Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Internet Service Providers
- Computers
- Online Mortgage/finance Services
Step1
Determine your price range (see 'eHow to Determine How Big a Mortgage You Can Afford').
Step2
Decide on a location, which can be as specific as an address or as broad as your state of choice. A Web site may also ask you to search by ZIP code, region, city or neighborhood.
Step3
Decide on the property type and age of the home. For instance, do you want to live in a condominium, a co-op, or a single-family or multifamily home? Would you like to live in a home of a certain vintage, such as one built less than 5 years ago or more than 10 years ago?
Step4
Decide on a property size by number of rooms and bathrooms, as well as area in square feet.
Step5
Determine other features you want in your dream home, such as a swimming pool, fireplaces, a second story or a waterfront view.
Step6
Surf the Internet for sites that offer listings, such as Realtor.com - the site of the National Association of Realtors - and specific brokerages and agents in the area where you are hunting.
Step7
Enter the information from steps 1 through 5 as requested by the site.
Step8
Look at the expanded information and photographs for the properties that come up in your search results.
Step9
Contact the agent listed if you see a home that fits your criteria. Ask for further information, such as more photographs and the home's history.
Step10
Set up an appointment to meet with the agent if you are still interested.
Comments
ebarmul said
on 10/30/2006 You can go to www.shopforahouseonline.com and get some really good info online
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 Use an online service to walk through homes in the area you are looking. It's a relatively new service, but in the San Francisco Bay Area it's great!
If you want to add your house to a listing, it's usually only $75 or so for 6 months.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If you are looking for a house, use http://www.freehomedirectory.com
It allows real estate agents and for sale by owners to list their properties for free. You can see a larger list of houses than a typical MLS search or FSBO (for sale by owner) search.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If you find one that looks interesting on Realtor.com, you may want to go to the agency website. Oftentimes they have additional pictures there.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If you decide to use a real estate agent, search out and choose a buyer's agent. The listing agent cannot, by law, be loyal to a buyer because he is contractually bound to the seller.