Let’s face it, in Arizona during summer we desire to stay indoors in the cool air conditioning at all times because outside is unbearably miserable. Yesterday I got into my car and my necklace got so hot I had to take it off because it was burning me! Sometimes though, we have reasons to venture out and deal with the heat. One of those things is house hunting. Even though the idea of moving during the cool winter temperatures is more appealing, sometime life just doesn’t cooperate! Here are some steps you can take to survive and maybe even enjoy your summer house hunting experience.

Time Your Viewings According to the Temperature

The best time to go house hunting during the summer is in the morning when the heat isn’t as brutal. I sometimes meet clients as early as 8am so that we can get going and beat the heat. If I can I try to not schedule showings between 1pm-6pm as it’s the hottest time of the day. If you can’t make it to morning showings due to your work schedule don’t worry! Just schedule them later in the day (6 or 7pm), but make sure that you still have sunlight to see the properties. When showings occur after dark it can be hard to get a good feel of the property, and it’s also easy to miss potential problems such as water damage when you don’t have natural light.

Schedule Less Showings per Day

In the winter sometimes I’ll show 7 or 8 properties to clients in a day. But with it being so hot, I suggest making 5 the max. Typically you get hotter and hotter the more properties you see with getting in and out of hot cars, walking in yards, and potentially seeing properties that are warm or not air conditioned at all. I find that once you get past four showings in Arizona summers that you don’t really remember the details of the properties you see, you just remember how hot it was! You don’t want to miss out on the perfect house because you weren’t paying attention!

See Homes That Are Near Each Other

Have your Realtor map out homes that you like and schedule showings that are only 3-5 miles apart. This way you aren’t spending as much time in a hot car potentially stuck in traffic. This also goes with scheduling less showings per day. If you have three different areas you would like to look at houses in, consider looking at those properties three different days. Just be sure to have your Realtor look into the status of each listing you have interest in. If there’s an offer from another buyer on a house you like, you may just have to deal with the heat.

Bring Water

If your going to view more then one or two houses, be sure to bring water with you! It’s amazing how fast you get thirsty and even potentially dehydrated. Maybe even consider bringing a misting fan. I had a client bring one along last week. It may not have looked cool, but if sure felt it!

Last Resort

If you’ve followed all the above and you are still miserable house hunting in the summer, then just go run through the sprinklers! I was out with a client/friend last year in August and we saw eight condos (with stairs!) in one day. Both of us were miserable by the end and drenched in sweat. We both saw the sprinklers at the same time and made a run for it. The funny part was that I didn’t even have to worry about getting my car wet because I was already dry by the time I walked over to it.