IN THIS DAY AND AGE FEW TOOLS ARE as powerful as the Internet. You can look for old high school buddies, find obscure information, discover a new hobby or even look for a new home. The Internet can help both novice and experienced real estate investors or homeowners. Several sites allow a person to navigate through the plethora of real estate information on the Internet.
A lot of people are familiar with sites such as Yahoo!, but few may know about the tools it offers for someone searching for a home. Yahoo! Inc., recently posted a new redesigned real estate section on their main site, which lists foreclosures. The company that developed the section for Yahoo! is RealtyTrac.
“We believe the current market presents a unique opportunity for any buyer looking for a bargain,” RealtyTrac’s CEO, James Saccacio said.
The MLS, or multiple listing service, is the tool used by real estate brokers and agents to list properties. However, the guest website (www.themls.com) allows a person searching for a home to see what the current market values are by checking listing prices. The guest website is not as up-to-date as the MLS, but unless you are a real estate professional and paying the MLS annual fee, you will not be able to access it.
What if you are just curious as to how much your home is worth? The website you want to check out is zillow.com. Zillow.com is a great free website that offers tools to homeowners and investors. On zillow.com you can search for a home value, comparable sales, ask real estate professionals questions, and find a great deal of other real estate related information. It is easy to spend a lot of time on zillow.com, but it could be time well spent.
If you are looking for a property that is for sale by owner, or FSBO, the website for you is fsbohotsheet.com. You do have to pay a fee, but for your money, you get daily listings of FSBO listings in your area. The site does all the legwork for you, combing through newspaper and magazine FSBO ads and sending subscribers the information. If you are looking for an FSBO deal this service could be invaluable to you.
The web is also great for real estate professionals. Two sites which real estate brokers may find valuable are realestatevoices.com and reliberation.com. The sites allow brokers to share news and other information, which could lead to networking, while two other websites — real-town.com and realestatenetworkers.com — offer brokers discussion groups and forums.
No one website is going to be the holy grail for anyone looking for real estate information. Nevertheless, with the Internet being such a useful tool it is easy to see why so many people use it for information. While getting the advice of a real estate professional is essential, the Internet can be a wonderful supplement.
MIKE HEAYN is a Washington Mutual Multi- Family Loan Consultant. He 310-428-1342, or e-mailed at
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.