Shopping for your home


Again, I recommend that you don't talk with a real estate agent until you've done some research on your own.  A buyer's agent will likely get your name and phone number, give you a map and a printout of available properties in your price range, and offer to show them to you.  But accepting that help can cost you thousands of dollars. 

I recommend that you instead check out alternative sources of information.

Step 1:  Finding a neighborhood.

Some tips

  • The three most important words in real estate are, of course, "location, location, location." 
  • It's usually a better investment to buy the cheapest house in a neighborhood than the most expensive house in a neighborhood.
  • A trick for finding the best neighborhoods in a city is to type in the city's name at Realtor.com, look at the most expensive listings, and note their zip codes.
  • When shopping for real estate, my heart soars when I see a dirty kitchen or smell a grungy carpet. Such houses normally sell at a discount, and it usually doesn't take much to spruce them up.
Zillow.com provides "Zestimates"--rough appraisals of properties values--for millions of homes.  By typing in a city or zip code, you can pull up a map that will let you see how property values vary by neighborhood.  But don't put too much faith in the Zestimates--they can be wildly inaccurate. 


Step 2:  Finding homes

The next step is to make a list of homes that appeal to you.  Don't knock on doors or contact the sellers directly unless they're selling For Sale by Owner (FSBO).  Remember, if you attend an open house or let a real estate agent unlock a door for you, it will be more difficult for you to capture the commission.

  • Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) systems. (Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this page for a directory.)  These often provide more information than Realtor.com.  See below section for a directory of MLS websites that are available to the public, listed by state.  Some real estate agents offer online access to the local MLS database, but you have to register to access this information.  If you register, expect to get a lot of phone calls.
  • Realtor.com is set up by the National Association of Realtors.  It includes listings from Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) throughout the country.
  • Zillow.com doesn't have as many listings as Realtor.com, but it provides a lot of useful information about properties. 
  • FSBO websites  As I'll explain later, it's easy to buy them without going through a buyers' agent and many sellers are willing to drop the sales price by 2-3% if they're spared the expense of paying that commission.  That comes to a $10,000-15,000 savings on a $500,000 house.  

Since real estate agents are in the business of selling information, they're understandably reluctant to give it away for free.  Fortunately, you can uncover a lot of information yourself by doing research on the Internet and by visiting open houses. 
  • Classified ads in the newspaper.
  • Online classified ad services, like Craigslist.org, backpage.com, livedeal.com, base.google.com, and propsmart.com.
  • Breakfast meetings for real estate agents.  Many local realtor associations arrange weekly breakfast meetings during which agents present their new listings.  They're open to the public, but hardly anyone outside of the real estate business seems to know about them.  Expect to pay $5 or so for coffee and sweet rolls, and then go sit in a quiet corner where you won't attract too much attention.  You'll often be rewarded with juicy gossip about hot properties.  
  • Drive around.   just by driving through neighborhoods.  A lot of homes also have open houses on Sunday afternoons--you can often find them just by looking for signs.
  • Craigslist.org.  This is an online classified ad service.  It's a good way to find FSBOs.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR), which controls Realtor.com, won't allow listings to say if a home is being sold "For Sale by Owner" (FSBO) or reveal a FSBO seller's identity to the public.  There's a reason for this.  Knowledgeable buyers who know a property's being sold FSBO will simply cut agents out of the transaction.  Realtors stand to lose (and buyers to gain) thousands of dollars if they succeed.   

Next step:  Finding a discount agent.
 

Appendix:  Local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) websites by state

ALABAMA

ALASKA

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

HAWAII

IDAHO

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

IOWA

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

MAINE

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

OKLAHOMA

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH CAROLINA

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

WYOMING

 

ŠLori Alden, 2008.  All rights reserved.