Tips for Online Home Buyers . . . . .
By Shannon McCain
Here is a site to utilize when looking on your own. WashingtonHomeHunt.com
Search for homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) site for free . . . on your own. You can also set up a search to receive properties. Home buyers these days are pretty hands on. Problem is Zillow, Redfin and other online companies pull data from MLS but I’ve noticed it takes about 3-5 days for that data to be updated.
What’s the problem with outdated info??? Home are in high demand and you could lose one to consumers getting the data sooner through an agent or on a local real estate professionals site (like this one). Also listings that are already under contract or worse yet . . SOLD : (
Which makes the process demotivating.
When searching on your own it’s important to keep in mind that realtors listing these homes are only human and sometimes don’t list information accurately. That is why when searching, less is more.
For example: I search for all sizes of land and found on a recent home search the home was listed with no land. When I drove by and explored it on my own, I found there is actually .38 acres. I could have easily not noticed this listing if I hadn’t spent the time looking at all the listings. You can also go to Bing.com, type in the property address, click on “Map” under the tool bar, then all the way to the right top corner click on the arrow next to road and select birds eye. Click on the “+” sign to zoom in on the property. It might be privacy you are looking for. Well maybe the parcel is only .10 acres but it backs up to a protected forest. Less is more
If those online sites send you a listing you are curious about, please utilize WashingtonHomeHunt.com to see if it’s real. I’ve recently went out to ForSaleByOwner properties that Zillow reported as for sale and they were not. They told me it was a mistake when contacting them but you have to wonder if it’s a bait and switch. All of the sudden agents are calling & emailing me to find me a home. Hmmmmm