Don't you think we should be allowed to "test drive" houses?

Question

You know, there is always stuff you find out about a house after you buy it. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to spend 12 (or more) hours in the house to really get acquainted before you buy it? How come we don't do this. Like even if the buyers put the sellers up in a hotel for the night?

Answer 1

That's actually a good idea.

But I think it would be uncomfortable for the people who actually live there. Where would they go while you "test drive" their house? :P

Answer 2

If you paid me enough, I would let you test drive my house.  Everything has a price.  Why would I let a complete stranger run amuk in my house without a cost associated with it?

Answer 3

It's an invasion of privacy for the current homeowners. Also consider the number of people that would ask to test drive a house just to get to spend a free night somewhere and use it like a hotel. I do understand where you are coming from, but it just isn't practical.

Answer 4

Even if the buyers put me up in a hotel for the night, I wouldn't trust them in my house for any amount of time unsupervised.  What would be to stop them from breaking something and then claiming it was malfunctioning and I should pay to fix it?  It seems like it would be a lot of work to try and document everything before we left for the night, and isn't this what home inspections are for?

Answer 5

.    I like your idea.   But it wouldn't help unless it rained that night and you saw the roof leak.

Answer 6

People actually do this. It's not all that common (yet) but when people get down to the end of their search it can be negotiated.

Especially in today's market where sellers will do almost anything to sell their home, I wouldn't hesitate to ask my realtor. All the seller can do is say No.