My Virtual Quirk

When I was in high school, my friends and I would drive by the houses of the boys we liked. I don't know what we were thinking. Maybe that the boy would see us drive by and come running out his house waving his hands in the air to get us to stop, so he could ask one of us out.

Luckily I graduated from high school, and dropped the stalking  - that is until we bought our second house. It was less than a mile from the house we lived in at the time, so it was quite convenient for house stalking. Before we had a contract on it, I would tell myself I was just driving by to see if it was still for sale. This was back in the dark ages of the late nineties. I guess houses for sale were available online then, but I do not ever remember looking at it on the good ole Packard Bell. Once we had a contract, I would still drive by every couple of days. I am not sure why.  I think seeing it made it feel more real to me - that it was soon to be our home.

The house we are buying now is so close I could use the excuse of taking The Tiny Terror on a walk to check it out, but I haven't. I have not driven past it either. It's not because I've been cured of my house stalking. It's because I can now cyber stalk, although I prefer the less felonious term, creeping.  It is even better than the old drive by because now I can see the inside of the house as well. I check the online listing at least once a day. I like to look at the pictures of the rooms and imagine what color I will paint them, how we will arrange the furniture, where we will put the Christmas tree, where the California Kid will stay when he comes to our new home to visit. Then I like to send the pictures to my family members, so they can give their approval.

At least 85% of all home buyers start their search online. I wonder if those buyers continue to check out their house online after they have signed the contract, or is that just my own special quirk.