The 5 Questions I Ask Every Buyer About Their Daily Life
Before we tour a single house, I ask five questions that have nothing to do with staging, list price, or whether the dining room is “a vibe.”
Because the fastest way to end up in the wrong house is to shop for a Pinterest version of your life instead of the life you actually live on a random Thursday night when you are tired, hungry, and just want to exist in peace.
These questions are how I matchmake. They help me understand what you need now, what you will need in seven to ten years, and what this house needs to be when it is time to sell or rent it out someday. They also keep you from calling me two years later like, “So… we outgrew it.” Let’s get into it.
1. Do You Work From Home?
This is usually the first fork in the road. If you work from home, I am not just looking for an “extra bedroom.” I am looking for whether you can actually focus, whether the light makes you feel human, and whether your meetings are going to be backed up to a wall shared with a drum kit.
I also want to know how you work. Are you on Zoom all day? Do you need quiet? Do you need separation from the rest of the house? Are you going to slowly lose your mind if your “office” is a desk in the corner of your living room? Work from home buyers often think they are shopping for square footage. They are actually shopping for sanity.
And if you do commute, I want to know that too. Commute time is quality of life. It shapes your routine, your stress, and how you actually experience the city.
2. Do You Have Animals?
This is not a throwaway question. Sometimes we are absolutely buying a house for the animals. And I love that for you.
But I need to know what kind of animals, what kind of chaos level, and what “good for them” really means. A yard? A fenced yard? A yard that can handle a dog with opinions and a need for speed? Space for a future foster situation where you suddenly have eight dogs?
I have clients right now who are buying a house for their aquariums. Like, truly. They want a future hundred gallon tank, which means the placement has to be sturdy enough to handle the weight and not near a window because algae is real. They also want a yard big enough for a serious koi pond. Fish people are my favorite kind of specific.
If you want a deeper dive into this exact topic, I wrote a whole blog on it because yes, buying a house for your dog is a legitimate lifestyle plan.
3. Do You Have Kids, Or Are You Going To Have Kids In This House?
This is the question that makes people blink at me like, “Lauren… I just met you.” I know. I am aware. And I agree it is personal. But it is also deeply relevant because what works for “no kids ever” is not what works for “one kid in three years” is not what works for “surprise twins.”
First time homebuyers, especially, have a hard time imagining a future that is not right now. That is normal. It is also why I ask.
People who do not have kids will look at a house and say, “We will make it work.” And I am like, cool, but if your bedroom is upstairs, tiny, and the baby is downstairs, you are going to run down those stairs half asleep at 2 a.m. and break an ankle. Toddlers are also tiny agents of chaos. The minute you turn your head, they will sprint toward the thing that could end them. I did not make the rules.
I had clients with a toddler who were pregnant with twins. They were trying to buy for the newborn phase, which lasts five seconds. I was trying to buy for the moment when the twins are two and the older kid needs their own room and everyone is loud and you have not slept in three years.
This is also the question that reveals urgency. One of my all time favorite clients was acting like she was on a mission to buy immediately, and I could not figure out why. She did not have to move. Nothing was pushing her. Finally she blurts out, “I’m pregnant.” And I was like… babe. You cannot leave that part out. This is extremely helpful information for me to have.
4. Do You Entertain?
This is how we figure out whether you need a house that “looks good” or a house that actually functions with other humans in it.
If you love to host, I want to know what that looks like. Are you a big dinner party person? Do you want people in your kitchen while you cook? Do you want your kitchen to flow into the living space so you are not stuck alone in the corner stirring something while everyone else has fun?
This is also where staging can mess with your head. A staged house will sell you a fantasy. It will put two tiny chairs and a small table in a space and you will think, “Cute! We can host!” Meanwhile you own a table that seats eight and a sectional that could qualify as real estate.
So I ask this question so we can reality check the space. Where does your real table go? Where does your couch go? Where does the TV go? Can you actually move through the room without doing a weird side shuffle?
5. How Much Of A Fixer Do You Want, And What Does A Fixer Mean To You?
This is the question that saves marriages. Truly. People love to say, “We want a fixer.” And then we dig in and discover they mean, “We want to paint.” Painting is great. Painting is not a fixer.
A fixer can mean anything from “cosmetic refresh” to “we are going to be living in dust, decision fatigue, and Home Depot for a year.” Those are wildly different lifestyles.
I have done enough remodels to know this: some couples thrive on projects. They have the skills, the patience, and the teamwork. Other couples are one bathroom remodel away from a true crisis. And I say that with love.
So I ask the fixer question early because it affects everything: budget, timeline, the kind of houses we tour, and how much risk you are realistically willing to take on.
If you want to prep your brain for what a real fixer journey looks like, read this before you fall in love with a “little project” online.
Two Things I Need You To Remember Before You Fall In Love With A Listing Photo
First, ignore the staging. Staging is furniture. It is a miracle device for selling houses. I use it all the time for listings because it works. But buyers need to mentally separate “this looks cute” from “this works for my life.”Second, please remember that “charm” comes with baggage. So many first time buyers want the charm of a craftsman or an old bungalow and I am like, okay, I hope you like old systems, surprise projects, and closets that do not exist. They are adorable. They are also often high maintenance. By the time people buy their second house, they usually want a solid foundation, a bigger bedroom, and actual storage. Then I get to introduce them to mid century homes or newer builds and they are like, “Oh. This is what it feels like to have closets.”
Final Thoughts
These five questions are not a cute exercise. They are how we protect your future self.
They help us choose a house that fits your daily rhythm, your future plans, your pets, your people, and your tolerance for projects. They also help us avoid the heartbreak of buying the wrong house just because it looked charming online.If you are thinking about buying and you want someone who is going to help you think like a human (not just a buyer), reach out through my contact page. I will ask you these questions, and a few more. Then we will go find your house.
