Imaginative Online Resources Can Shortcut Home Search

Web Resources Can Focus
Efforts to Buy a House

If you are looking to buy a house in Utah and haven’t yet taken advantage of the power of the Internet, wow! — are you missing out! A host of new technologies and online resources have simplified finding and analyzing properties. To help zero in on your ideal house in Salt Lake City and Beyond this fall, here are a few of my favorite online resources:

Google Maps can save hours of time. Just go to Google and click on the “Maps” option at the top. Key in the full address of the property you’d like to look at, and, voila! You’re instantly looking at it in a choice of satellite view or from street level. For a quick glance a property’s “curb appeal,” you can’t beat it!

Long before you buy a house you’ll want to know whether it’s a bargain or overpriced. The quickest way to get a rough (and rough is the operable word) estimate is at Zillow. Zillow.com provides a rough estimate (okay – very rough!) of the current valuation for most properties. Although these “zestimates” are approximate, you can also see what other properties in the surrounding neighborhood and area have sold for.

The Trulia website can help shorten the research needed before you buy a house. Here you pose questions about a property to be answered by local experts. Ask about prices, closing times and real estate commissions. You can also find detailed information about local neighborhoods like commute times, crime stats, and local school ratings.

Locally of course my favorites (being biased) are the VIP consumer websites that give immediate direct feeds of listings from the Wasatch Front MLS for any properties in the state of Utah. It gives you your own private platform for saving your favorites, request more information on property, or request a showing.

After selecting your search criteria, you will receive an email with new listings as they come on the market every day and the first to receive any changes on your favorite listings, such as price reduction or if it is under contract or expired. Both these search websites have valuable additional tools for your search.  

      www.searchpropertiesutah.com
      www.Homes4SaleUtahRealEstate.com
      www.SaltLakeCity-shortsales.com

 Online resources like these can reduce a lot of legwork (and gasoline consumption). Of course, nothing can replace the expert advice of a local Realtor^® and viewing a selection of properties in person — but using these resources helps shorten the process. 

Once you have narrowed down your search and are ready to go out in the trenches, then it is time to select your personal Buyer's Agent. It is important to understand the laws of agency in regards to real estate as a buyer and the protection it provides. As a buyer, having a professional personal buyer's agent costs you nothing! 

If you’re looking to buy property in Salt Lake City and beyond this fall, I’m here to help!