Start Touring Homes and What to Look For
Before you start touring homes in Northeast Florida, here are a few things you should know that could help protect your money, your negotiating power, and your future stress levels.
Okay, so hooray!!!!! We are at the part where we start looking at homes, and this is the exciting and fun part. Even after looking at homes for 20-some years, I still enjoy this part, because it’s like when your toddler is experiencing something for the first time, it’s like you’re experiencing it the first time. And when a first-time homebuyer is looking at houses, I like their excitement, and it makes me excited as well.
Let the House Talk to You
When we first start out, it’s gonna be fun to go in and look at things, but you also want to make sure that you pay attention to certain repairs. Now, there’s some red flag repairs, and then there’s cosmetic repairs.
Cosmetic repairs are like, hey, that green shag carpet is hideous, and you want it removed. That’s a cosmetic item, and more than likely, it won’t be removed. Usually, you don’t have issues with lenders on those type of repairs, because it’s cosmetic. Some loans, though, if it’s really filthy, they may require that it be cleaned.
So really look at closely. We wanna be checking out things that could end up costing a lot of money down the road. Like leaks, HVAC not cooling or heating. Electrically wires exposed or mold issues. Let’s talk about what I do or don’t do during the showings. My job is not to take you room to room and tell you what the room is, because I’m pretty sure you know what a kitchen looks like, and I don’t need to tell you, oh by the way, this is the kitchen.
What I want you to do is to go room to room, look at everything, let the house talk to you, because the house will talk to you, and no I’m not crazy or losing my mind. They really do talk to you. You’ll know the one, and you will understand what I’m saying when it happens.
My job is to look at stuff that you may not notice, because you’re excited about this part of the house hunting plan. You’re mentally preparing your move. You’re placing your furniture in this house. So I’m gonna look for roof leaks, leaks under sinks, anything that could be a big ticket item that could be a deal breaker. I want you to just look and see if this house will check off all your boxes. If you want help spotting potential red flags while touring homes, reach out and I’ll walk you through what I personally look for during showings.
New Construction vs. Resale
Let’s decide whether you’re gonna buy new construction or a resale.
New construction has a lot of benefits, because it’s gonna have that new smell to it, and you’re gonna be the first one that lives there. And you can sometimes ask for certain things to be done from the get-go if the house is just being built or if it’s being built from scratch.
It also helps with your costs as far as utilities and your homeowner’s insurance. The newer the home, the cheaper your homeowner’s insurance. Plus you should have years of worry-free maintenance. Not all the time, though. Things are not always perfect. Sometimes they break down sooner than expected.
So you wanna decide, do you want resale or do you want new construction? If you want to check out both, we can do both. I will be with you every step of the way, whether you buy a resale or a new construction, but if you find new construction, always talk to me, and I’ll set up the time for us to go by and be there so I can represent you. Trying to decide between new construction and resale? I can help you compare the pros, cons, costs, insurance differences, and builder incentives.
Understanding the Current Market
As far as the market goes, you have to tailor your offer in a way that meets how the market is flowing.
Right now, as of writing this in May 2026, the market has slowed down compared to a few years ago. Although we are still seeing a seller’s market, leaning towards a more balanced market, it does seem to change month to month. Our inventory levels are lower this year compared to last year at the time of me writing this post.
So we’re not seeing where you have to offer up no inspection or the inspection is for informational purposes only. We were seeing appraisal waivers or appraisal gaps, where if it appraised lower, the buyer would be willing to bring money to closing to pay the difference. We’re not seeing that now. I am happy about that.
We’re not seeing multiple offers as much, but we are seeing multiple offers on houses that are priced competitively and are in good shape.
So if you’re in a more desirable area, you may still need to act quickly, but not quickly like you look at the house, let’s make an offer before we walk out the door, or we won’t have a chance.
We’ll read the market depending on what time frame you’re looking at, and when you read this blog post we’ll change and pivot with how the market is. The market changes constantly, and your offer strategy should change with it. If you want to know what buyers are realistically negotiating right now in Northeast Florida, send me a message.
Be Careful What You Say During Showings
Another thing I want to talk to you about is when we’re in the house and you’re looking around, it’s so easy to get excited and say, oh, I love this green shag carpet, or, oh, this green shag carpet is disgusting.
And you’re thinking, well, I’m in the house, the sellers aren’t in the house, but they could be recording us. So you have to be aware that the seller can record you. They’re supposed to give disclosure that they are doing video and audio, but sometimes they don’t. Assume every house is.
Here’s story time. I had a listing, and the seller had audio and they had the video as well. This one family was in the house looking around. The seller had a candy dish sitting out. One of the kids went up to the candy dish and was looking at it, and all of a sudden my seller spoke out on the video and audio speaker saying, heyyyy, help yourself to some candy.
I didn’t find out until the buyer’s agent called me and was asking questions. He was like, oh, by the way, your seller spoke to us while we were looking at the house. That wasn’t cool.
I played it off and said, well, I’ll definitely talk to the seller, which I did, but I kind of chuckled a little bit, because I am not surprised that he would do that, because he does have that type of humor.
Although we do advise our sellers not to and just to give the buyer their privacy, you have to assume that you have no privacy, even at the front door, even outside, because Ring cameras, depending on how sensitive they are, can pick up some audio too, so keep any comments to yourself. Most buyers have no idea how much sellers can hear or how feedback can affect negotiations. If you want more insider tips like this, reach out anytime.
Why Feedback Can Hurt Your Negotiation
Sellers are emotionally attached to this house. They have made memories and lots of fun times, and bad times there too. They love the house. Well, hopefully they love the house. They may not, and that’s why they’re moving, but they can be very attached to negative feedback.
And speaking of feedback, listing agents usually hound buyers’ agents for feedback, so they can give to their sellers. Most buyers don’t know that feedback is being given to the seller, and this is a problem, because if you tell me, hey, I really don’t like such and such of this house, and I go back and tell the listing agent my buyer doesn’t like such and such, and that offends the listing agent and/or the seller, they may not be interested in negotiating any offer with you.
Or if they are, but you ask for repairs, they may say no way.
The same thing goes if it’s positive feedback. Let’s say you love it and you say, I love it! Then the seller thinks, well, since they love it so much, we have the upper hand and we’re not gonna negotiate.
That’s why you don’t wanna give feedback while you’re in the house or even afterward, because you don’t want to give them any type of edge or offend them.
Maybe it’s even a house that at first you’re like, no, I’m not really interested, but then you circle back and you are interested. Meanwhile, you already said their fireplace mantle was ugly, but their long-lost cousin made it for them and they love it, and now they’re offended and may not want to negotiate.
Most buyers don’t realize their agents give feedback to listing agents. I get beat up all the time, because I don’t give feedback to listing agents. I will ignore them or play it off. A lot of times I do forget what the house even looks like, so my feedback’s not very good anyway, but I believe in protecting my buyer’s interests, and giving feedback does not do that. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Northeast Florida and want someone who will help you look beyond the pretty finishes and protect your interests during negotiations, reach out anytime. I’d love to help.
Call/Text: 904-910-3516
Email: pam@pamgraham.com
📚 FREE Buyer Ebooks 📚
I’m Pam Graham, a Northeast Florida real estate consultant, which includes Jacksonville, Clay & St John’s Counties. I break down the market in layman’s terms so you can make smart decisions—whether you’re buying, selling, or just keeping an eye on what’s happening.
Call/Text 904-910-3516
Email: pam@pamgraham.com
