What should I look for during a home showing?
Look past the staging at the bones: roof, AC, and water heater age, water stains, floors and doors, water pressure, storage, light, and noise. Then picture your actual life there — mornings, commutes, groceries. Photos and notes keep the homes from blurring together.
Staging is designed to make you feel something. Your job at a showing is to also see something — the home underneath the throw pillows. Here's how I coach buyers to look.
The big-ticket items
Ask the ages of the roof, AC, water heater, and electrical panel — in Florida the roof and AC matter twice, because they drive insurance as well as repairs. Listing agents expect these questions; ask them without apology.
The five-minute checks
Run the faucets and feel the water pressure. Open and close doors and windows. Look under sinks and at ceilings for stains. Sniff honestly — a musty smell, or heavy fragrance working hard to cover one. Feel for sloping floors. Anything that makes you look twice, photograph — the warning-sign list covers what those clues can mean.
The life test
Storage, natural light at that hour, noise with the windows open and closed, cell signal in the kitchen, where the groceries land, the commute at the hour you'd actually drive it. If you're serious, pass by the street at a different time of day before offering — evenings tell truths that Sunday afternoons hide.
Keep the homes straight
Photos and quick notes for every home, in the same order every time. After four showings, memories blur; notes don't.
None of this replaces the professional inspection — that comes under contract. Showings are for deciding which homes deserve one. I'll be beside you pointing out what's a quick fix, what's a negotiation, and what's a reason to keep looking — and before any offer, we'll run the pre-offer questions together.
This answer is general education, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Your situation is unique — let's talk through the specifics together.