What to write down after a home viewing

You come out of a viewing talking about the kitchen. By the time you get home, you are trying to remember whether the small bedroom had a radiator and which window faced the road.

Before opening the next listing, leave a note with the home you just visited. A few specific observations will give you something to compare when the afternoon's viewings start running together.

Start with what changed when you walked in

The listing gave you an idea of the place. Walking through it may have changed that idea.

Perhaps the living room felt smaller once you pictured your desk beside the sofa. The bedroom at the back was quiet during your visit. Or the stairs were steeper than you expected, which matters when you carry a bike home.

Write down the detail and why it matters to your day. A note such as "The hallway has space to leave the pushchair open" tells you more later than "Good layout."

Be specific about the visit itself. "Bedroom quiet on Saturday at 11" leaves room for a different experience on a weekday evening. You can decide whether another visit would answer that question.

Give each person room to notice something

If you went together, take a moment to leave your own notes before deciding what you both thought.

One person may have spent the viewing thinking about the light. The other was working out where a video call could happen while someone cooked lunch. Both observations belong beside the listing.

Imagine these two notes on the same home:

"The living room gets lovely afternoon light. I could picture spending most evenings there."

"My desk would be in that room too. I want to check whether the small bedroom could work as an office."

You now have a question to investigate. When you reopen the home together, you can see how the concern connects to the way you would use the space.

Keep an answer's source in the note

Some things you saw yourself. Other details came from the agent during the visit.

Record an agent's answer with their name and the date, especially when you expect a document to follow. For example:

"Agent said on 12 October that the windows were replaced in 2022. Asked for the paperwork."

That wording helps you follow up. Once the document arrives, keep it with the same home and add what it answers. Leave any remaining question visible.

This habit also helps with a detail you could not check during the viewing. "Need bedroom dimensions" is easier to act on than trying to reconstruct which room felt tight. The article on keeping sources with a search abroad goes further into organizing broker messages and documents.

A viewing note you can copy

Put the address or listing name at the top, followed by the date and approximate time of your visit. Then use the prompts that help you remember this particular home:

What changed my impression? Which detail looked or felt different in person? Describe the room or part of the building you mean.

How would it fit an ordinary day? Connect one observation to something you do often, such as working from home or bringing shopping upstairs.

What still needs an answer? Write the question, who you will ask, and any document you are waiting for. Keep an agent's comment attributed to them.

What will we do next? Name a follow-up you can carry out. You might ask for a floor plan with dimensions, arrange another visit at a different time, or set this home aside with a sentence explaining why.

For the apartment with the sunny living room, the note might end like this:

"Still interested. Ask for the small bedroom's dimensions so we can check the desk setup before arranging another visit. Sam will message the agent on Monday."

Read the note when you return to the shortlist

In Homi, add your observations as comments beside the saved home. The person searching with you can leave theirs in the same place. Keep documents and follow-up questions with that record as the conversation continues.

When you compare it with another home, read the notes against what you wanted from the move. A room that seemed too small may be fine once you check the dimensions. A concern about the stairs may still matter enough to put the home aside. Record the reason when your view changes.

For more on returning to a listing with the discussion intact, read What Happens After You Save a Home?.

Open the home from your most recent viewing and add the detail you keep bringing up in conversation. You can use the prompts above to fill in the rest when you sit down together.