Glad to hear you had some good shops. New homes can range from 30 minutes to over 2 hours, depending on the builder you are shopping. The average should be about 45 mins-1 hour, but sometimes that is just impossible. As you get more experience, you will find subltle ways to speed up the shop without leading.

I suggest that you make sure that you find a home that you like within the first 3 homes you look at. Do your homework ahead of time and see if any of the builder units have unique features, such as single story, master bedroom downstairs or laundry upstairs. If they only have 2 models that have those unique requirements, then you should be able to get them to show those immediately. Comment that you have seen so much that you don't like, but know that you will know the perfect home when you walk in. This way, you can say something along the lines of "Wow, this really flows and has a great kitchen. I haven't seen any other home that flows so well." Pick a home and stick to it. Don't let them drag you all over. You also need to pick a lot, if offered and that can be tricky. Again, do your homework and try to find a unique location so you are not driven all over the community looking at everything available. This could be a home on a lake lot, or wilderness lot, or small/large, whatever there seems to be less of.


Hope this helps...

Hi Carrie,

Good to hear from you. The target was a very good agent. He was thorough, actually made the shop easier (asked a lot of questions to base a decision on our needs), found a home we wanted and checked out a home in process available for purchase (a home we picked out ahead of time). We did our homework, even drove by the location to see competitors and get price sheets over the weekend. I'm glad we did that, he asked us what we didn't like from the competitors.

Thanks for some unique comments to say. It's great not to say the same thing to each target when you are hinting you want the home. A variation is hard to think of when you are in a live shop.

Morning Carrie,

See you in Fort Lauderdale this morning.