In November 2023 my wife Marieke and I saw twelve houses in the Pyrénées-Orientales in four days. I had planned the whole week in Notion: a table of appointments, a page of estate agents to drop in on, and a packing list. It all worked. On paper.
A viewing trip rarely fails because of the houses. It fails in the diary. Here is how to plan one, what we learned from our own, and how to do it now without Notion: with My trip, the new tab in your shortlist.
What our own plan looked like
We ended up buying in Sainte-Marie-la-Mer (the story is in Buying in the Pyrénées-Orientales: what we learned). This was the week behind it:
- Monday: no houses. Two phone calls to estate agents to confirm the viewings.
- Tuesday: three viewings, including one in Torreilles on the coast at half past one and one in Céret, inland, at quarter to four.
- Wednesday: three viewings, spread over the morning and afternoon.
- Thursday: three viewings, in Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, Le Barcarès and Cabestany.
- In between: dropping in on estate agents unannounced. That is where we saw what was really for sale, not just what was online.
Look at that Tuesday. Torreilles to Céret is roughly three quarters of an hour by car. That works, as long as nothing overruns. But something always overruns at a viewing: the seller wants to show you the garden, the agent knows the neighbour, you want one more look in the loft.
Five rules for a viewing trip
- One area per day. The coast one day, inland the next. It saves hours in the car, and you compare houses in the same surroundings.
- Three viewings a day at most. You will not remember more. After the fourth house the kitchens start to blur.
- Start with phone calls, not viewings. Confirm every appointment on your first day. An unconfirmed viewing is a wish.
- Keep a day free. Use it for local estate agents. A local agent often knows about houses before they go online. Read how French estate agents work before you go.
- Ask for the address in good time. Many listings only name the commune, and you usually only get the exact address from the agent. Ask for it when you confirm.
How to plan it in My trip
Your shortlist already had a board and a table. The third tab is now called My trip. This is how it works:
- Put your houses on your shortlist. Through the Search Helper, or by pasting the text of a listing.
- Set a house to Viewing booked and fill in the date, time and address.
- Enter your arrival and departure dates. You then see every day of your trip, including the days with nothing planned yet.
- Add your other appointments: an estate agent, the notaire, the bank or a phone call. They slot in between your viewings, in order of time.
Each day has three buttons:
- Route in Google Maps puts that day’s appointments in order. If an address is missing, the route runs via the commune, and it tells you so.
- Add to my calendar creates a calendar file for your phone or Outlook. Per day, or all at once with Whole trip in my calendar.
- + Appointment on this day for anything that comes up later.
The packing list
Our own packing list from 2023 was mostly chargers. The one in My trip is about the viewings:
- Documents: your passport and proof of funds or a mortgage agreement in principle. An agent will sometimes ask for it before opening the door.
- For the viewings: the printed viewing checklist, a tape measure and a torch for the cellar, loft and crawl space.
- On the road: a Crit’Air sticker if you drive through a low-emission zone.
Tick off what you have packed and add your own items.
Everything stays with you
My trip works like the rest of the shortlist: everything is stored in your own browser, and we see nothing. Want a backup? Use Email my shortlist to myself below your shortlist, and your houses and viewings are in your inbox too.
Twelve houses in four days is perfectly doable. Twelve houses in four days across the whole département is not.