An engine that can.
Does anyone have an opinion on the best real estate search engine to use in the metro area? I’ve been browsing houses using edina realty’s search, but I don’t like it. (and I’m not sure why. Mostly I think because I always end up doing a radius search, which lands me in neighborhoods I don’t want to live in. Full disclosure: I’m picky.)
I know the best way to look for a house is probably to have a realtor… but right now, I’m in brainstorm/think mode, not actually buying anything mode. I just want to get a thermometer out on what’s out there, prices, what you get for the money, etc. Also, to daydream on my lunchbreak.
Anyone have a personal favorite?
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Here’s my favorite that I’ve been using for years:
http://www.minnesotas-real-estate.com/search-mls.htm
The big three in the Twin Cities market are edinarealty.com, cbburnet.com, and Re/Max Results’ site at minnesotahomes.com
All have significantly different interfaces. It’s a matter of personal opinion which one is best. I’m biased, as I work for the company that builds MinnesotaHomes.com, so with that in mind, here are a few things that we think makes it great.
Large photos, property comparisons, printable brochures, RSS feeds of saved searches.
trulia.com - a national real estate search site - has an interesting interface as well, but I don’t believe they have all MLS listings for the Twin Cities market so you could miss out on some MLS listed properties.
Zillow?
I LOVE theMLSonline.com. It has a google map feature if that is your thing and a practical user interface. Another highlight are the 360 tours of homes which offer additional photos of the homes not shown within the normal photo viewing page.
http://www.fishmls.com lists them all
For some reason I always use Roger Fazendin.
http://www.rogerfazendin.com/index.cfm
Not sure why though…
Easiest one out there is http://www.ziprealty.com -Its full MLS. Before you do anything else, read http://www.thehousingbubbleblog.com daily, then wait at least 24 months to buy. You may still be catching a falling knife (home values) so DYODD.
(Do your own due diligence) Good luck. Oh, put 20 percent down, pay no more than 2.5 to 3 times your income, and no ARMS. Avoid a 30 year if you can- go 15.
Whenever I’ve used edinarealty.com, I always start with the particular zip code I want to first search. That quickly gets me to a specific area. You can move the map around easily enough (a la GoogleMaps) so you really shouldn’t have any trouble moving from neighborhood to neighborhood.
P.S. A 20-year mortgage is also an option, often overlooked, that can make a payment more affordable than a 15-year. You can always add an extra $100 or so to each months’ payment to pay down your principal more quickly. With my 30-year, the extra $100/month will mean the house is paid for in 22 years instead of 30 … saving me tens of thousands of dollars in interest.
You can also do that thing where you pay half the payment semi-monthly instead of monthly. Cuts down on the interest over the long term.
I can’t even fathom coming up with 20% down, having no prior house to roll over money from.
If you are looking for a bank owned home, go to http://www.fishmls.com. They post forclosures and Jason Borowitz is experienced at writing contracts on bank owed homes. He is also the broker of the company. I am currently working with him searching for a new home. A-1 service you won’t be dissapointed.