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My record is 37 properties in five counties in 3-1/2 days, but that's all the time they had to find a home to move the wife into before the husband shipped out to Iraq, so that was a VERY special case.
6 properties in a day, as said earlier, is the most that you can really see before they all start to run together in your head. I try very hard not to do more than that if possible, for that reason. I know my client's criteria in advance, and while I'm more than happy for them to send me properties they've found online, the answer to "why didn't you pull this one up for us to see?" more often than not is, "Because it has x, y, or z dealbreaker that you told me you wouldn't buy a house if it had, and that wasn't obvious from the online ad you got it from". Or, "You sent me this a month ago and it's been sold." Or "A highway is going in right next to this house and you said you wanted to live somewhere quiet," when that wasn't in the listing, of course, and you wouldn't know because you're from out of town.
I preview listings for relo's and send them a list with the pluses and minuses. I had this happen just last weekend. The buyer sent me 14 and we saw 7. Some homes look good in photos (kudos to the listing agent) but have things like...oh...reek like cigarette smoke...that you can help buyers rule those homes out.
Your goal is to be efficient and have the best chance of getting a hit. If you think your agent understands what you want, let them rule some out for you.
Good marketing can make a silk purse out of a cow's ear and vice-versa. Inbound relo agents know their inventory and can distinguish between marketing and reality. It is usually necessary to show some of the " off" places so that the inbound relo family gains confidence in their agent's lead to pass on the dogs.
The point about the houses all starting to blend together is valid, however we brought a video camera and recorded them all. Each night back in the hotel we'd watch the video and make notes on the listing sheets.
Hahaha! That sounds fun actually! It's like your own version of House Hunters except that you're picking from 25 instead of 3!
As for us, we could see a million homes and not be phased. We have been house hunting and knew THE house when we saw it. But then again, we weren't looking at newer-construction homes which could make a difference. I think with newer homes, there would be more similarities than the 1950's homes we're looking at which are each very different and have been maintained and updated very differently through out the years.
I say see as many as you can and take pictures along the way and upload them to your computer at night. Or, reviewing Realtor.com's photos may help to refresh your memory. There may be several that suit your needs, or there may be just one- and if there is just ONE, it darn well better be on your list of homes to see!
My record is 37 properties in five counties in 3-1/2 days, but that's all the time they had to find a home to move the wife into before the husband shipped out to Iraq, so that was a VERY special case.
How did that story end? Did the find the perfect house? Was it #37 and they just knew it was the one when they saw it?
I always wonder if people get a home they REALLY love when they're in a time crunch and have to buy something regardless.
They found a perfect house for them at that time. It wasn't at all what they originally contacted me about looking at, but over the course of those days they became somewhat familiar with the area, and figured out that what they needed wasn't what they'd thought they needed. So house and 10 acres in the country became new house in a subdivision much closer in that had all the features they wanted except the land, and was a much better commute for the wife to her job.
Try this litmus test: Are the 5 houses all at the top ( or slightly higher) than your bank approved loan? If so, the realtor is jerking you around.
In addition to the "top of range" issue I know many real estate agents that have a strong tendency to show houses that they have listed, or other agents in their office have listed. Nothing particularly wrong with this, but in a limited situation you are better off looking at properties that are physically close together and all offer the same features that you have listed as priority REGARDLESS of who they are listed with.
I am not a huge fan of the online aggregation sites, but with their maps and aerial views lots of time can be saved. Of course if there are multiple houses all in the same neighborhood you might be buying into a foreclosure hotspot, but a good agent should pre-pull all the data that would help you to make that decision.
In terms of shear numbers it is important to devote about 90 minutes per property, so seven in one day is about the max I go for unless they are are literally all walking distance apart.
If you have a lot of flexibility ( I'd prefer new, but like the charm of older homes. I really want a two story, but a ranch with great flow might work too. Each child should have their own room, but with big enough bedrooms and upgraded baths I'm sure they can share.) the RANGE of what you should look at grows exponentially. This really makes it hard to do an apples-to-apples comparisons, ESPECIALLY if you coming from out of town and have no real hard and fast rules about the specific schools, churches et cetera.
I really think you ought to spend some time not just on the real estate sites, but also looking for local newspapers posted online and similar things to give you clue as to the feel of different parts of the new community. You can get a lot of local insights from things about where the hospitals and shopping areas are.
The rest of the stuff is to give them a better sense of value and the area.
This can mean we may see 12-18 homes in a day. I name each house for a memorable feature to trigger recall and we eliminate and reprioritize as many as possible as we go along.
As I show a home I hand them the MLS printout. I don't let them keep more than 3 though I prefer no more than 2. When we finish the next home they can add that to their top 3 and lose one of those (which is accomplished by balling it up and throwing in the back). If the home doesn't make the cut then it gets balled up and removed. That way we never have more than a top 2 or top 3 list and it's easy to get back for second showings w/o being burdened down by lots of homes that they didn't really like. Plus they usually have fun with the discard method.
Oh, and when it's not a relo I like to show no more than 5 at a time.
I saw 12 in one day. narrowed it down to 2, saw them again the next day. Made a decision and offer, had inspection on day 3. They won't blend together. You'll see how easy it is to eliminate them. Some houses you won't even have to go through to know they won't work. I had a list of 20, with a little research, reduced it to 12. My agent sent the listings.
When I have clients come in from out-of-town and they have given me a list of 15 homes to see...1st I'll explain what houses are available out of those 15 and let them know which are under contract. I agree with middle aged mom and I get a bunch of information on what they are looking for and what they like, especially what is the most important factor.
We will power house it and look at whatever is available that meet their needs. Often we can drive through neighborhoods and eliminate houses that way. I also name the houses...stinky diaper house, red kitchen house, etc. to help distinguish the homes. It is really hard to show a bunch of houses with a baby, so if your realtor can articulate why she/he picked the homes that you are looking at that may help you narrow down the search you had in your mind. Ask questions!
So to answer your questions...it depends on the people, the situation, the criteria, price, and time you have! Hopefully you found something great for you and your family. The search is tedious but the outcome is a home!
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I was thinking of a similar potential problem...
