When your real estate agent gives you the opportunity to walk through homes for sale, you will have a limited amount of time to see if it is a home that you think is worth making an offer on. While you won't get to do a formal home inspection until you put in an offer and start negotiating, there are some things that you can do during the visit that will let you know if it's nice home or if you should pass on it.

Look For Signs That The Home Is A Flip

A common concern with buyers is purchasing a house that was flipped when the owners only made cheap cosmetic fixes that will help the home sell. Thankfully, there are mistakes that can be made that will easily tell you if the owners didn't take time to care for the house when renovating it.

Look at the light switch and electrical outlet covers throughout the home. Do they have paint over them? This is a clear sign that they didn't even take the time to remove the covers when painting the walls. The same can be said for cabinets. Was the hardware left on and painted over, or did it look like they took the time to remove the door from the cabinet when they were painted? Sometimes cabinets are even painted shut by accident.

If the utilities in the home are very old, yet the rest of the house seems new, it could be a sign that the owner just went for cosmetic upgrades instead of meaningful ones. In the bathroom, having separate hot and cold water handles can mean that the existing plumbing was left in place and old hardware was simply swapped out with new hardware.

Clutter

You can tell how well an owner is using their home based on the amount of clutter they have. After living in the home for many years, you see that they are running out of room to put things and have belongings scattered all over the place. When you see excessive clutter, it could mean there is a lack of necessary storage to put everything away. While most homeowners will try to clean up their home before showings, some instances of clutter will still be obvious.

Odd Smells

Basements shouldn't have an weird odor in them. If so, it means there is an issue with mildew or mold somewhere in the basement. There could be an issue with waterproofing that needs to be done to prevent moisture from seeping in or there is a damaged foundation.

For more tips on what to look for, speak to your real estate agent.