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Good way to Check Real Estate in my area

altmannaltmann Registered User regular
edited March 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
Sup H&A.

I'm in the market for a house, and I was using the shit out of google maps and their real-estate view, but that's gone now.

What's a good way to check listings in my area, preferably with mapping etc?

I know there have to be good sites out there, anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

Imperator of the Gigahorse Jockeys.

"Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"

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altmann on

Posts

  • The Crowing OneThe Crowing One Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Zillow.com

    The Crowing One on
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  • kneelingyakkneelingyak Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I used redfin.com when I was searching for houses. It seemed to have just as much info as the realtor got from the MLS.

    kneelingyak on
  • adytumadytum The Inevitable Rise And FallRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    redfin.com has a nice interface too

    adytum on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    trulia.com

    VisionOfClarity on
  • altmannaltmann Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Neat, these are all cool. Thanks!

    FYI redfin doesn't have my area (Florida) so it doesn't work for everyone.

    altmann on
    Imperator of the Gigahorse Jockeys.

    "Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"

    signature.png
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
    edited March 2011
    MLS is what the realtors use:

    http://www.mls.com/

    spool32 on
  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Realtors use MLS, but mls.com doesn't give you squat; it just forwards you to partner sites. If you can actually login to the MLS there's a lot of great info there, but realtors pay money for a subscription for MLS access, and it's very regional, in that my MIL can search broward, palm beach and miami-dade, but not say north florida.

    If you work with a buyers/real estate agent they can set you up with real MLS access, to an extent (at least mine did).

    city-data has some good info w/r/to real estate (a lot of cool demographics info, crime, recent sales estimates), but nothing in the way of home sale listings.

    Djeet on
  • iRevertiRevert Tactical Martha Stewart Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    The Crowing One wrote: »
    Zillow.com

    +1

    They cut back on some old features they had that I miss, but I still use the crap out of them almost weekly.

    iRevert on
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
    edited March 2011
    Djeet wrote: »
    Realtors use MLS, but mls.com doesn't give you squat; it just forwards you to partner sites. If you can actually login to the MLS there's a lot of great info there, but realtors pay money for a subscription for MLS access, and it's very regional, in that my MIL can search broward, palm beach and miami-dade, but not say north florida.

    If you work with a buyers/real estate agent they can set you up with real MLS access, to an extent (at least mine did).

    city-data has some good info w/r/to real estate (a lot of cool demographics info, crime, recent sales estimates), but nothing in the way of home sale listings.

    This is dead true - I'd forgotten entirely. One of my friends is a realtor in the area, and gave us his account details ages ago.

    spool32 on
  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    take zillow stuff with a grain of salt though, it says my neighbor's house is foreclosed, and on the market for 25k, but my real estate agent cannot find it in her searches.

    also they have been steadily lowering my home value all the time, i hate them!

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Is there a good way to check high speed internet availability as well? Googling around seems to give me nothing but junk sites.

    Darlan on
  • a5ehrena5ehren AtlantaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Darlan wrote: »
    Is there a good way to check high speed internet availability as well? Googling around seems to give me nothing but junk sites.

    The only good way I've found is to type in addresses at the provider's sites - my area is some combination of Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast, but YMMV depending on what's in your region.

    a5ehren on
  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    not to derail, but do real estate agents have the best resources for tracking foreclosed homes? i'm wondering if the one next to me is going to auction or something... i'd seriously consider buying it if it's actually 25k

    there's another one my street for 33k.... YAY PROPERTY VALUES... fml.

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
  • a5ehrena5ehren AtlantaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »
    not to derail, but do real estate agents have the best resources for tracking foreclosed homes? i'm wondering if the one next to me is going to auction or something... i'd seriously consider buying it if it's actually 25k

    there's another one my street for 33k.... YAY PROPERTY VALUES... fml.

    It may be foreclosed (aka the bank has taken ownership) but not listed yet. If you know what bank it is, you can try to contact them directly?

    a5ehren on
  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    all i can get to is that it's post foreclosure and owned by a bank. On Zillow at least. Others don't even have it as foreclosed.

    Maybe they'd give me a deal if i save them listing costs!

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    http://www.realtytrac.com/home/ is the place I see on Trulia for foreclosures.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • illigillig Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    realtor.com has a map based search - it's slow and ugly compared to google's defunct search, but it's usable

    illig on
  • DaenrisDaenris Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »
    all i can get to is that it's post foreclosure and owned by a bank. On Zillow at least. Others don't even have it as foreclosed.

    Maybe they'd give me a deal if i save them listing costs!

    Try to see if you county has an online property listing. My county website has a search where you can enter an address and it lists current owner, taxable value, and sales history of the property. If something like that exists for your area the bank-owned properties would likely list the name of the bank.

    Daenris on
  • The Crowing OneThe Crowing One Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »
    not to derail, but do real estate agents have the best resources for tracking foreclosed homes? i'm wondering if the one next to me is going to auction or something... i'd seriously consider buying it if it's actually 25k

    there's another one my street for 33k.... YAY PROPERTY VALUES... fml.

    I can't emphatically enough that Foreclosed homes, while they may look like a great deal, are too much of a gamble to be worthwhile. Can't see inside; sold as-is; the previous owners often lacked funds for even basic repairs...

    Sometimes REO (Real Estate Owned) properties are rehabed by companies, especially many non-profits. These are, usually, less sketchy.

    Again. Not worth it.

    The Crowing One on
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  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    oh yeah, i'd have to see inside before i bought it. but knowing the people that lived there, and what it looks like on the outside, i'd say it's probably a full demo project. 20k for a shell in that neighborhood is a pretty good deal regardless.

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Where the hell do you live that houses are that cheap?

    schuss on
  • DaenrisDaenris Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    schuss wrote: »
    Where the hell do you live that houses are that cheap?

    Not sure where OP is, but for a while towards the end of 2008, beginning of 2009, the median home price in Detroit was $7,500. Granted, those homes are pretty much stripped empty shells in not great neighborhoods, but they were cheap. And if you look right now:
    http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/Michigan/Detroit-heat_map/
    There's quite a few regions that are under $32k

    Daenris on
  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Baltimore city! in an "up and coming neighborhood" ahem*bullshit*cough

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
  • mrt144mrt144 King of the Numbernames Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »
    Baltimore city! in an "up and coming neighborhood" ahem*bullshit*cough

    Up and coming murders.

    mrt144 on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    www.blockshopper.com

    Not a lot of markets (S Florida, Tampa, Orlando for the OP if that helps) but has a lot of good info on what it covers.

    MichaelLC on
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Penny Arcade Forums› Help / Advice Forum