Hunting for a new home online is a great place to start your search, but it should not be your end all be all. Good listing agents are excellent at highlighting the best features of the home, but keep in mind there may be more than meets the eye. To make the most of your time and efforts and gather a well-rounded picture of home listings online, keep the following three 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 for sale. 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.
- Pictures can be deceiving. Real estate photographers are experts at showing a home in the best possible light. Many use tools and strategies to boost appeal, such as a fisheye lens to make areas look larger and creative editing to make colors and textures really pop. But, often listings will not contain photos of unappealing parts of the home, like small closets or outdated bathrooms.
- 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 vet the home in person and explore every part of it before beginning the offer process. I will help you through all phases of finding your dream home including answering all of your questions and to ask questions you may not have thought of. Online house hunting is a wonderful convenience but it is imperative to have a trusted Broker Associate on your side.
Please send me a message on my contact page or via e-mail at emilie@emiliebroughton.com.
By Henry Killingsworth June 7, 2021 - 1:17 pm
You made a good point when you explained that it is a good idea to schedule a showing with a real estate agent when you are shopping for a home online. In addition to that, I would think that it would be a good idea to pay attention to other people in the neighborhood you are thinking of buying in. When buying a home, you would want to make sure that you have good people around you.