Brought to you by permanent tsb
These types will be very familiar to all you house hunters
If you’re looking for a house, your Saturday mornings are most likely taken up with house viewings. You will probably view up to eight houses before putting in an offer and sometimes many, many more. As you shuffle through one house after another trying to catch a glimpse of the rooms through the crowds, chances are, you’ll end up meeting the same people or the same type of people over and over again.
Why not make it interesting with a bit of house-hunter bingo?
The hobbyist
You’ve definitely met her – she’s the one who has absolutely no intention of buying the house; she’s doing this as a hobby. She’s lived down the road for the last 20 years and she’s just stuck for something to do on a Saturday morning (slow weekend on the gossip front!). She’ll poke about in all the cupboards until she finds a fatal flaw – like no space to store the vacuum.
She could come in handy though – she probably knows everything about the neighbourhood and why the seller is selling and what the next-door neighbours are like.
The overindulged Mummy’s girl (and her Mummy)
This girl is used to getting everything she wants (Think Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and this house is next on the list. She looks like she’s still in college and is much younger than everyone else. Money is no object, as she’s using the Bank of Mummy and Daddy.
She’ll have brought Mummy along to help her plan the interior design and she’ll be busy deciding whether to go for the velvet Chesterfield or the leather in the living room. She could be stiff competition so if you don’t think the master bedroom has enough space for her shoe collection, be sure to point it out.
The over-stretched husband
He’s the one who looks really stressed and you’ll probably overhear him muttering things like “Can we go and look at the 3-bed semi now?”, as his wife falls head over heels for the detached 4-bed showhouse. He’ll cringe as she shares her love for the stunning marble worktop, asks whether the fireplace is included in the price and tries to wrangle the number of the interior designer out of the agent.
The frazzled mum and dad
These are the ones whose kids are acting like bulls in a china shop, playing hide and seek in the walk-in wardrobe and trailing mud all over the cream carpets, while they hang back a bit hoping no-one notices they’re the parents. As little Fiachra locks little Oisín into the under-stairs storage area, they’ll be busy inspecting the curtains and wishing that the now not-so pristine cream carpet would swallow them up. Still, it’s a cheaper family day out than a trip to Jump Zone.
The distinctly unimpressed investors
These are the calm and collected types who glide through the house with a superior air and an indifferent attitude – they won’t be living here, after all. In stark contrast to your “kid-in-a-candy-store” look, they’ll exude a glare of detachment that’s bordering on boredom, perhaps even stifling a yawn.
Don’t be fooled, though – they may have dissed the size of the dining room but they’ll swoop right in and snap it up if they think it will be a good little earner.
Your stalker
This is the person you keep bumping into at every single house viewing. (It’s getting a bit awkward now!) They’re obviously looking for exactly the same thing as you and you resent them as they feel like your biggest competition. One day you notice that you haven’t seen them in a while and you realise you kinda’ miss them – until it dawns on you that they must have bought their dream home and you’re still looking.
The nosy next-door neighbour
This is the person who is busy doing the gardening next door as you arrive for the viewing. They’ll be sizing everyone up with their eagle eye and making a mental wish list. It would be well worth your while popping over for a chat. You could get a valuable insight into the neighbourhood and you could also decide whether they’re someone you’d be happy living next door to. Who knows? They might end up being your new BFF.
Check out our ‘Home Buyers HQ’ from saving to sale agreed, everything you need to know. If you’re looking to start your own home buying journey you can book an appointment with the permanent tsb team today.
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Brought to you by permanent tsb
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