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Best
real estate Web sites
These web sites can
save consumer's time and money.
(By Carolyn Bigda and Janet Paskin, MONEY Magazine
reporters)
- Best
site for real estate window shopping www.Realtor.com
-- plug in the zip code and let the ogling begin. The biggest
online listing service, this site has more than 2.5 million homes
for sale or rent across the country.
- Best
site to find out if you can afford a house: www.Mortgage-calc.com
--There's no shortage of mortgage calculators out there, but this
one ranks high for efficiency. No ads, no pop-ups, nothing but
straight number crunching. Here you'll find the standard offerings:
What will your mortgage payment be
-
Best site to satisfy your inner Bob Vila: www.DoItYourself.com
You could pay someone else to install a door, rip up your carpet
or clean your gutters. Or, with coaching from DoItYourself.com,
you can roll up your sleeves and, well, do it yourself
- Best
moving calculator: www.moving.move.com/move/tools/movingcalc.asp
-- About 40 million Americans move annually, according to
the Census Bureau. Next time you're breaking out the packing peanuts,
ballpark your budget with the moving calculator at Move.com.
- Best
insta-estimate of your home's value: www.Zillow.com
-- delivers a free instant estimate, based on public records.
Type in your address, and the site returns a value quicker than
you can say "town assessor's office."
- Best
site for seeing how far your equity will go: www.hpci.coldwellbanker.com
-- T he Home Price Comparison Index spits out the equivalent value
(circa 2005) for houses in more than 300 cities. A $400,000 property
in Basking Ridge, N.J. would go for about $304,000 in Boca Raton,
Fla., leaving you a little extra for sunscreen.
- Best
way to save money building a dream home:
www.Homeplans.com -- sells thousands of readymade blueprints,
each $1,000 or less. Search by style, square footage or number
of rooms. You can even customize a plan using the in-house design
team; it'll cost extra but may still save you in the long run.
- Best
listing site for sellers flying solo: www.ForSaleByOwner.com
-- This site is the most heavily trafficked in the world of
FSBO; in fact, the average listing sells in just over two months,
according to chief operating officer Colby Sambrotto. For about
$200, you can add your home to the site's listings. Or pay a higher
fee (up to $900) to have it put on the multiple-listing service.
If an agent approaches you with a buyer, you'll have to pay his
commission (between 2% and 3%), but that's half the cost of working
with a full-service brokerage.
- Best
site to jump-start your renovation: www.LetsRenovate.com
-- Bigger bathrooms and custom kitchens are the stuff of homeowners'
dreams. Actually remodeling, on the other hand, can be a nightmare.
Not to worry
- Best
way to steel yourself for a remodel: www.HouseBlogs.net
-- Run by a Chicago couple who are recording their bungalow's
overhaul on houseinprogress.net, this site brings together a bunch
of remodelers-cum-bloggers, all of whom chronicle the triumphs
and tragedies of their undertakings online, complete with pictures.
Once you're emotionally ready to begin your own renovation, consider
joining the fray. Says founder Jeanne Olson: "This community
can keep you motivated long after your offline friends think you've
gone completely nuts."
- Best
hourly rate for an attorney: www.Real-estate-law.freeadvice.com
-- Should I sign a letter of intent? What kind of taxes am
I subject to on my home? Should I put my kids on the deed? Lawyers
write the entries and, as is legally prudent, they steer clear
of specifics that vary from state to state. "If you're involved
in a dispute, you need an attorney," acknowledges founder
Gerry Goldsholle. "But we can give you the basics."
- Best
bird's-eye view of a neighborhood: www.HomePages.com
-- can give you an eye in the sky. Enter an address, and the site
loads aerial maps with retailers, restaurants, schools and other
landmarks plotted. One caveat:Maps are typically more than a year
old, so you might miss a Starbucks or three.
- Best
way to prepare yourself for the worst: www.iii.org/individuals/homei
-- Two-thirds of homeowners don't have the insurance coverage
they need. Don't be one of them. Log on to the Insurance Information
Institute's website, which explains different policies and helps
you figure out which are right for you. Use the free home inventory
software to assess the value of your belongings - and to create
a record in case you ever need to file a claim.
- Best
first stop for mortgage shoppers:
www.Bankrate.com -- It always pays to shop around for a loan-
Enter your location and the terms you want, and the site returns
randomly sorted listings, both paid (updated daily)
- Best
site to see which schools make the grade: www.SchoolMatters.com
-- When shopping for a new house, most families also find themselves
shopping for a school district. Study up at SchoolMatters.com,
published by Standard & Poor's. On it you'll find all the
relevant numbers - size, test scores, teacher/student ratio, and
so on - by district and school. The site also compares community
income, education levels and median home values with state averages.
- Best
site to find a renter for your beach house: www.CyberRentals.com
-- At $158 a year, this site isn't the cheapest way to find
paying guests. But its easy interface for renters makes it a good
investment for vacation home landlords. Listings, organized by
region, feature descriptions and photos. And unlike on other sites,
renters can search by availability, which gives them - and you
- a better chance of finding a match
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