Hunting for a new home online is a great place to start but it should not be your end all/be all. Good listing agents are excellent at highlighting the best features of a home, but keep in mind there may be more there than meets the eye. To make the most of your time and gather a well-rounded image of online home listings, keep the following things in mind.
- Stay up to date. When you start your search, make sure you find a site that pulls up-to-date listings directly from the multiple listing
service (MLS) where real estate agents actively post their most current homes. Many online resources update less often or fail to
remove listings that are off the market, making it more difficult to sort through the clutter.
- Remember the pictures you see are to show you things like layout, design, property, and overall imagery of what your home can offer. They are usually done by professional photographers whose main strategies involve lighting and special lenses. They do amazing work which is very valuable in marketing a home but what you see are still just images. There is no way they can capture every little thing in a home, whether positive or negative.
- If you are just browsing to see what is out there, open a folder on your computer where you can save things you like. Grab images of the rooms, features or even locations you really like ... things that are "wouldn't it be great" and things that are "absolutely necessary." When it's time to actually buy, these images can help paint a better picture for your agent to know what you are looking for.
- See it to believe it. Once you find what appears to be your dream home online, call up your real estate agent and schedule a showing. You want to take the opportunity to see the home in person and explore every part of it before beginning the offer process. Your real estate agent will help you cover all your bases and will ask questions you may not have thought of.
