Looking to purchase real estate in the next few months? Most interested home buyers are doing their house hunting online. Today we’d like to share some tips to help you make the most of your search.

House hunting online basics

1) The local MLS is MLSListings.com. That is the most complete database of information for house hunting online in Silicon Valley. (Some sellers and listing agents will not syndicate their listings to Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com.)

2) Not everything on the MLS is visible to the public. MLSListings has 2 databases: most of it can be seen by the public and of those the majority are syndicated, but there are some that are not displayed on MLSListings.com or Realtor.com and other portals, and may never be displayed there while they are for sale. These are the Members Only listings, and at times they can be 15-20% or more of the total inventory of homes for sale. Here’s what you need to know about Member’s Only:

• • The Members Only listings by design won’t be seen on the public listing database, only by active members of the MLS (such as an agent) and their clients. That said, Members Only listings may still have a For Sale sign, or an ad in the local paper, though most will not.
  • There are 2 types of Members Only listings.
    • Members Only: Show status means that your buyer’s agent can get you in to see it (but it’s not online other than the MLS)
    • Members Only: Do Not Show. These are essentially a “coming soon” situation.  You can’t see it in person yet, but at least you get advance notice.
  • Many homebuyers want access to off market listings – and these Members Only opportunities are pretty close to being off market! Especially those with no public marketing (no yard sign, etc).
  • Buyers who want to get access to all Members Only listings, make sure that you are working with a real estate professional who is a member of the local MLS. (Even with public Active listings there may be details that are not visible to the public, such as disclosure packets and offer due dates, that your Realtor may also be able to tell you about.)

3) Redfin “hot home” labels lets you, the consumer, know that a property is getting a lot of attention and is more likely to sell fast and over list price. Once in a while a house or condo is listed as “hot” and then it’s not. Sometimes the delisted from the hot list homes do still sell for more than list price, though. It’s one factor of many to tell you how likely a home is to get multiple offers.

4) Syndication errors can happen. With syndication, some listing info that you see on one of the large portals, or perhaps through another MLS organization (not MLS Listings, Inc.) may have old or outdated information. Best to always check the MLS local to the market where you want to buy, and talk with your agent if you still have questions or concerns.

5) The listing status may not be updated immediately. If a property still shows active after a due date, it doesn’t necessarily mean that no one bid on it, or that no offer was accepted. Listing agents are allowed a couple of business days to change the status from Active to Pending once an offer is accepted. Many will wait for the buyer’s earnest money deposit to reach the title company. Typically that happens the next business day.

For the same reason, the “days on market” on sold or pending properties could be a a little longer than what actually happened, particularly if the sale ratified on a Friday or a day before a holiday weekend and the check or wire could not go to title until the next business day.

One Part of Your Home Buying Strategy

If you are working with a local Realtor who knows the market and is partnering with you in your house hunting online, you are less likely to be surprised either when a home goes pending or closes if it’s your target.

The above tips are good info for locating homes to see, but of course the process is much bigger than simply identifying properties of interest.

What are your next steps, beyond scanning listings online? Before jumping in your car, you may want to consider other big picture items that can be investigated online.

Research Before You Go: Online Tools for Buyers

Google Maps, Satellite View, and Street View, while not always perfectly up to date can give buyers a lot of information about the neighborhood. Are there businesses or services nearby that could be either a perk or a nuissance? Is the street packed with cars, do all the yards and homes look tidy and well kept? While some things really do need to be checked in-person, checking the maps first will save you a lot of legwork.

For people looking to purchase in a common interest development, such as a condo or townhouse, we suggest checking out the financials up front. We’ve been told by HOA experts that 75% of home owner associations in California have underfunded reserve accounts. For home buyers, the repercussions are many! When the reserves are too low, most lenders won’t fund the loan at all, and you may need a special loan product to close. Another risk of underfunded HOAs: a new owner could be facing a special assessment, or a series of special assessments, often costing thousands of dollars.

What about natural hazards, or environmental ones? If you know that you don’t want to live on an earthquake fault zone, or in a flood plain, or near a Superfund site, you can learn very quickly if any of these issues applies to the property in question. Most home sellers in our area provide disclosure packages upfront, and those include a report covering these items. But you can also find this information online as these maps are publicly available in the majority of cases.

Some buyers are primarily focused on school scores, which is another area that can be checked out before everyone is rounded up to see the home. And don’t just check the school scores, it’s worth double checking the district boundaries which are not intuitive.

House hunting online is a good starting point, but don’t forget to discuss the property with your Realtor. She or he may have valuable input or might flag pros and cons that weren’t on your radar, including resale issues down the road, or unique aspects of a specific neighborhood or lot. Inventory is awfully tight in Santa Clara County, but it’s a long standing truth that above all else the most important thing in real estate is location.

 

 

Related Reading to House Hunting Online

Santa Clara County’s Inventory Crisis (on this site)

Should You Use a Buyer Broker Agreement? (this site, some sort of written buyer contract or showing agreement is now required)

A Summary of Tips for Multiple Offer Situations (this site)

Escrow (on popehandy.com)

 

 

 

 

 

Town and City Boundaries in Silicon Valley vs School District Boundaries (on Move2SilicoNValley)