My Best Tips for Searching Real Estate Listings
As a real estate agent, I look at a lot of listings (like, a LOT of listings, sooo many listings).
When you’re searching for your family home, the last thing you want is to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the whole experience.
After awhile one house can start to look like all the others.
How can you keep track of them all? How can you make sure you’re not missing something? How can you make the best use of your time when searching?
Here are my best tips at keeping sane while you search for your dream home.
1. Stick to your basic “must haves”
That means number of beds, number of baths, location, and price. If home accessibility is a concern, you can also limit your search to single story homes.
Other than those items, leave anything else off your list. The more specific you get with your search filters, the more likely you are to miss a home that could be perfect for you.
If you think you really need 2 acres, but a home has 1.75 that you would actually be fine with, you’ll miss out if you limit your listing that way.
Keep your initial searches as broad as possible to see what the playing field actually looks like.
2. Keep your saved searches up-to-date
All real estate search tools have an option to save your favorite homes. When you first start searching, you may be throwing those hearts around like they grow on trees. There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s exciting to find multiple properties that could be your next home.
But as you further your research, all these saves can be distracting. Be diligent about removing saves from homes you’ve previously favorited, and then later ruled out. This keeps your searching experience streamlined as you get closer to making your final decisions.
3. Do a virtual drive-by
Scope out your chosen homes on Google maps. Put in walking and driving directions to grocery stores, restaurants, the addresses of your friends and family, your workplace, and any other locations you spend time at.
Virtually walk up and down the streets on Google Maps Street View to get a sense of the neighborhood. Keep in mind that these photos can be a few years old, so there may be some discrepancies to the current view.
4. Do an actual drive-by
As my clients will tell you, I ask (actually insist) that they do a drive-by of any home they’re potentially interested in viewing with me. This saves everyone time and heartache.
I’ve had clients fall in love with a home based on the listing photos. But once we see them in person, we know based on the neighborhood, neighboring houses, or other considerations, that the home won’t be a great fit. It’s not that real estate photos are unreliable, they just can’t show everything you’ll experience about living in a particular home.
If your drive-by confirms your interest in the home, reach out to your real estate agent to schedule a viewing.
