Review the price, photographs, location and listing details. Ask whether the home meets enough of your real requirements to justify asking the seller to accommodate a private visit.

Occupied sellers may need to clean, secure pets, gather children, adjust work schedules and leave their home. Only request a showing when the property genuinely interests you and you are financially capable of purchasing it.

As a general rule, avoid viewing more than five homes in one day. After several showings, properties begin to blend together and decision-making becomes less reliable.

Most buyers know within approximately 10 to 20 minutes whether a home is a genuine possibility. If it deserves a closer look but other appointments remain, schedule a second showing for a deeper evaluation.

When possible, select approximately four or five serious possibilities located reasonably close to one another. Do not add unsuitable homes simply to reach that number.

Your agent or broker should arrange those properties in the most efficient order based on location, traffic, access instructions and the showing times the sellers approve. The schedule should allow for:

• Travel and traffic
• Gated-community access
• Time inside each home
• Notes and discussion
• Reasonable breaks

Appointment restrictions may prevent a perfect route. If the homes are spread across several distant areas, consider separate outings rather than spending the day driving back and forth across an entire county.

Five carefully selected homes provide more useful information than ten rushed showings scattered across a large area.

Try to arrive on time—not substantially early or late. If you are delayed or no longer plan to attend, have your agent or broker notify the listing side promptly.

While inside:

• Follow instructions regarding shoes, doors and alarms
• Supervise children
• Do not disturb pets
• Do not handle personal belongings
• Leave the property as you found it
• Save negotiating discussions until after you leave

Look beyond furniture, staging and paint colors. Pay attention to:

• Layout and daily usability
• Room sizes and storage
• Natural light, noise and privacy
• Visible water staining, moisture or unusual odors
• Apparent roof and air-conditioning age
• Windows, exterior doors and storm protection
• Drainage and standing-water concerns
• Visible cracking or deferred maintenance
• Traffic, neighboring properties and surrounding land uses
• HOA, condominium or community restrictions
• Flood, insurance and tax considerations
• Improvements that may require permit verification

A showing is not a professional inspection. It is an opportunity to decide whether the property deserves serious consideration.

Sellers may have monitoring devices in or around the property. Doorbell cameras can capture sound remarkably well, so avoid discussing the home, your reaction or negotiating strategy in the driveway as well as inside.

Wait until you have left the property and are beyond the likely range of exterior cameras before discussing:

• Your maximum price
• Your urgency or motivation
• Your financial situation
• Your negotiating strategy
• How much you love the home

After leaving, record:

• What you liked
• What concerned you
• What would need to change
• What questions remain
• Whether the estimated ownership cost remains comfortable
• Whether the home is strong enough to justify an offer

Do not wait until the end of the day to decide how the homes compare.

After viewing the second home, rank it above or below the first. After the third home, decide where it belongs in the existing order. Continue after every showing.

Your list might look like:

1. Best current option
2. Strong backup
3. Possible, but with concerns
4. Not a fit

Add a short reason beside each ranking. A home may rank higher because of location, condition, complete ownership cost or daily usability—not simply because it has the newest finishes.

This running comparison makes it easier to identify the property worth researching further and prevents the final home of the day from receiving extra attention merely because it is easiest to remember.

An experienced agent or broker may have toured hundreds—or even thousands—of homes during their career. Do not be offended if they cannot immediately recall every detail about the fourteenth house you saw two weeks ago. :-)

Refer to the property by its address rather than saying “the one with the kitchen,” and keep your ranking, photographs and brief notes together. Your agent should maintain appropriate transaction records, but a shared shortlist will make the conversation faster and more accurate for everyone.