| If you can buy
groceries, clothes, toys and cars over the Internet, why not add
property to the list?
Long, lazy weekends are a distant memory for anyone buying a
house. Instead, Saturdays are spent traipsing through property
after property in search of the dream home. But if you can buy
groceries, clothes, toys and cars over the Internet, why not add
property to the list?
Buying property can be tiresome. First, you have to push through
a crowd of spectators at the open house, then there's the
tug-of-war with the agent. The rush doesn't stop when you
finally find your dream home — there's the price war, insurance,
packing and moving, renovations and more. Real estate online can
cut down the legwork and take some of the hassle out of moving.
Everyone knows that the big seller in real estate is position,
position, position. Well research, research, research is big too
and real estate online makes this easy. The Internet's virtual
shopfront allows browsers to choose from a variety of one stop
shops. Inside, customers have access to a range of specialist
information, from where to get the best mortgage to phone
numbers of local gardeners.
While navigating sites is time consuming, it is preferable to
driving from suburb to suburb, not knowing what to expect when
you arrive at your destination. A number of sites offer virtual
tours, enabling the browser to walk through the entire home
online. You can zoom in on specific features and get a "feel"
for the size and layout of the home. If you like what you see,
you can contact the agent and organise an inspection.
Some web sites provide floor plans and others have an e-mail
alert service that automatically notifies you if a property
suited to your specifications comes on the market. Domain at
domain.com.au
and the Real Estate Institute of NSW at at
realestate.com.au both have an alert facility as well as
offering virtual tours.
Real estate agents aren't the only ones on the net. The
Commonwealth Bank has launched its Homepath web site at
homepath.com.au,
providing a DIY loan calculator and comparisons with home loan
offers from other lenders. It is also possible to find, gain
approval and manage a loan all from the comfort of your own
home. This eliminates the need for uncomfortable meetings with
the bank manager.
Property sites are constantly being updated as new concepts
emerge. It is possible to get all the information on a property
over the net without actually seeing it. A New York Realtor
recently claimed six of her customers bought apartments site
unseen with $87 million worth of sales coming through the net.
Peter and Lisa Sewell bought their property over the internet
sight unseen and were very happy with the result. They wanted to
buy in Melbourne but were living in another state. The Sewells
couldn't afford to fly interstate every weekend and return home
with nothing, so they used the net to search and see their new
home.
Advantages
- Sites are an excellent first
stop. You can create a shortlist of properties, vetting those
you don't like and cutting down the leg work.
- You're not limited to
business hours — you can browse at your leisure 24 hours a
day.
- You can view and investigate
property on the Internet without speaking to a real estate
agent (avoid the "hard sell").
- Sites can be used to
organise finance, removalists, property maintenance and more.
Tips for finding a property on-line
- Have an idea of the property
you want before you log onto the site (house or apartment).
- Choose a region, suburb or
even a street to limit your search.
- Decide on the price range,
number of bedrooms/bathrooms and any additional extras like a
pool, acreage or parking.
- Do your research. Keep a
record of the properties that interest you (by copying the
information from the site and pasting it into a document).
- Bookmark your favorite sites
for future reference.
Source:
http://ourhouse.ninemsn.com.au/ourhouse/factsheets/db/openhouse/08/809.asp
|