TOP 10 TECH TOOLS FOR HOME BUYERS
A Complete Guide to essential Tools to Make the Home Buying Process Easier
By: Aaron George | Realtor
1) MLS CLIENT PORTAL
The "MLS Client Portal" is one of the most useful tools for any home buyer in this current market. It is an online alert system, set up by your local realtor, that sends daily property updates directly to your email. The client portal system sends any current properties, as well as any NEW properties that come on the market, as soon as they are listed (in real time). These portals have a number of filters and can be extremely tailored to each individual client's needs, wish list, and criteria. What makes the "Client Portal" such an excellent tool for buyers is it's powered directly from the local "Multiple Listing Service". So potential buyers can see all the listed homes in their desired
location(s) and that fits their criteria. Listings such as; bank, lender, government, and consumer owned properties can all be included to give the client a broader view of the market. Another great feature of the "Client Portal" it sends buyers daily alerts of any NEW listings in real time, granted it fits in their criteria. The majority of the time, days before they hit consumer sites. So buyers can see a property as soon as agents do, so this gives buyers a huge advantage in a competitive market because they wont miss out on that perfect home.
2) HomeSnap
HomeSnap is a top-rated real estate app, available for both the majority of Apple and Android devices. This app was originally constructed to allow for potential buyers to noisy neighbors to snap a pic of any home and get instant listing details on that home. Also allows buyers to search over 90 million listings all around the country even homes that are not currently listed. HomeSnap still has these useful features, but more recently they launched HomeSnap Pro, in which they have partnered with many MLS providers, including Cincinnati, giving agents real time data on local listings right to their smartphones. Buyers can download this app to search for homes as well as having an amazing messaging system, that allows buyers and agents to easily communicate as well as send property details and photos back and forth.
3) Finding a Home
Realtor.com
Realtor.com is one of the premiere home searching sites on the web. It also has a very user friendly app version for both Apple and Android users for home buyers on the go. What makes Realtor.com stand out from the rest, is that it is directly linked with over 800 MLS systems nationwide and refreshes its data every 15 minutes. So home buyers can see many more options than most home searching sites and with very accurate information.
Zillow.com
Zillow.com has become the most widely used home searching tool and an overall real estate industry giant. Like the fore mentioned tools, Zillow too has a very widely used mobile version app. One of the reasons Zillow has become the leader in the real estate marketplace, is the overall functionality of the site and its programs, its search options and filters, as well as being incredibly user friendly. Zillow has introduced several new video features for buyers, such as the "Video Walk-Through" which can give a potential buyer an even better understanding of the property and the layout.
4) Mortgage Calculator Plus
"Mortgage Calculator Plus" is a mobile app used to estimate ones mortgage amount, interest rate, and terms with just a few clicks. What I like about this particular version is its ability to calculate a variety of term options, payment frequencies, as well as having the ability to factor in insurance options such as "home owners" and "PMI" right one your phone. The app also give you the option to save your calculations as well as easily emailing results to anyone; yourself, even your lender.
5) Local Broker Sites
Some of the best resources for the local real estate market are the web sites of the local brokerages in your area. Here in the Cincinnati, OH market in which I work, have brokerages such as: Coldwell Banker West Shell, Sibcy Cline, and Comey & Shepherd. These are major brokers in the area and all have there own sites with extremely valuable information and resources. Each of these sites have an excellent search option with an IDX feed, that pulls listings directly from the local MLS. So they will have all the available listings in the area from all the brokers, not just homes listed by that particular company. These sites also have many tools to ease the home buying process. Tools like; mortgage and title insurance calculators, neighborhood profiles, video tours, upcoming open houses, and event lists, just to name a few. They also have the ability to search and find an agent to act as a local expert and act in your best interests. You can research and read profiles to help find the right agent for you.
6) Google Maps
Google Maps launched in 2005 has grown substantially throughout the years and can be a huge help in the home buying process. Not only can it give you directions to any particular property, but they have added features such as; walking distance, street view, local businesses, and satellite imagery. All to give you a better understanding of the property and the area.
7) Safety First - Crimes & Sex Offenders Registry
Even though Sex offenders perhaps living close by, whether its in your current or future residence can be unpleasant, but extremely important to look into. This information can be easily found online on sites such as "Family Watchdog". Family Watchdog gathers data from a variety of state offender registries. You can easily search by: specific address, zip code, or city/state. There are some very useful sites to check on other crime statistics in the immediate area as well. Sites like "Crime Reports" as well as "Neighborhood Scout"
8) Tax Information
Here is yet again, another topic that is not so pleasant. Who likes to pay property taxes. But its important to factor that into your thinking and budget. This information is public record and can easily found online on your counties auditor web page. You can find some very valuable information such as: past sales, current assessed value (completely itemized), and the current tax rate. You can most likely find a link on your local government page or just simply doing a quick search for your county auditor page. Where I work in the greater Cincinnati, OH area, more specifically Butler County I visit the Butler County Auditor Page quite often.
9) HomingIN - What's Your Home Worth??
If you're thinking about buying a new home, you may have a current home to sell. The first thing you want to know is "How much is my home worth"? That information is crucial to allow you to budget for you new property. Well there is brand new app that just hit the market called HomingIN. Its an app in which the homeowner can get a free, quick, and very reliable way to get a home value from real agents with just a few steps on your phone or tablet. All you need to do is download the app, give a few details about the home, then take a few pictures. Then real local agents will look at the local market conditions and direct comparables, then sends you a very accurate value of your home. This app does have a few extra steps, but has solved the shortcomings of the "Zestimate". It does allow you as the homeowner to keep yourself fairly anonymous and satisfies that quick gratification that we are used to in this tech centered world we live in.
10) School Rankings
If you have kids in school, or are planning on having kids, I'm sure the quality and overall ranking of the schools in your potential neighborhood is an important factor to consider. As a Realtor I can tell you, we are not permitted to comment or recommend a school. So I always tell my clients to do their due diligence as it pertains to research on schools. I tell my clients to go visit a the school, speak to the staff, teachers, and principal. Also there are several great sites that collect data and compile the rankings of individual schools nationwide, that you can check out: "Great Schools" and the "National Center for Educational Statistics"
Other Notable Tools:
Dweller App - Census info for folks that are relocating
Walk Score - Commuting Preferences
Home Facts - Learn about your neighborhood
