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When you start your home search many begin on the internet. A quick Google search will produce 1000s of homes for sale in your area. If you discover a home that you like on a real estate site you can almost always view the pictures online.
It is even becoming more common to take a virtual tour or see a video tour of the home. If you have bought a house before to finding out the value of the house is not too difficult. You can check what the current owner bought it for check the real estate taxes or have an experienced real estate agent run comparables. Basically they compare what has sold in that area that is of similar specification and can tell you with amazing accuracy what this house should sell for. While the simplicity of the internet is suitable and helpful frequently you can be lead off target. The amount of information and strain of verifying its accuracy is a barrier many would like a professional to deal with. With so many websites to use online a home buyer will get overloaded with information that is often incomplete.
Even from the most trusted websites the data is often outdated within days. Real estate agents must secure a license in every state. A licensed real estate agent has access to data that regular people do not. The most accurate information on every property in their location. This information the real estate agents use has to be maintained up to date by all participating agents and brokers or they will be fined. Often times they hold real estate information that has not even been submitted yet. This often occurs inside of big brokerages where many agents work together to make sure their clients get the best properties in their area.
The database that real estate agents use is called the Multiple Listing Service or MLS for short. Every place in the United States has an MLS. While some MLSs cover more or less area depending on the number of residents of those locations. The primary purpose of an MLS is to allow participating real estate agents to make offers on homes to other agents when they find a buyer. The MLS home information is often accessible through other sites on the web. Although there is no requirement of third party websites to keep their data updated and accurate for many occurrences for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) homes cannot be directly uploaded to an MLS because the owners is not a participating member of the local Realtor association.
FSBO homes can be tough to find although internet experienced FSBO homes are able to get the word out on their property nowadays.
What is a Realtor? Oftentimes real estate agent and realtor are used interchangeably. often they are not really the same. A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent who is also a member of the National Association of Realtors. Realtors have to comply with a strict code of ethics and behaviour. Often real estate agents now have their own websites with their local MLS data displayed. together with non-real estate sites that provide data on FSBO foreclosure sites county assessor sites and valuation and marketing information websites. The abundance of real estate information on the internet makes sorting through and actually figuring out harder than ever. Regardless the flood of real estate data available many properties are still sold through real estate agents listings on the MLS. With the rise of the web the properties listed on the MLS are there for all to see. Gone are the days of print advertising. With so much real estate information existing it can be difficult to choose the best real estate agent for you. Most agents specialize in a type of home or in specific client. Choosing the one that best fits your needs will allow for a smoother home buying experience than with a real estate agent that you don’t get along with. All experienced agents will have reviews available online for you to look through as well.
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