Season 2 E08 STEP EIGHT - Do Your (Online) Research!

If you’ve been listening to David for a while, then this step might come as a bit of a surprise. Over and over again David has warned first-time home buyers about the dangers of perusing the Internet for real estate advice so Step Eight might be confusing to you folks. BUT, stick with him because he explains it all in this episode. 

Here are some key takeaways from today’s conversation:

• Avoid over-researching
• Have a unicorn support team first
• The best websites to find the info you’re looking for
• Some additional research tips and tricks 

Episode Highlights:

[02:18] Get Ready to Research

Okay, keep in mind that this episode assumes that you already have a unicorn team set up to help you out. It’s important to remember that researching and researching without any professional guidance puts you in the danger zone for misinformation, so it’s vital to have your team so you know where to spend your time. So, now it’s time to exercise your stalking skills! 

[06:04] Start Looking for Neighborhoods

Your unicorn support team can help you with all the financials and real estate lingo, but only YOU can decide where you’re going to feel the most comfortable. So, before your realtor takes you out to look at homes, it’s important to research and find some neighborhoods that align with what you’re looking for in a community. Now, when it comes to looking for these neighborhoods, you need to be aware of where you’re getting your information. Are you on the Chamber of Commerce’s website? Is it a place that’s trying to sell you something? No matter where you get your info, take the time to cross reference what you find with information from lots of other websites to make sure you’re looking at the real best neighborhoods. Do research on safety, schools, and all the other things that will make the neighborhood a winner to you and your family. 

[18:05] Check Out the Homes

Alright, you’ve looked at neighborhoods and now you have an idea of where you want to look for a home. Now it’s time to look at the homes themselves. You hop on Google and start looking at homes for sale, but realtor sites are only going to show you the pictures of the house, not necessarily the entire neighborhood. This is where Google Earth comes in. Get on Street View and start looking at the curb appeal, the neighbors, the walkability of the area, how close you are to a major highway… all those important things you can’t get just from an online listing. This is helpful, but the best approach is to talk to your unicorn realtor because they can talk to other realtors who are familiar with the area, they can go check out the neighborhood for you, or they might know some hard-to-find facts about the region. Talk to them! They have your best interests at heart and will make sure you’re getting the best info.