Online House Hunting – Tips for Buyers

We live in a world where it has become completely possible for us to make informed buying decisions without having the leave the comfort of our home. Sure, we still want to go test drive that car and we still want to physically see the house we might buy, but the number of cars we test drive and houses we look at can be dramatically reduced. We have everything we need online. A word of caution is also necessary, though.
We know that we should never judge a book by its cover – we should also never make such a big decision based on only what we find online. A picture can be deceiving; a description can be misleading. When you start your home-buying journey, you should keep this in mind. We’ve cultivated some tips to help you along with your online house hunting experience.
Tips to Remember
Decide what you want
There are so many options online that you will have to be specific about what you do and don’t want and what your price point is. Are you looking for a big yard or is a garage more important, should your home have a pool or are you looking for something smaller?
Property websites will allow you to filter your search results to only show you the listings that you would actually be interested in. Keep in mind though that you shouldn’t be too rigid in your search parameters. If you want a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home at a specific price point, think just a bit beyond that when you filter your search. You might find your dream home at the right price, but it has four bedrooms. Or the perfect property could be just under the price point you indicated.
Use a sight that is updated often
There is nothing as frustrating as finding a home you would love to look at and then finding out that it is not available anymore or no longer open for show, but the site was never updated. Always make use of reputable websites and reputable companies. The same goes for when you make use of a real estate agent’s services. Make sure they are reputable with a good reputation to ensure you are always receiving the best advice and support. A good realtor will highlight the positive aspects of a property, but they will never hide or lie to you about the negative aspects.
Don’t rely only on images
Images of the house and property is a great way to get a feel or the place, but you should not rely solely on images to make your decision. You can definitely use them to help you eliminate the homes that you won’t be interested in, but once you have narrowed down your options to just a couple of properties, take the time to go look at them.
When viewing the images consider the number of available images. The more images there are of the different spaces from different angles, the more likely it is that the house has been kept in a good condition and there is nothing to hide. This is not a rule of thumb, though, but you will be left with a bit more information. Take the time to look at a photo and really envisage your furniture in the space, if you like what you imagine, it might be time to have a look in person. If there is not a virtual tour of the home available on the listing, you could contact your realtor to request one before committing to seeing it in person.
Go have a look
Once you have a smaller number of homes that you are truly interested in, it’s time to contact your realtor to organise a visit to the property. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it can never give you the complete feel and atmosphere of a home as when you are there in person. So, go have a look at the property and you just might be walking down the hall of your next home.
At Karis Properties, we want our clients to love the homes we help them find – that’s why we focus on truly understanding your needs and lifestyle you want to have in your home, and then we go and find the property that will let you have it.