What websites?

[icebrat001]

As many of you already know, SO and I are buying a house.

Other than Realtor.com and Homes.com what other good websites are their to look at?

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

I really like Ziprealty.com, but you have to register to get their info, so if that bothers you it wouldn't be a good one.

 

[staci]

If you are interested in For Sale By Owner homes, they will not be listed on realtor.com of course. I know we have some local FSBO companies that have websites. Homeowners can pay a small fee to list their homes and photos on the internet. We looked at a few homes from FSBO sites.

Try a google search or keep your eyes open for yard signs with FSBO companies in your area. I think the only two I know of are only in Eastern Iowa.

 

[tarmand]

Look up realtor sites for the city that you want to buy in. Remax and Caldwell Banker come to mind.

 

[staci]

The other thing that I wanted to say is that there is a delay between when a house officially goes on the market, and when it shows up on realtor.com. Sometimes a day or two. IDK what the market is like in your area, but our first town homes sold very quickly, within hours of going on the market. So waiting for realtor.com was never an option there. When we moved back to where we are now, realtor.com was usually fine to rely on.

If you start working with a realtor, they can sign you up to recieve notification of any homes in your area/price range that have the features you would like. The emails come instantly to you, so that you can access them quickly and then get to see the house asap. If/when you become serious about this, you may want to talk to a realtor to see if you can get on their email list.

 

[icebrat001]

Yes, we are working with a realtor, she gave me a MLS search website to use, the format is weird so I generally use other websites and then send her the MLS number. It's amazing how quickly the houses sell!

 

[staci]

The last thing you might want to look at is the assessors websites for your area. The sites generally have a search feature to look up information about any and all properties in the given area. IDK how the SF area is; around here we have an assessors site for the main town, and then any homes listed outside of that town are listed on the county assessors sites.

What I liked to look for on this site was a few things:

1. Sometimes with a new listing there is no picture on the MLS yet. The assessors sites around here generally give you pictures (although they may be a 2-6 years old they give you an idea of what type of home it is).

2. They list the history of the home. Have there been any permits for new roofs, additions, windows, etc? We looked at one home with a beautiful addition that was NOT listed on teh assessors page. I called the assessors office, and they said property taxes should be much higher on that home, and also the work was probably not done by any liscensed contractor, and they wouldnt have had a permit to do it. I was glad to have that information, and we decided against that house.

3. Sale information. IDK what the turnover rate is in SF area, but around here people tend to stay in one place for awhile. I tended to be more critical of a home when it had changed owners 3 times in 5 years. The house we bought had been owned by the same person for 18 years. I tended to think if the home had any major issues, it would have been sold before then.

4. Other info. As you have probably noticed, some MLS listings are extremely informative, others are not. Our assessors sites list things like central air conditioning, sq footage of the garage if there is one, sizes of porches, decks, etc. Type of heat. Construction material (brick, asbestos shingles, frame construction, masonry, etc.)

Hope this helps you