In the past finding a West Hills CA home for sale was a full time job. Both for you and your real estate agent. Your agent needed to have a clear understanding of what you were looking for in a home. Once they felt they had a solid idea, they would choose homes, set up appointments, and drive you there. Together you would evaluate how close they were to what you wanted. If it didn’t match your needs, you both just wasted a lot of time and energy.
As the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) developed to the point where each real estate agency could put their listings online with digital photos, longer descriptions, contact information, and even Google maps to find the property, “finding a house” took on a whole new meaning.
Today, most real estate agents are contacted by potential buyers who have already found homes on the Internet that interest them. A buyer’s first question is no longer, “Can you help me find a house?” Now they ask, “I found three homes on your website. How can I get in to see them?”
These educated consumers no longer depend on the agent to know everything about every house. The buyer now knows as much as or even more than the agent does. The buyer can see the 360 degree photo tours, architectural drawings and floor plans, real photos of the front and back yard, and of course the all important kitchen and bathrooms.
On many websites, banks and lenders have paid for advertising space and there are links to loan officers to talk about pre-qualification letters (a real handy document that agents and sellers love to see the buyers equip themselves with).
Not sure if you can afford the home? Use the handy mortgage calculator up there in the corner and play with some numbers. You might be better off than you think!
What’s new with online house hunting? Some savvy FSBOs (For Sale by Owners) have web cam access! If you still aren’t sure, you can “walk” through the property while sitting at your desk.
