Everyone, it has been said, enjoys their 15 minutes of fame. But these days, that’s just about all the time homebuyers are allowed to give a house the once-over and make a decision.

Southern California realty agent Jeff Dowler calls it real estate’s version of speed dating, and says buyers in today’s inventory-depleted market must be decisive. Otherwise, someone in the horde of other house hunters will make the decision for them.

Gone are the days when a buyer could linger longer, agents report. In the old days, you could wander around to your heart’s content: Stroll through the house, measure some rooms for your furniture, discuss possible remodeling projects, meander around the grounds.

Back then, you could even come back for a second or third visit. But not anymore. Now, you’re lucky to get 15 minutes -- a whopping 900 seconds -- to look around. And when the pressure is on and other would-be buyers are waiting outside the front door, those precious seconds tick by awfully fast.

According to ShowingTime, a service agents use to manage buyer visits, an “unprecedented” 75 markets registered double-digit showings per listing in February. A year earlier, only four markets had at least 10 showings per listing. It’s a “powerful trend” of “more and more showings concentrated on dwindling inventory,” said Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy.

But is a mere quarter of an hour really enough time to view a house and decide whether to make an offer? In a recent conversation on ActiveRain, some agents said it’s not, while others said it is. But most maintained that in today’s overheated market, this is often the way it has to be.

“Fifteen minutes definitely is not enough time,” said Arizona agent Brian England, who is affiliated with Vacasa. “But in this crazy market, I completely understand.”

Dorie Dillard of Coldwell Banker Realty said house hunters in her Austin, Texas, market get a whopping 20 minutes. “With such low inventory, when a house hits the market, you better have your track shoes,” she advised.

When Utah agent Wanda Kubat-Nerdin of Red Rock Real Estate lists a house, she allows at least 30 minutes for each showing -- “That way, no rushing” -- and she also “locks the front door so we are not interrupted by early agents and their buyers.”

North Carolina’s Nina Hollander, of Coldwell Banker Realty, goes one better: She gives buyers up to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the house. “At the end of the day, it still gets lots of people in,” Hollander said. “And those who really have had a chance to look thoroughly at a house are prospective buyers who will make offers -- and not suffer from buyer’s remorse.”

On the other hand, some agents believe buyers don’t even need 15 minutes. Connecticut agent Ed Silva of Mapleridge Realty said some buyers can decide in five minutes, spending the other 10 figuring out what to put in their offer.

Debb Janes of ViewHomes in Camas, Washington, agreed. “I’d say most people can get a feel for a home in 15 minutes,” Janes said, while adding that “it can take longer to really explore more of the home’s nuances.”

“Getting 15 minutes is like a lifetime in today’s seller’s market,” added Endre Barath of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Beverly Hills. We often make judgments about other people in 30 seconds or less, Barath noted, so why not a house?

Illinois agent Lyn Sims of RE/MAX Suburban thinks the short time frame is actually “a good thing” -- one that culls the perennially undecided from the pack. For some people, there’s never enough time to make up their minds. Sims points out that there are many buyers who take an hour and a half to look around, just to say “no thanks.”

Truth be told, only you can answer the question of whether 15 minutes is enough. You must be comfortable making the decision; you have to write the checks, and you have to be able to sleep at night.

Remember, though, that submitting an offer is not the end of the process: It’s just the beginning. The seller has to accept the offer. Then, assuming you’ve been preapproved for financing, you have to get your lender’s final say-so. The appraisal has to support the sales price, and the inspector needs a few days to do his or her thing.

That means you have time to change your mind if you have a change of heart. Even when your offer is accepted, there are plenty of ways to get out of the deal. “Our contracts have a million outs to kill the agreement and recover your earnest money deposit,” said Richard Foster of Nevada Perfect Homes in Henderson.

In the end, the key to the short window given buyers these days is being decisive. Know what you can spend, know what you want, and go for it. And for crying out loud, be on time for your visit, lest you lose your place in line.

As the market for vacation homes continues to forge ahead at an almost unprecedented pace, the two major suppliers of financing funds have put a lid on the number of mortgages for such properties they will buy from primary lenders.

As of April 1, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are limiting their purchases of loans on vacation and investment properties to no more than 7% of their portfolios during any 52-week period, striking a blow to a sector that has flourished, in part, because of the pandemic.

The ceiling is “well below” the current 6.4% run rate of purchase loan applications for second residences, according to economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Moreover, second-home applications in February were up 37% from the same month in 2020.

But Fannie and Freddie, the two government-sponsored enterprises that act as intermediaries between worldwide investors and main street lenders, are now required to restrict their activity under a stock purchase agreement negotiated with the Treasury Department during the Trump administration.

The move comes on the heels of another rules change instituted by the GSEs late last year. That change cut back on loans to people who buy into so-called “condotels,” which are properties where individual units are rented through a central reservation system to vacationers on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. That strikes folks who want to purchase apartments, as opposed to individual houses, as well as timeshares and other forms of interval ownership.

A Fannie spokesman has said his company is concerned that some resort condo structures do not live up to the requirements that they be residential in nature. In the past, Fannie has been more active in resort lending than its secondary market rival.

Neither company has had much to say about the limit on loan purchases. The MBA has raised concerns, maintaining the cap will result in higher interest rates, tighter underwriting and reduced availability. But the Urban Institute says the restriction is folly.

Noting that Fannie and Freddie have been exceeding the 7% ceiling since 2013, the nonpartisan think tank says lending on these properties is a “more lucrative part” of their portfolios, enabling them to “cross-subsidize” the rest of their purchases, including loans to low- and moderate-income buyers.

“Even if there were some policy justification to limit the GSEs’ support of these more profitable books of business, the imposition of hard limits makes little sense,” said the UI in a report.

Right now, though, the demand for second homes is such that more financing choices are needed, not fewer. Indeed, the call for loans on vacation properties is increasing at twice the pace of that for primary residences, according to the latest tabulation from Redfin. The reason? Many former office workers are realizing they can successfully work from almost anywhere.

And Redfin economist Taylor Marr says this is no fad.

“Many Americans have realized remote work is here to stay, allowing some fortunate people to work from a lakefront cabin or a ski condo indefinitely,” he says.

People have always yearned for a place to steal away to for a few days, if not weeks. Some hold their retreats close to the vest, allowing no one to use them, save family. But others have been able to monetize their holiday houses by renting them out. Some do so just to cover their carrying costs, but others pocket a hefty profit.

Now, the work-from-home acronym has taken on another letter: WFVH, as in work-from-vacation-home. “If you can work from anywhere,” says Gregg Logan of the RCLCO advisory firm, “why not work in a nice location?”

Rich Schulhoff of Brooklyn MLS agrees: “There is a more fluid blend between work and life.”

In an update of a consumer survey taken just before the pandemic, RCLCO found that most second-home markets “experienced dramatic growth” in the latter half of 2020. Not only were a third of current holiday house owners happier with their places than they were before the pandemic, a third of would-be buyers said they were more interested now than prior to COVID-19.

Wannabes are not particularly turned off by what some consider elevated prices in many popular destinations, either. More than half told pollsters that now is the right time to pounce, while just 15% said now is not a good time.

Remote work is not the only driving factor for the trend, but it is the strongest one. And Marr thinks many vacation places purchased this year will ultimately become primary residences.

“Even when offices reopen, folks will be able to spend more time than ever before in their second homes because many employers will continue to offer flexible remote-work policies,” the economist says. ”With workers still commuting in one or two days a week, resort towns that are near major cities will likely continue to heat up.”

That’s certainly been the case in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 50 miles from Milwaukee and 83 from Chicago. Melissa Killham, a Redfin agent, says she’s seen demand surge in that market, where tours have doubled among folks who can’t or won’t travel any farther during the pandemic.

A report from Apartment List counts the “untethered class” as 8.7 million, or 5.6% of the total workforce. These are young, mobile workers with remote-friendly occupations who aren’t tied down by family obligations. So they can go wherever they want.

Perhaps that’s why 15% of all newly built houses these days are vacation properties, as the National Association of Home Builders reports.

Nothing is more important in the sale of a house than an examination of the structure by an independent home inspector.

The inspector will go over the property from stem to stern, checking out the foundation, roof, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, electrical and appliances, among numerous other items. They then will produce a report, often with photos, detailing their findings. The whole enterprise is paid for by the buyer.

With the report, the buyer will know the working condition of the property and what issues to expect after moving in. As long as they don’t nitpick over little cosmetic items, the inspection report normally puts buyers in a strong bargaining position as they try to persuade the seller to either fix major items or come down on the price.

But in today’s overheated selling frenzy, many buyers facing competition are crossing out the inspection clauses in their contracts.

They’re waiving other contingencies, too, like the one that requires the house to appraise for a certain amount or another that allows them to back out if they are unable to secure financing. The idea is to present as “clean” a contract as possible so their offers will stand out from the rest.

Giving up any of these is dangerous, to be sure. But the inspection is especially so. Without one, you are buying a proverbial pig in a poke.

Many buyers are relying on the so-called home warranties most sellers offer these days to protect them once they move in. But these are really service contracts -- not a substitute for a full-house exam. And they come with deductibles and limits from companies that often are difficult to deal with.

For a better stand-in, consider what’s known in the trade as a “walk-and-talk,” in which you and the inspector hoof it through the house while they give you a verbal assessment of what they see. It’s a shorthand service some inspectors are offering to keep their doors open at a time when many buyers are passing on full-blown examinations. It is a quicker, lower-cost alternative to a complete home inspection.

With a walk-and-talk, you won’t get a written report or photos, so you’ll have to carry a notepad and camera to record the inspector’s musings as they point out potential issues and answer your questions. But it’s better than nothing, and could be enough to give you the confidence to move ahead with your offer -- or to change gears and train your sights on another house.

“I can often find about 80% of the problems in the first 20% of the time I’m on the property,” said an Oregon inspector.

Walk-and-talks are somewhat controversial. Some inspectors won’t do them, believing that they violate standards of practice in their states. Others say they’re bad for business.

“I’d lose money, as it would take time away from doing full-priced inspections,” said a Minnesota inspector.

A Tennessee inspector agreed, saying that walk-and-talks are “just throwing business money out the window.”

There are other issues, too. The seller would probably have to grant permission to the abbreviated exam, which is doubtful without a contract. The inspector’s insurance may not cover it. And the buyer sometimes expects more than he or she is paying for.

“Clients who want the (quick) inspections are the same ones who only read summary pages,” said a Pennsylvania inspector. “It is the reason I don’t do these inspections and I don’t include summary pages in my reports. ... These clients will want to blame someone for their lack of due diligence.”

Still, there are plenty of inspectors who will perform a quickie. “Don’t have time for an extensive home inspection?” advertises a firm that works in Maryland and Pennsylvania. “Schedule a one-hour consultation with one of our licensed inspectors to point out any major problems. Or if you are facing a competitive bidding process, consider this quick check for any potential show-stoppers.”

“You only get one chance to look at the house. I’d rather buyers know a little bit about the house so they can decide whether to move forward,” says Jim Johnston of All Around Inspections in Rockville, Maryland. He says he’d also rather make “a little bit of money than nothing at all.”

Some sellers also are using walk-and-talks in place of full exams. Figuring their buyers are going to obtain an inspection anyway, they use them as less-expensive “pre-listing” tests to identify items that need their attention before putting their homes on the market. Then they can eliminate any quick-fix items, like leaky faucets or busted GFI outlets, that might turn off potential buyers.

The truncated exam usually takes one to two hours, or about half the time it takes for a full inspection, and costs about half the normal fee. Some charge a flat fee; others, by the hour. Some inspectors will first take a hard look at any areas or components you are particularly concerned about. After that, they may prioritize the most expensive items (the roof, HVAC system and the like). Others will make a cursory exam of everything.

By the way, a walk-and-talk is not the same as a pre-settlement inspection. The former occurs before or just after making an offer, while the latter takes place just prior to closing, giving buyers one last chance to spot unacceptable problems -- foundations cracks, roof leaks or anything else purposely hidden by the seller -- that can be used to cancel the deal, or at least renegotiate.