the time the owners aren't home (we went to one showing where the owners were there, but they just hung out in the yard while we looked around)

Basically the realtor will let you in and you can just walk around from room to room. If they have any details to tell you about (new furnace, new roof, gas fireplace, etc) they will share the info, otherwise you basically get to tour the home yourselves. Open all the closets see how big they are, you can flick light switches to see if they work, turn on the water, etc. You want to look beyond first impressions.

If there are things you don't like about the house you can tell your realtor and they can adjust what they send you to look at based on that feedback.

Also- I highly suggest looking online on Zillow or Trulia-they have a ton of listings you can narrow down by room#, prices, school district, etc. Just be careful because sometimes the listings stay up even after they are in contract. I would also ask friends, coworkers, family etc to recommend their realtors. The realtors have access to the main listing sites, so if you found a house you really liked online they could tell you if it was still for sale or not, and they could also find you other homes you hadn't thought of.

Best of luck.

juliebeannn · November 2013

I agree with PP about the open houses. DH and I are hoping to buy next summer and have been going to open houses the last month or two to get a feel on what kind of house our budget will get us and narrowing down or adding to our "must-have" list. The open houses have also been helping a lot with getting to know the neighborhood and realtors that tend to specialize in certain towns.

juliebeannn · November 2013

I agree with PP about the open houses. DH and I are hoping to buy next summer and have been going to open houses the last month or two to get a feel on what kind of house our budget will get us and narrowing down or adding to our "must-have" list. The open houses have also been helping a lot with getting to know the neighborhood and realtors that tend to specialize in certain towns.

MommyLiberty5013 · November 2013

As someone who has been a seller, it is exceptionally difficult to keep a home in "showing" order for long periods of time while you're living there. Cleaning. Organizing. Decluttering. If I found out my REA showed my home to someone who wasn't even approved for a loan and I had to haul my kids, the dog out and clean 3 toilets before you came, I would be VERY annoyed.

If you are not totally "ready" to buy, it isn't considered polite to look at homes individually with an REA. Now, you CAN and should go to open houses - the seller anticipates that some people will be browsing.

But don't visit homes in a private showing setting without being what's called a "serious buyer," which means you are prepared to make an offer (if you like the house) and have financing lined up it isn't fair to the sellers (who make efforts and get their hopes up or to REAs who's time is very valuable).

Janessadawn · November 2013

Can you? Yes, I suppose so--you can just call up the selling agent and request a showing with them, but there's a big difference between can and should. Sometimes, if you ask a selling agent to show you a home, you're obligated to work with them if you decide to purchase that home. You want to have your own agent because you need someone to be your advocate. Also, you don't want to fall in love with a home before you're preapproved.

GeorgiaRiah · November 2013

Why would you want to go look at houses when you are not ready to buy? You need to wait until you are ready and approved for a loan. I agree with the poster above on how much work goes in just to show the home.

tiffheater · November 2013

Thanks for all the tips everyone! We actually hired a real estate agent yesterday, and ended up having to cancel with the other agent. I thought I was talking to the selling agent, but it was just an agent trying to get my business.

The house was beautiful, but the wooded yard wouldn't work for growing a vegetable garden, and the slope of the long driveway would have been incredibly dangerous in the snow.

I am excited to be working with an agent now. They know what we want, and hopefully they will be able to find homes that were not on our radar. Wish us luck!

tiffheater · November 2013

Thanks for your honesty! I would never use a stranger's toilet while I was just checking it out! The house turned out to be winterized and unoccupied anyway, but I appreciate the sellers perspective.

Can I look at houses if I'm not pre-approved/no realtor?

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