Best way to view houses prior to having a realtor?

[futurehomeowner?]

I guess I should just start a running thread since I am starting to have a ton of questions as we get near our search. Well maybe next question I have then I will.

 

Our reports are almost clean and we were thinking about getting our pre approval in the next month or so. We have been looking at houses usiing trulia, zillow, and local real estate websites. It seems that all sites pretty much have the same info. We haven't seen anything on those websites that would work for us. I know pre approvals are only good for 60 days so I was thinking about waiting until we see something that may work for us until we go for the preapproval.

 

So I guess my question is. Is there any benefit to getting the pre approval sooner and finding a realtor now? Do they have access to other homes that may not be listed on websites such as foreclosures, short sales, or for sale by owner? 15 years ago the realtor played such a big role in helping you find the house but it seems like now a days they are more like attorneys helping you negotiate and doing paperwork since everything is online.

[Brian B The Loan Professor]

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

[DallasLoanGuy]

a lot of those homes on zillo/trulia are already under contract or sold.....

your realtor can sort those out for you and save you tons of time.

[futurehomeowner?]

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

[joe blo]

I remembered during a home search years ago with a family member (I backed out the last second after pulling the wool from over my eyes), I thought I checked every nook and cranny on the internet, and other places, until we sat down with an agent. He showed us on his computer how much more was available.

[mariuszh]

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

 

 

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

Edited February 10, 2014 by mariuszh

[futurehomeowner?]

 

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

 

 

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

 

 

thank you for your insight.

 

Mainly the reason I asked the question is because; my wife really wants to live in a certain school district which is where she went to school. They are ranked in the top 10 school districts in the state. The problem is the median income is 167k and the median house value is 161k. We are going to be looking for a 3 bedroom in the 95k range. Right now on zillow there is only 1 house listed and it is in a flood prone area so that is out. I don't want to get a preapproval now if we know there are no houses available. That is why I asked the question. If Zillow was basically showing all available then there would be no reason to waste a LO or realtors time at this point.

However, based on what I am reading in this thread that there may be more available then what I am seeing then maybe it is worth starting the process now.

 

I am pushing for the school district that is right next door and the one that I went to. It is a decent school district but it is ranked 38 in the state and she doesn't like that. However we could get a 4 bedroom house for 95k right now.

Edited February 10, 2014 by futurehomeowner?

[mariuszh]

 

 

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

 

 

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

 

 

thank you for your insight.

 

Mainly the reason I asked the question is because; my wife really wants to live in a certain school district which is where she went to school. They are ranked in the top 10 school districts in the state. The problem is the median income is 167k and the median house value is 161k. We are going to be looking for a 3 bedroom in the 95k range. Right now on zillow there is only 1 house listed and it is in a flood prone area so that is out. I don't want to get a preapproval now if we know there are no houses available. That is why I asked the question. If Zillow was basically showing all available then there would be no reason to waste a LO or realtors time at this point.

However, based on what I am reading in this thread that there may be more available then what I am seeing then maybe it is worth starting the process now.

 

I am pushing for the school district that is right next door and the one that I went to. It is a decent school district but it is ranked 38 in the state and she doesn't like that. However we could get a 4 bedroom house for 95k right now.

 

 

I think school district ratings are overrated.

 

I find it hard to believe I would have been more successful in life if I graduated from my neighboring, higher rated school district.

 

It's up to the individual person what they make out of themselves.

[futurehomeowner?]

 

 

 

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

 

 

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

 

 

thank you for your insight.

 

Mainly the reason I asked the question is because; my wife really wants to live in a certain school district which is where she went to school. They are ranked in the top 10 school districts in the state. The problem is the median income is 167k and the median house value is 161k. We are going to be looking for a 3 bedroom in the 95k range. Right now on zillow there is only 1 house listed and it is in a flood prone area so that is out. I don't want to get a preapproval now if we know there are no houses available. That is why I asked the question. If Zillow was basically showing all available then there would be no reason to waste a LO or realtors time at this point.

However, based on what I am reading in this thread that there may be more available then what I am seeing then maybe it is worth starting the process now.

 

I am pushing for the school district that is right next door and the one that I went to. It is a decent school district but it is ranked 38 in the state and she doesn't like that. However we could get a 4 bedroom house for 95k right now.

 

 

I think school district ratings are overrated.

 

I find it hard to believe I would have been more successful in life if I graduated from my neighboring, higher rated school district.

 

It's up to the individual person what they make out of themselves.

 

I agree 100%. 1 thing that I will say about the school district that I went to is that it is very diverse in the income ranges. There is 1 side which is 200k houses and then there is the other side of the district that is 75% welfare and houses that are boarded up. In her district it is 1 side with million dollar houses and the other side with 150k houses.

 

I actually like the diverse setting as well. She is dead set on living in her district but we will see if her tune changes once we get the pre approval and she sees how far off we are to getting a house there. I have showed her but I am not the LO so I don't count.

[nachocredit1]

Hi, yes the realtor has LIVE access to the MLS and can filter it to send you immediate updates according to your needs. Also, realtor.com I would say would be next in line to getting updates from the MLS. It even shows you the home status.

[RedHairedLady]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

It also depends on the child, and I say that as a parent myself. A naturally high achieving, very bright child will likely do well in most any school. A child with special needs will need the extra support and resources available in a higher ranked school district. I have a daughter with a learning disability, and some other issues. She was in Catholic schools from kindergarten through 9th grade, as we lived in a city with a failing, low rated school district, with few resources. I have no doubt that she would not have gotten the help she needs academically in those schools.

 

When my husband and I realized we weren't going to be able to afford to send her to Catholic school for the remainder of her high school years, we moved last summer. She's now in 10th grade in a public school district that's one of the best/highest ranked in our state, and that has a large, extensive special education program. She's doing well there. She'll never be a straight A honors student, but I know she'll graduate from high school. If we had stayed in our old city, and put her in public school there, I have no doubt she likely would have ended up dropping out of high school.

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

thank you for your insight.

 

Mainly the reason I asked the question is because; my wife really wants to live in a certain school district which is where she went to school. They are ranked in the top 10 school districts in the state. The problem is the median income is 167k and the median house value is 161k. We are going to be looking for a 3 bedroom in the 95k range. Right now on zillow there is only 1 house listed and it is in a flood prone area so that is out. I don't want to get a preapproval now if we know there are no houses available. That is why I asked the question. If Zillow was basically showing all available then there would be no reason to waste a LO or realtors time at this point.

However, based on what I am reading in this thread that there may be more available then what I am seeing then maybe it is worth starting the process now.

 

I am pushing for the school district that is right next door and the one that I went to. It is a decent school district but it is ranked 38 in the state and she doesn't like that. However we could get a 4 bedroom house for 95k right now.

I think school district ratings are overrated.

 

I find it hard to believe I would have been more successful in life if I graduated from my neighboring, higher rated school district.

 

It's up to the individual person what they make out of themselves.

[RedHairedLady]

 

 

 

 

 

Realtors may have access to more or know of upcoming homes that arent listed yet but you are right web sites pretty much show you what is out there - they do NOT have the same details that a Realtor will have through the MLS though nor will anyone let you in to see a home without a Realtor (except maybe a FSBO)

 

The MLS is a lot more powerful program than anything available to the public - I have tried them all at one time or another -

 

Most agents will not want to invest too much time into you until you have a preapproval - If you are ready to go out and start looking at homes in person then get the preaproval

If not waiting and looking online is fine until you are ready

 

B

It also depends on the child, and I say that as a parent myself. A naturally high achieving, very bright child will likely do well in most any school. A child with special needs will need the extra support and resources available in a higher ranked school district. I have a daughter with a learning disability, and some other issues. She was in Catholic schools from kindergarten through 9th grade, as we lived in a city with a failing, low rated school district, with few resources. I have no doubt that she would not have gotten the help she needs academically in those schools.

 

When my husband and I realized we weren't going to be able to afford to send her to Catholic school for the remainder of her high school years, we moved last summer. She's now in 10th grade in a public school district that's one of the best/highest ranked in our state, and that has a large, extensive special education program. She's doing well there. She'll never be a straight A honors student, but I know she'll graduate from high school. If we had stayed in our old city, and put her in public school there, I have no doubt she likely would have ended up dropping out of high school.

 

thank you both for answering. I always thought zillow was pulling from the MLS. We talked about it tonight and we are going to go for a pre approval as soon as the last baddie is removed in the next few weeks.

Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads, etc... are notoriously out of date and riddled with inaccuracies. Even if they are accurate you won't have access to seller disclosures for the property.

 

Say the above statement didn't come into play - and you find a 7 homes on those sites which you want to view. Are you going to call each listing agent one by one to schedule a showing? Then are you going to tell seven different listing agents no thank you when they start their sales pitch as to why they should be your buyer agent?

 

Not to mention most listing agents will be leary receiving a phone call from an individual that has no pre-approval or buyer agent to view a home. That does not sound like a qualified buyer the slightest. I am a Realtor and I would not go out of my way to show a home to such a person.

 

My clients send me a list of homes that catch their eye, I screen them for any issues that would be deal breakers for them, and we go on our way to look at them.

thank you for your insight.

 

Mainly the reason I asked the question is because; my wife really wants to live in a certain school district which is where she went to school. They are ranked in the top 10 school districts in the state. The problem is the median income is 167k and the median house value is 161k. We are going to be looking for a 3 bedroom in the 95k range. Right now on zillow there is only 1 house listed and it is in a flood prone area so that is out. I don't want to get a preapproval now if we know there are no houses available. That is why I asked the question. If Zillow was basically showing all available then there would be no reason to waste a LO or realtors time at this point.

However, based on what I am reading in this thread that there may be more available then what I am seeing then maybe it is worth starting the process now.

 

I am pushing for the school district that is right next door and the one that I went to. It is a decent school district but it is ranked 38 in the state and she doesn't like that. However we could get a 4 bedroom house for 95k right now.

I think school district ratings are overrated.

 

I find it hard to believe I would have been more successful in life if I graduated from my neighboring, higher rated school district.

 

It's up to the individual person what they make out of themselves.

 

I disagree somewhat. I don't think district ratings are overrated.

 

Sure, if a child is naturally high achieving, very bright and motivated, he will likely do well no matter what school he attends, unless maybe the school is a complete mess. But not every child is so fortunate. I think the average children, and especially those with special needs are the ones who need to be in a decent school district, for the resources and support that those districts can offer. I saw this as a parent of a special needs child.

 

My teenage daughter has a learning disability, along with some other issues. She was in Catholic school from kindergarten through 9th grade, including 3 years at a tiny Catholic school for special needs kids (6th-8th grades). We lived in a suburb with a failing school district, that is one of the lowest ranked in Ohio. Underfunded, a lot of fighting/discipline issues, high turnover among students and staff, constantly declining graduation rates, etc. No way was I going to send her to school there. I knew she would not get the helps she needs academically.

 

When my husband and I realized last year that we would not be able to afford to continue to send her to Catholic high school, we chose to move instead. We moved to a different suburb that has a district that's among the highest ranked in the state, and that has a large and extensive special education program at the high school level. It's a solidly middle class, racially and ethnically diverse district (many immigrant students from many countries), comprised of kids from 4 different suburbs, with a huge range of housing prices, from less than $100,000 to over a million dollars.

 

She's in 10th grade in public school now, and doing well. I know she'll never be a straight A honors student, but at least I know that she will graduate from high school here. If we had stayed in our old city, and sent her to public high school, I have no doubt that she would have ended up dropping out.

 

I have a nephew who also has some special needs. He attended a few dysfunctional inner city schools until my brother (his stepfather) moved his family to a nice suburb with highly ranked public schools. He finally received all of the help he never got in his old schools, and graduated from high school a few years ago. He went from being barely able to read, to graduating on time with his class, passing all of the Ohio graduation tests. I'm sure he would have ended up dropping out of high school too, if my brother hadn't moved when he did, and gotten him in better schools.

 

Now, his teenage stepsister on the other hand, is a very bright kid, complete overachiever, just super accomplished academically, socially, athletically, etc. She was doing just fine academically in the poor performing schools she attended before they moved, and is still doing great. The big advantage for her now in their better public school district is that she has access to honors classes and more extracurricular activities/sports, that their old school district couldn't afford and didn't have.

 

I do know too that housing values in this country are very much dependent on the quality of the school district. The suburb mine and my husband used to live in has had a huge decline in housing values, as the school district has gone downhill, and a corresponding rise in property taxes, as more and more homeowners move out. The suburb we live in now is more expensive, but has much lower property taxes, and housing values have remained steady over the years. We're paying more in rent, but the savings by not having to pay for Catholic school tuition for our daughter any longer more than outweighs the increased rent.

 

I don't think anyone should buy a house they can't afford, just to live in a highly ranked school district, but I would never buy a house in a completely failing school district, either, unless I could afford private schools. Just my opinion on schools.

Edited February 10, 2014 by RedHairedLady

[futurehomeowner?]

RHL I do agree with you. In our situation though we are talking about a #4 ranked school and a #38 ranked school. I am not talking about an inner city school which has high drop out rates. The 2 I am talking about probably have a <1 % drop out rate. Also the higher ranked district has maybe 120 people in each graduating class and the other has 500 in the graduating class. I don't think that really matters but I personally like the larger school with more resources however she like the small school. I have been trying to explain to her that there are other things that go into school such as activities, sports, and other organizations. Her school only has the main programs that every school has where the larger school has anything that you can possibly think of.

 

We both have valid points as to which school is better. She is stubborn though so we will see how this plays out.

[RedHairedLady]

Well, the understandable then. In that case, it sounds like it will come down to what you can afford, house wise.

 

The special needs Catholic elementary school my daughter graduated from had 149 kids, from k-8th grades. It was deliberately kept small. There were 15 kids in her 8th grade graduating class. The Catholic school she attended for 9th grade had about 400 kids. The good thing about it was that she knew most of the kids and teachers, and it was easy for her to make friends because of that.

 

The high school she's at now has about 1,500 kids. It was kind of overwhelming for her at first, being in a much larger school. But she likes it better overall. The school is newer, much nicer, and more modern. The range of classes, programs, sports, and extracurricular activities is enormous too. They also have a much better lunch program, which my daughter is happy about, lol. I went to a tiny Catholic high school myself, and it astounds me to see what a big public school district can offer.

 

I think the school she's at now is just big enough. I couldn't see sending her to a high school the size of the one another niece and nephew of mine graduated from, that has 3000 kids. Or one I read about in a magazine, in Texas, with something like 10,000 kids - yikes!

Edited February 10, 2014 by RedHairedLady

[DallasLoanGuy]

The general public agrees that school ratings are indeed important.

Otherwise, homes in neighborhoods with the best schools would not go at a premium.

[coles421]

Don't know if it's available in your area but try redfin.com. They pulled directly from MLS while anyone can post on zillow. Also you can select a home tour and they will have a realtor meet you at house to see it. There is no pressure or commitment from them since they work on a salary instead of commission. It's an interesting concept on how to work with a realtor with everything going digital.