Finding your dream home isn’t always as easy as 1-2-3, but luckily you have many resources available today. From easy property search and local guides to real estate Q&A, Trulia helps you take the hassle out of home hunting.
With these tools you can boil down an involved process to the basics: Research, advice and a little strategic negotiation.
Check out these 1-2-3s to jumpstart (or reinvigorate) your house hunting process.
1) Do your homework
Knowledge is power, so get started on your research.
- See what’s new: Search for properties, open house times, days on market
- Review trends: Research average prices, household incomes, crime statistics
- Find an agent: Check out agent profiles on Trulia Voices.
2) Ask your neighbors
It’s always good to get a second opinion. From mortgages to nearby parks, Trulia Voices is your free resource to ask all things real estate. Try searching by category or keyword. For example, check out a recent hot question about schools.
Q: What cities have the best school district in Southern California?
Not sure where to look in your neighborhood? Find out what other buyers, sellers and real estate pros recommend.
3) Play the offer game
When you’ve finally narrowed your search, you may need to strategically negotiate to get what you want. We think these answers to Christine’s question are a great place to start.
Have your own thoughts? Add, agree or debate on Trulia Voices.
See you next time!
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November 13th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Negotiation is definitely key. Hopefully the agent listing the home has listed the home with homeowners who are willing and motivated sellers who don’t mind pricing their home at market value. you might also want to look for FSBO’s… these listings often sit for long periods of time due to a lack of proper marketing… knowing the average market value of some other properties in the maighborhood might be helpful as well… check out zillow, and do the math to iron out the kinks of annual price fluctuation…. just some ideas…
November 14th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Hi John,
Thanks for your input! We also think FSBOs are a interesting option and covered it in a recent newsletter: http://www.trulia.com/newsletter/2007/10/10/
You should check out Trulia Voices if you have time and post your response there as well. http://www.trulia.com/voices/
Cheers,
Elain
January 17th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
These tips are very useful and need to be keep in mind when buying house. Its useful for both newbies and experts as well.