FINALLY! You found the home of your dreams. You went and saw it on a sunny Saturday morning in November. It was perfect! The perfect neighborhood. Fantastic schools close by for your kids, parks and recreation fields just a stone’s throw away. The home has plenty of natural light pouring in the front windows. Before you sign that offer, you should go back and see it at different times of the day and week.

Remember that great natural light pouring in the front windows? Well in the late afternoon it’s on the other side of the home where there aren’t as many windows. Now the front is dark and in need of a lot more light.

Those fantastic schools?

Did you know that the bus stop for your neighborhood for all of them, elementary, middle and high school, is right in front of your house? Besides the fact that the bus will block your driveway six separate times (pick up and drop off), all the neighborhood kids will be wandering around and probably across your property to get to the bus stop.

Not to mention that most of the elementary kids will probably be sitting in mom or dad’s car before the bus gets there and guess where they are parked? Right in front of your home. If you have to be somewhere during that timeframe, good luck navigating the trip out of your driveway!

Now onto the park and rec fields

Not too much going on there on a cold November Saturday, but you should probably think about a much warmer Saturday (and Sunday too). Think baseball/soccer/football then all of those vehicles parked to get the kids to practice and games. Practice is probably in the evenings on weekdays.

Traffic in the area

Looking at a home at different times of the day will also give you a feel for traffic in the area. Is it problematic for your commute to work? Seeing the home at different times of the day also gives you the chance to talk to neighbors about some of the issues that may be there at different times of the year as well. So be smart and go back more than once. That perfect home might just be perfect, but it also may just have a few well concealed blemishes.