House Hunting Apps & Websites: Tips to Keep in Mind

Published:
May 6, 2021
Last updated:
November 30, 2021
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Searching for a home has never become easier than it is right now. Not only can you look for your dream home on various sites and in person, but you can also browse them on your mobile phone or device. Thus, in this article, we’ll go over several mobile house hunting tips you should consider when looking for your future home remotely.

For some time now, house hunting apps have changed the way people are buying and selling homes. In fact, over the last couple of years, there has been a significant shift to online platforms—making it possible for buyers to search for homes in a virtual environment.

In general, using apps and websites while searching for your dream home can be very advantageous and can even reduce some of the stress that tends to come with house hunting. Moreover, mobile home buying apps are only getting better at helping consumers find accurate housing information and offering features that allow users to narrow down their search. Mobile apps are also a good option for real estate agents, lending institutions, and sellers. That said, looking specifically at homebuyers, here are some of the benefits for home shopping via a mobile app, as well as a few mobile house hunting tips to keep in mind.

What Are Some Of The Major Benefits Of Mobile House Hunting?

Besides being a real asset to just about everyone involved in any given real estate transaction, home buying apps bring a variety of convenient real estate services to homebuyers. As briefly mentioned, through these apps, one can search for homes, find an agent, or search for a home’s value. Mobile house hunting apps also make it easier to keep track of each of your properties of interest. For example, some apps allow you to take photos of a home, enter personalized scoring information, and even add notes on the property. Furthermore, homebuyers can gain instant access to bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. Note, most apps like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Homesnap, and more provide a custom feed based on your browser history, in-app messaging, and real estate agent listings.

Clearly, these are just a few perks of mobile house hunting, but with limited housing inventory, you need to be creative in your approach to find the home of your dreams. By using these time-saving apps, you can speed up the researching process, quickly connect with realtors, uncover hidden property details, and gather neighborhood information in record time.  Likewise, home-related apps can help make other parts of the home buying process simple and faster—including looking through listings, creating your monthly budget, calculating your mortgage, getting pre-approved, and even finding home décor.

How Can You Narrow Down Your Options And Choose The Right App For Your Needs?

As you embark on your mobile house hunting journey, however, there are several important things to keep in mind. For starters, it is important to remember not all mobile house hunting apps are created equal. Some offer more interactive features, while others focus more on providing up-to-the-minute information. Thus, finding the mobile app that speaks to you will likely involve some trial and error. Nevertheless, figuring out which app better suits your needs means you can find your dream home sooner and even apply for a mortgage in an instant. Thus, when it comes to choosing the right home buying app, you should evaluate an app based on its database size, searchability, options for agents, data reliability, and overall value. Other ways you can narrow down your app options are by looking at reviews, its user-friendliness, and its availability on multiple platforms (Apple, Google, etc.).

What Are The Top Mobile House Hunting Tips Every Potential Homebuyer Should Know?

Once you find a house-hunting app that you prefer, it is highly recommended you keep these tips in mind during your mobile home search.

  • Make Sure To Stay Up-To-Date – databases are constantly updating to add new homes, reflect price adjustments and remove sold homes. This is why most mobile real estate apps allow you to set alerts for changes to individual property listings and specific locations.
  • Make Use Of Notification Features – activate relevant notifications for listings that you are interested in. This will ensure you are the first to know if the price drops.
  • Expand Your Mobile Search – resist the urge to narrow your search when using these apps, as limiting your results could very well keep you from finding the perfect home. Try expanding your search area to include counties surrounding your dream location and setting the filters to broad ranges.
  • Contact Your Real Estate Agent – when you find homes you are interested in on a mobile app, the next step should always be reaching out to your agent. By having your agent review the listings and schedule viewings, you can save time. Plus, any current or pertinent information related to your prospective homes, your agent can hunt down for you.
  • See The Home In-Person – if you have found the one, then work with your agent to schedule a tour so you can get a better sense of the state of the home and assess the neighborhood too.

What Should You Still Consider When Looking For Your Dream Home Remotely?

When mobile house hunting or buying, it is in your best interest to consider the pivotal roles that the right agent, lender, and loan officer still play in the homebuying process. All of these key players can provide you with invaluable advice while also making sure that you are able to quickly find a home that matches your exact specifications and budget.

Plus, speaking with a mortgage professional, in general, is a must in order to qualify for a loan and for getting pre-approved. Thus, working with the above-mentioned parties is strongly suggested since they can help you get a better idea of what you can afford at the moment and walk you through every step of the process to make sure that the decisions you make are the right ones. Ultimately, by taking advantage of the right real estate/mortgage assistance and utilizing house hunting apps, you can simplify the entire home buying process.

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