There’s an app out there for just about anything and, believe it or not, there are plenty you can use to help streamline the process of buying a home. Why not give a few a try?
Dictionary of Real Estate Terms
To be fair, the world of real estate can be really confusing. You can find this app for $1.99 in the Apple store. You’ll be able to look up those confusing terms your realtor uses when discussing contracts and home buying intricacies. Don’t worry if you aren’t an Apple product user. You can find similar dictionaries for Androids, etc.
Complete Foreclosures
This app is free for Apple products and gives home buyers an idea of what foreclosure homes are available in the areas they’re searching. You can use this to find foreclosures, since they can be a great deal, or to see how many are in your area of preference (indicating a potential issue). The app will help you to get in touch with each real estate agent.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Home Selection Assistant
Browsing homes can be a tough task, especially if you are touring several and need to remember details. This app, free for the iPhone, will allow you to take your own pictures while giving you the option to take notes. Need to ask about a water spot you saw in the living room or the unfinished basement? Have a question or comment you want to track? This app is for you.
Zillow
Zillow gets a lot of play, and for good reason. You can use the app or simply browse the website. The app gives you the listing price as well as the estimates for the actual value of the home and the homes immediately surrounding the listing you’re looking at.
Wikihood
The house is one thing, but the neighborhood it’s in is another story. Wikihood will tell you about the culture in a neighborhood, will give you the history of the area, and will even fill you in on the educational system and crime statistics.
Safe Neighborhood
While using this app won’t prevent sex offenders from moving into your neighborhood after you move in, it will give you an idea of how many are living in the area you’re looking at and is a good tool for families with children. This app connects to the National Sex Offender Registry. While some say this app is pushing the limits, you aren’t getting any information you couldn’t get if you went to the national registry on your own.
Photo Measures
This app, which is $4.99 for Apple products (but does have a free version), is great for fixer-upper homes. You can take pictures, note measurements, and move things around on the images. This will also help you with furniture purchase and placement, ensuring you’re able to fit what you want into each room before buying new goods.
There are tons of apps out there for home buyers – some helping you with the search process and others helping you to estimate mortgage payments. You can also use sites like lendingexpertblog.com to help you with other financial questions. Do your research and keep your search process as simple as possible!
