Do you see that person peering through the bushes? It’s me. I’ll admit it. When we are thinking about buying a home, we set up camp and stalk it – morning, noon and night. Shoot, you’re probably thinking this lady is way too hard core, and maybe a little creepy. OK, I’ll give you that, but here’s why you should be stalking, too.

Check out the traffic. When you set up a showing for a house, you likely do it after work when people are home for the night. The sellers probably steered you toward a time when the home would show best. You see it once and it might not necessarily be a high-traffic time. Is it near a school or a church? Going back to do a drive-by on a different day of the week, and different time of day will help you gauge traffic in the area, street noise, parking, and other factors you skipped over the first time.

Meet the neighbors. You can lift your camo veil for this one. Hop out of the car and walk the street. Wave to the neighbors and you might just get a Chatty Cathy who is dying to give you the scoop. If there are issues with the house, secret reasons for selling, or just hearing that the pack of dogs next door barks alllll night longgg may be helpful information. You could be living next to these people for the foreseeable future, so take it all in.

Feel the vibe of the neighborhood. Is it in a college town? Will you have beer bottles tossed in your begonias over the weekend? Drive a few blocks in each direction. Do you see a retirement community? Hostel? Homeless shelter? Please put down your pitchforks – I love old people and Jon and I volunteer at the soup kitchen regularly. But this is about you being an educated buyer. You need to know what is around you for your investment and for your safety.

Take another look. Have you ever noticed when you watch a movie for the second time, you catch things you never saw the first time around? The same holds true for a house showing. If the sellers put lipstick on their pig , they’re pulling out all the stops. You’re going to need to do some stellar sleuth work to wipe it off. Schedule a second showing, even a third if you have to and   take    your    time    going through it. Look at the countertops (are their stains?), appliances (scratches or dents?), bathroom tile (how dirty is the grout? is the tile chipping?). What condition are they in? How is the water pressure? Speaking of pressure, I know how you’re feeling. Like you’re invading someone else’s home, their privacy. You shouldn’t look in their closets and, oh look at the time, we’ve overstayed our welcome. Overstay. This isn’t their home anymore, they’ve decided to sell it. It could be your home, and the biggest investment of your life. So take your coat off, hang it in the closet even, and stay a while.