What You Can And Cannot Determine By Searching for Homes Online In Northwest Valley

Shopping for a home has most definitely changed. It used to be both stressful and time-consuming – looking through countless listings in the newspaper, driving around neighborhoods looking at for-sale signs and houses, carving out time for showings, and more. These days, you can do most of that online, early on at least. Did you know that nearly half of all buyers begin their home searches online? There are still some disadvantages to house hunting online as well as some pitfalls you need to be aware of. So, here’s what you can and cannot determine by searching for homes online in Northwest Valley.

Advantages of Searching for Homes Online

U.S.News, “find the sales price of the home next door, search for listings, in a given school zone and take virtual tours of homes you’re interested in.” These are some of the advantages to searching for homes online in Northwest Valley. This makes searching for homes online more convenient, saves more time and money and is a very effective way to assist buyers in being able to quickly determine if something warrants a closer look without ever having to leave their home or office.

LESS DISAPPOINTMENT

Previously, searching for a new home was often accompanied by a good amount of disappointment. After spending time pouring through ads and driving around, buyers would often be disappointed once they were finally able to tour a home because it wasn’t what they thought it would be. Thanks to higher quality photos, video tours and virtual staging a lot that disappointment can be eliminated. Once you’ve looked at that information online, you can typically determine fairly quickly if that is a home you want to take a closer look at. In fact, among the buyers who conducted their searches online, 87% reported the photos as being very helpful, and 84% found detailed information about the property useful. Keep in mind that while you can gather a lot of information online, real estate agents often have access to even more information.

WIDER SCOPE

You are not limited geographically when searching for homes online. You can view listings by city, school district, zip code or even in another state. Having so much information at your fingertips, you can likely to determine which homes meet your criteria and which ones don’t early on. This saves time by eliminating homes or areas that don’t fit what you’re looking for before you ever step foot outside.

IMMEDIATE PRICING DATA

Gone are the days of searching for the asking price buried somewhere in the listing. Not only do you have the asking price, you will likely also have other important pricing data readily available when searching for homes online in the Northwest Valley. You may have access to property tax information as well as a comparable homes in the area. You can also see how far your budget goes in different areas you may be considering as well. This should help you focus on certain areas and can then assist you in determining your offer.

NO MIDDLEMAN

A real estate agent is an asset as well as an ally in your search for a home. She can even help you avoid making any costly mistakes. Early on, many buyers feel that involving someone else in the process means added effort, time, and inconvenience. You can often avoid that initial contact with an agent searching for homes online, at least for a little while. Unless you plan on representing yourself, you’re going to want an agent negotiating on your behalf and protecting your interests.

Disadvantages and What You Cannot Determine Searching Online

Online real estate listings are still largely unregulated, so pretty much anything goes. Here are some examples of situations where you won’t always be able to find your dream home using online sources:

ALREADY SOLD

Online listings aren’t always updated the way they should be. Sometimes sold listing data is purposely left in order to collect your data. It might be the case that after you spend time searching and thinking and comparing, that house is already sold. Agents sometimes forget to remove listings, and sometimes it is just an unscrupulous rogue site.

NOT EVEN FOR SALE

Sometimes, when you’re searching for homes online in the Northwest Valley, it turns out that the house was never even for sale. There are shady link farms out there that aggregate sold listings simply to generate more traffic. Sad, but true. This can be frustrating when you are seriously searching online.

NOT A GOOD FIT

Some of the important data you need to make a decision may not be available searching for homes online. For instance, let’s say you need to close within 30 days. That house you’re looking at online, may be a short sale, even though that information isn’t listed. That won’t really work for your timeline.

INCORRECT DESCRIPTION

Online listings may not be all that accurate. Incorrect descriptions are usually due to human error. As we mentioned before, sometimes it is the result of a direct effort to mislead and unfortunately, this happens more than you might think. Here are some examples for you: the two-bath home that really caught your eye may actually have only one bath or it might even be in a different city than advertised. All these scenarios can be aggravating, and they do actually happen, a lot.

Searching for homes online is super convenient, but the fact remains that there are many things you cannot determine or at least can’t determine accurately by searching online yourself. That is why you need the services of a good agent: to avoid wasting time and being disappointed and to avoid costly mistakes. In most cases, the seller pays the buyer agent fee, so there is no out of pocket cost for you to use a buyer’s agent. The seller’s interests are represented, shouldn’t yours be as well?

For some expert guidance in searching for homes online in the Northwest Valley, just contact us today! (602) 806-8834

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