5 Tips for HouseHunting Online

House hunting online can be a great first step in your home buying journey. Here are some tips brought to you by Stewart: Patriot Title Agency in Columbus, OH, that will help you find the right home.

Know Your Budget

Before you even start searching for your ideal home online, it’s essential to be clear on your budget. Knowing your budget is helpful because it can help you narrow down your options when looking for houses online and because you’ll need to know your budget when applying for mortgages and if you plan to work with a real estate agent. Figuring out your budget does take a bit of work as you’ll need to look at your finances and crunch the numbers, but it’s a great starting point if you’re planning to buy a house.

Get the home buying journey started by house hunting online. Make sure you have a solid home buying team by including a reputable title company like Patriot Title Agency Inc. Give them a call at 330-479-3000, and one of their agents will answer all your title-related questions.

List Your Must-Haves

Next up is to list everything your house must-have. This includes any feature you deem essential to your home and the amenities in the neighborhood and even things like schools and access to public transportation. If you haven’t thought about these things yet, ask yourself:

• What kind of property do I want to live in? i.e., a townhouse, a condo, an apartment, a duplex.
• Would I like to have a backyard, a front yard, or a garage?
• How many bedrooms do I need?
• How many bathrooms do I want?
• Are there good schools in the area?
• Is having parks nearby important to me?

Questions like these will help inform your decision on whether a property you see online is the right one for you. Also, a perk of house-hunting online is using the filters that platforms offer to quickly look through the listed houses.

Use Reliable Platforms

When looking for a house online, it’s essential to stick to reliable platforms to avoid scams and frauds. Make sure to always visit sites with valid references and good reputations. Staying safe online is vital, that’s why you should follow rules like:

• Never give out personal information to people online
• Always take a tour of the property before exchanging money
• Double-check that every document and piece of paperwork is legal before signing or agreeing to any deals.

If you have any title-related questions in Canton, Medina, or Columbus, OH, don’t hesitate to call Patriot Title Agency Inc. at 330-479-3000.

Make Use of Search Filters

Looking for houses online has many advantages, but one of the most important ones is the option to use filters in your search. These days, online real estate platforms like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com all have search filters that can help you find your perfect home quicker. These filters can help you narrow down your options depending on what’s on your must-have list. Some of the offered filters include:

• Price range
• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Home type
• Year built
• Amenities like AC or pool
• Views
• HOA Fees

Having access to these filters can make searching for a home much more manageable and less time-consuming.

Tour the Properties

The last step of house hunting online should always be to tour the properties you’re interested in. Online pictures and even videos can look amazing, but you won’t know for sure until you tour the house. This is probably the most fun part of buying a new home as you get to tour the property and get to know it before deciding. Contact the seller or the listing agent to schedule a tour when you’re ready to visit the house (or houses) that has piqued your interest. When you visit the house, make sure to note everything from the neighborhood to any issues you might have with the house’s condition. This is the best time to gauge how much you like the area and the house to decide to make an offer or not. House-hunting tip: It’s always best to visit the home yourself, but if for some reason you can’t visit the house yourself, try asking someone you trust to tour it for you and give them a list of things to keep an eye out for.

Home buying doesn’t have to be overwhelming with the right people by your side. For questions about your title or the property title of a home you want to buy, call Patriot Title Agency Inc. at 330-479-3000, and one of their agents will be happy to assist you.