Tools to Search Like a Pro

How-To Navigate a Home Search Website and find the Home you Want

There are 100's of websites you can use to search for a home, and nearly everyone of them is fighting for your attention so they can sell your information to a high bidding Real Estate Agent. 

The good news is, you can use many of these sites and never enter your information. I have found that the less intrusive one is Realtor.com, it also happens to be the only one with real time updates tied directly to Realtors MLS systems nationwide. 

I am going to show you how to set up a search that will remove the houses you likely wouldn't want and focus results on the Homes you'll love. Let's get right to it ...

​Whichever Home Search website you decide to use should have a very similar search model because they all tend to copy each other. ​For my instructions I will use the website Realtor.com

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​A word of Caution : Just an FYI - There will be areas that allow you to learn "More about this Property" or "Contact Agent" - These are sent to Real Estate Agents that have paid for the service, NOT necessarily just the seller's agent.

​Keep in mind, these "Search Websites" are advertising websites, they make money buy selling your contact info to agents, they do not sell real estate. You will be called, emailed and likely bombarded.

Go to Realtor.com > Click "Buy" > Enter a city and state in the search box (you may get more specific if you want, using a community name or even a street address)  > then click Search

1. Next screen by the search bar > Enter a Price Range (I suggest typing in $1 for the Minimum and typing in your Max > Enter a Bed count > Enter a Bath count > Enter Property Type > Listing Type > More Filters (this allows you to get really specific on what you want) > The Home count will decrease as you chose options for your home
2. On the right there is a choice of "List" or "Map" this allows you to see homes on a map (List is the default) > I recommend you choose Map > Zoom into the area you prefer to live in (a "Search when Moving map" option may appear and it's good to allow that to happen) > Now click "List" > Here are the homes that match what you want, where you want to live.
3. Now you'll see a count of Homes "Sorted by" and a drop down bar. This will allow you to choose which homes you want to see first , "Relevant" is the default and is a great place to start (when you come back to the search later then it's best to select the "Newest Listings") > Click on "view details" of the first Home
4. Under the picture you'll see a Map Icon and Property information > #beds, #baths, Sq ft > Click on the Picture > Now you can go through each picture or use the bottom bar and choose what picture you'd like to see > Once you're done looking at the pictures click the "X" at the top right hand corner
5. You're back at the View details page > Click the map icon under the picture > This brings up a map which will soon show you the yard and property layout > Click on "satellite" in the upper right hand corner > Click on the + sign to zoom in and see the satellite view of the home and yard > in the lower right hand corner is what looks like a "u-turn" - click on this to rotate the view > when you are done click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to exit the map window
6. You're back at the View details page, now you may scroll down the page to see Property Details > School and Neighborhood information > A Payment calculator (this area usually displays the monthly Property tax payment based on the previous year and HOA Fee's, these are both great information to have) > lastly is Property History where you can see when the home last sold, if there has been any list price changes and the estimated Annual Property taxes.
7. Return to the top of page > if this one matches what you're looking for you have a couple of choices > Save This Home - this will require you to enter your email and set up an account (at this point agents shouldn't contact you, but the website company will) > The Second Option is to print the home info out by clicking on the printer icon - After you click on the icon you should have an option to "save as PDF" which is nice because you can save it in a computer file and not have to actually print it out.
8. Now navigate to the next property > In the Upper right corner click "Next Property" > TIP- if you want to return to the previous property use the "Prev" in the upper right hand corner, NOT the "Back" that is located to the upper left (this takes you back to the beginning search list). 
9. In order to "Save" this entire search > Click on "Back" in the upper left corner > you must then Copy the contents of the web browser at the very top of your page. To do this you can "right click" your mouse button (this will highlight the browser bar) then click on "copy"
10. I suggest "pasting" this link into a word document and saving it. Saving the search this way prevents you from having to enter any personal information into the websites database. 

There you go, Now you're searching like a Pro ​

I'm into All Things Real Estate, you know this right?
As a Licensed Real Estate Broker I can help you with the purchase of your home, not only that, but I can also help you with the lending and Pre-Qualification process. If you aren't familiar with a Pre-Qualification I would suggest you read my Guidance Post "Home Loan Pre-Qualification - Because Money Matters" 

​When you are ready to buy you home, or if you are ready now, reach out to me and I will gladly help you through the process. You may or may not know that when representing You as the Buyer My Services are Free to you. Let me explain why ...

When a seller decides to list their house for sale they'll usually contact a Real Estate agent to help them. This Real Estate agent will require a signed contract and a fee to provide the listing service. The fee that is charged to the seller is in the form of a commission, which is based on the sales price of the house. When the Listing agent (sellers agent) places the house in the Realtors MLS they will offer what is called a "Cooperating Broker Compensation" which is just a fancy term for sharing the commission. This commission is shared with any agent that brings a buyer and successfully closes on the sale of that home.

This allows for You to have Me represent you and the Seller pays for it. My awesome services to help you find a home, write a contract, negotiate a great price and guide you through the closing process cost you nothing.
​Pretty cool, right?

yes, i'd like to learn more about hiring you to help me buy a home