What Should You Bring Along To A Kelowna Real Estate Showing?

You’ve been eagerly awaiting the day. You’ve done all your market and neighbourhood research and with the help of your REALTOR® you’ve managed to arrange a full day of touring prospective homes and Kelowna neighbourhoods in search of the perfect new home for you and your family.

In preparation for hitting the streets of Kelowna we wanted to give you some tips on what you should bring along with you to showings, what to consider leaving behind and how to stay organized when the homes you view all seem like they’re blending together into a blur of carrera marble and oak flooring.

Pack A Bag

Just like heading to the beach at City Park for Canada Day, you will want to pack a bag in order to stay organized for your day of showings. Your real estate agent will likely plan your home tour route based on availability and location, but it will be up to you to stay organized. We suggest the following for your home tour “away” bag: camera, phone, chargers for both, notebook, pen/pencil, layer of clothing, slippers (we’ll explain later), easy to eat packable snacks, water and change for parking.

Know Your Roll

The camera and phone are self explanatory. You will likely want to snap a few pictures of some of your favorite features that you come across, not only because you love them, but literally so you can remember which house has what. We suggest taking a picture of the exterior of the home with the address or street sign highly visible, as soon as you arrive. Any subsequent pictures will follow on your roll in order. Another trick is to use your notepad, jot down the address, snap a pic of the paper and then repeat with the next house. When you go back to your roll you will be able to easily correspond each interior/exterior photo to the address, which will help you when trying to recollect details that will later form your buying decision. It’s much easier than just staring at a random kitchen on your camera roll and trying to remember which house address it is attached to. Make sure you fully charge your camera and phone the night before so that you don’t have to deal with dead batteries during your day out.

Keep a Clear Head

You will more than likely have a lunch break scheduled during a full day of showings, but be prepared for the tummy rumblies in between and bring a light, packable snack just incase. After all you can’t make good decisions on an empty stomach. Make sure to clear it with your real estate agent, especially if traveling around town in their vehicle before opening any food or drink in the back seat. If you’re bringing the kids along (we suggest you leave them out of the mix until you’ve really narrowed down your choices) then make sure they are well equipped for the day as well, charge up the tablets and the Nintendo Switch and prepare the snacks to keep them occupied. This is a big decision and not one you want to make while distracted.

Noteworthy Notes

Use your notebook or a personal recorder on your phone to include notes about the neighbourhood, home features, pros/cons, location, amenities and more. Jot down the first things that come to mind, even if it’s just an adjective like “amazing!”, but make sure you title each note session with the address again, so that you can easily refer back to your notes in the future. You might not think you will forget now, but it’s amazing what even 24 hours can do to an overstimulated brain!

Be Prepared

As much as we bank on good weather, especially in Kelowna during the summer, spring and fall, you never know when a thunderstorm might roll in. We suggest bringing a light jacket or sweater just in case the A/C is blasting and you catch a chill. It’s also a great idea to bring socks or slippers and wear easy to remove footwear when touring prospective homes for sale in Kelowna. It’s customary in Canada to remove your outdoor footwear when entering people’s homes, so having some clean slippers rather than bare feet while walking around the home might make you and the current home owners more comfortable.

Keep the Change

If you’re looking for condos and townhomes, especially in the South Pandosy neighbourhood or downtown Kelowna, then you will also want to bring along change or a credit card for parking meters. Walking back out to a parking ticket after discovering your dream home is always a let down, so be prepared to pay to park while you browse.

These are just a few tips to help you prepare and ensure that your day of showings goes off without a hitch. There are other great tips coming along next month related to the do’s and don’ts of attending a showing.

While you’re waiting for our next post, please reach out to me and let’s start a chat about your home buying needs to see if you’re interested in arranging your own personal tour of Kelowna homes for sale. The market is changing daily and I would love to share some insight into buying and selling homes in Kelowna over the summer of 2018.

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