Falling in love with a home at first sight, or visit, can often blind buyers to potential deal-breaking flaws. Before you make an offer on a home, here are the most important dos and don’ts of house hunting in Oklahoma City.

First, let’s take a look at the DOs.

One thing we recommend you do is drive through the neighborhood at different times of day. This will help you to know if there are any potential traffic issues that may happen, or maybe you can tell if people in the neighborhood or out walking or talking with each other.

(Related: Three Tips For Assessing Neighborhood Safety)

We also recommend that you have a list of non-negotiable and carry it with you. It’s easy to walk into a home and see all of the beauty, and then temporarily forget the things that you must have to make a home work for you.

One question buyers often ask is if it’s OK to open drawers or cabinets. If it’s part of the home (a kitchen cabinet or drawer, or hallway storage, etc.) then you are allowed to open it. We’ll talk about the things we shouldn’t open in a moment.

Another DO that is big in 2025 is DO remember that most homes have cameras. It’s important to recognize this because you will want to know that any conversations you have could be being recorded and could even play into your ability to negotiate, if you choose to make an offer on a home.

Lastly, when it comes to DOs, remember that you do have an inspection period. You don’t have to know everything about a home during the showing. If you decide to make an offer and later find that the home has an issue that you are not willing to deal with there are options to back out. Be sure to discuss this with your real estate agent.

Now for some DON’TS.

Don’t plan to see too many homes in one day. Occasionally, for people who fly in to find a home for an upcoming move or for those with other unique circumstances, it is necessary to see multiple homes in a day. The problem with seeing several homes in one day is that the details start to blur and it becomes difficult to remember which house had which features you loved (or didn’t love). When possible, we would recommend not seeing more than 3 to 5 homes in a day. And if you do need to see several in a day make sure you are keeping detailed notes about each home. Those notes will come in handy at the end of the day when you are reflecting on what you saw.

Next, don’t talk about your motivation for buying or any other personal details while you are in a home. As mentioned earlier, many homes have cameras and so if you disclose that information it could potentially impact future negotiations or conversations about the property. Likewise, be careful discussing things you don’t like about the home. Someone watching could be offended, which might make them less willing to negotiate later.

Don’t interact with pets. If a pet is left in a home it is likely scared or nervous. The best course of action is to leave it alone as to avoid any unfortunate incidents. We do recommend to our sellers that they not leave pets home during a showing; however, sometimes it’s just not possible.

(For sellers, this is what we recommend: Tips For Pet Owners When Selling A Home)

While we encourage buyers to bring their children with them when looking at homes, it’s important that your children not play with toys or other items in the home. It can be very tempting to play with another child’s toys while they are there, but it’s best to not do so.

Don’t snoop through furniture. While it is perfectly OK to open drawers that are built into a home, opening furniture that may not stay with the home is not OK.

Lastly, don’t feel pressured to make an offer on a home. If you feel that a home does not check the boxes for your non-negotiables then there’s no reason to make an offer. Keep looking and when you find the home that does check those boxes then you can discuss making an offer with your realtor.

It’s important when you are shopping for a home that you keep these things in mind. Our team has helped hundreds of buyers navigate the OKC market. We would love to help you, too.

(Related: Buyer’s Checklist: What to Expect From Your Real Estate Agent)

If you have questions about the market, or anything else real estate related we would love to help. You can reach us at 405-400-9973.

Share this:

Like Loading…