Why Calling to See Homes "Today" Usually Won't Work

Your time is valuable and using it wisely when house hunting is important. Working as a Realtor in Port Richey Florida, I often receive phone calls and the customer asks "what can you show me today?" or "Were in town now and want to see some homes".  You are going to waste time calling multiple real estate agents until you find one who has absolutely nothing going on that day and can quickly put together some showing appointments for you.  You will most likely not get to see everything on the market due to your short time frame for appointments which is not in your best interest.  The other side of the coin is that you are now using an agent who...had no other business to attend to. (I'll just leave that there)

In order for you to utilize your time wisely, here is how a typical buyer showing process works.

1- You provide proof of funds or a mortgage pre-approval. True professionals will not show you homes without this.
2- You need to have a conversation with your agent about what you want in the home and the price range you are comfortable with.
3- Your agent then goes to the MLS. They search for homes that fit your criteria. 
4- We pull permits and read sellers disclosures to see if the home qualifies to be included in your showing list.
5-They read the showing instructions and call the listing agents to schedule the appointments for each home. They juggle the appointment times to accommodate the home owners schedules. 
6-We then print out the info sheets for both ourselves and you.  
7-We then map out the route we will need to take to make all of the appointment times.

In the midst of this, we also have to schedule other customers and coordinate with home inspections and closings.  I highly suggest if you are going to be in the area to look at homes you contact a local agent in advance and schedule a day to see homes or you may end up with a less experienced agent or you just might not get to see any homes. Plan ahead and use an experienced real estate agent who can help you see the most homes in your time frame and that fit your criteria. 

The ONLY House Hunting APP You Need - Tech Savvy Agent

When shopping for a home you have many

choices in websites and smart phone apps available and you want to use the app that will give you the best results. Being your tech savvy agent I wanted to share with you the best online home search available. Your time is valuable and using an inferior home search app will make you waste time and energy that you can be using to see homes that are actually available.  The Realtor.com website and app is the best consumer website and application for searching homes online yourself. I have 2 home search apps of my own and I always recommend my customers use Realtor.com because of it's accuracy. 

Why Use Realtor.com?
The homes for sale on Realtor.com are accurate because the site pulls information from the Multiple Listing Service every 15-30 minutes giving you up to date information.

Other apps do not recognize when a home is

"Active with contract". This is when a seller has accepted and signed a contract with a buyer but some contingencies have not been met like the home inspection, appraisal or loan commitment. Almost every home is placed in "Active with contract" status until these contingencies are met.  That means "Trulia" will show you a home as "Active" (available for sales) even though the seller has signed a contract to purchase with a buyer. Realtor.com knows its under contract and will omit that listing from your "active search" when using the app for "homes nearby". 

The speed of the information is important to you when house hunting. Why waste time asking your Realtor to get information on a home that is not really available. It is frustrating to you and your Realtor.  With Realtor.com, you have up to the minute accurate information on homes that are actually available.  Other websites or apps may take days to show the accurate information.  Many of these apps will give you a "value" or "zestimate" of what the home is worth and they can be useful but often times since their information is inaccurate, so is there estimate of value. Always consult your Realtor to verify comparable sales to determine a value range.

My pick for best home search app is Realtor.com.  Contact me if you or someone you know is looking to sell or buy a home in western Pasco county Florida.