When you’re ready to start your home search online, don’t let the sheer volume of listings overwhelm you. Below are some tips to help you narrow down your search results on remax.com and make it much easier to streamline the list of homes you want to visit.
You’re looking at pictures of the perfect house. There’s a fenced-in yard for your dog. The garage has plenty of space to store your camping gear. Your kids will love the Jack-and-Jill style bathroom. But just as you’re about to contact the agent, you notice a deal-breaker – your commute to your new job would take twice as long as you wanted.
Avoid the heartbreak of discovering the perfect home is in a less-than-perfect location by using the remax.com mapping functions. After you filter properties based on pricing, number of bedrooms, and other criteria you set, this function shows homes as pins on a map. You can zoom in to focus on homes within walking distance to your kids’ new school, for instance, and you’ll also get an idea of what restaurants and other amenities are nearby. Plus, you can create a My RE/MAX account to access additional features like INRIX Drive Time, which shows commute times to and from a property at various times throughout the day.
3. Remember, photos and videos are only 2D.
Although it’s true that agents can do a great job of capturing a home’s character in photos and videos, there’s still only so much these images can convey. Maybe the neighborhood is described as “secluded,” but it’s still close enough to hear the train come through town. Or when you look closer, you’re unsure if the cabinets are maple or oak.
These types of uncertainties are why it’s important to see a home in person before you make a decision to buy. Your real estate agent will happily schedule showings for you. But if choosing an agent isn’t something you’re ready to do right now, there is a way to see properties and start narrowing down your wants, needs and options: open houses. On remax.com, you can filter search results to see homes with an upcoming open house. The feature also posts the dates and times you can stop by to see the properties in person.
To get an even better feel for the area, you also can view demographic data and browse a neighborhood overview.
4. Search your top neighborhood choices.
Make a trip across almost any city and you’ll encounter several different pockets of culture and attitude. One part of town might pride itself on being the historic city center while another is all about modernism. Perhaps the reason you’re in the market for a new home is that you want to shift to the lifestyle a specific neighborhood offers. To search for a specific area on remax.com, type the name of the area you want to live in, followed by “Neighborhood” and the state you’re looking in. If the neighborhood you’re looking for is listed (many, but not all, neighborhoods will appear), you’ll see search results showing all available properties in that area. Now that’s convenience!
5. Balance character with upkeep.
Another important search feature is the age of the property. Deciding whether or not you’re interested in purchasing an older home is a perfect example of how the wants and needs in a home differ for each buyer. You may have always wanted a home with exposed brick inside, but are you willing to pay to update the older plumbing that might come with it? Whether you’re open to taking on maintenance that may come with an older home or you’d rather avoid projects altogether and stick to brand-new homes, the “Age of Home” filter on remax.com can help you narrow down your search results.
-Originally posted at RE/MAX