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4 Things Home Buyers Shouldn’t Open, Look In, or Look at When House Hunting

When you’re looking at houses, it’s important to take a really good look at every inch of the house you’re going to buy. But there are some things you have no business looking at when you’re looking around. You could probably use common sense to figure out what you shouldn’t be snooping around in by thinking about whether you’d be embarrassed if the owner caught you snooping. But to make sure—and for a laugh for those of you who’d never dare snoop, here are 4 things you shouldn’t open, look in, or look at:

• The medicine cabinet: While a medicine cabinet is typically affixed to the house and, therefore, something that is part of the sale, there’s not much need to inspect it carefully. If you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. There could easily be medications or personal items in there that a seller wouldn’t want you to see. So, no peeking.

• Dressers and Wardrobes: Taking a look inside the bedroom closets is totally acceptable, and owners expect people will take a peek inside of them, so they most likely hide anything they don’t want you seeing. That said, “peek” is the key word; don’t go browsing through their clothes or trying on a pair of shoes. Also, don’t open their dresser drawers or open up a free-standing wardrobe. This is furniture and typically isn’t included in the sale. It’s probably where they hid all the stuff they took out of the closet that they don’t want you to see!

• The Toy Box: If the homeowner has children, there’s a good chance there are toys in the house. Ideally, the owner is able to put them away neatly in a toy box or closet when the house is being shown. They probably don’t want a stranger coming into their home and touching them. So make sure you keep an eye on your children and don’t let them treat the house like it’s a visit to Toys ‘R’ Us.

• Their Mail: Sellers shouldn’t be leaving a pile of mail out in the open when their house is on the market. But if they do, that doesn’t mean you should take a glance at it, let alone shuffle through it, to get a feel for who they are or what’s going on in their life.

Submitted by Tara Rutkowski, Realtor and Estrella Resident