21st Century House-Hunting in North Baltimore

If you're currently house-hunting in North Baltimore, I have a question for you. How many houses have you looked at so far--ten; twenty; fifty? That's a lot of time out of your life, so get ready to move your search into the twenty-first century.

New applications for the smartphone or tablet are now available to make home buying easier than it's ever been. From an article on the MSN Real Estate website, here is an overview of some of the best new apps.

Home Search Apps - All of these include GPS.

• Realtor.com - They say there are over 3 million listings on this app with photos, pricing and open house information. You can highlight areas to search and find homes for sale in your area. Cost: free.
• ZipRealty - This free app lets you see asking price, photos, and homes that have sold recently for listings in 5,000 cities.
• Zillow - Along with listings and estimated worth of a home, this app also provides rental-rate estimates. Cost: free.

Real Estate Transactions - These will help you understand terms and calculate potential costs.

• Dictionary of Real Estate Terms - If you don't know a bilateral contract from a carrying charge, this app is for you. This is available for lots of devices. Cost for iPhone and iPad: $1.99.
• Mortgage Calculator - This will compute monthly mortgage rate and price per square foot. It also has an amortization schedule. Cost for iPhone and iPad is 99 cents, and there are similar apps for other devices.

City and Neighborhood Information

• Wikihood - Take mini-tours of neighborhoods all over the world and learn about their history, culture, and businesses. Free for iPhone and iPad.
• Suburb Scout - Search for potentially annoying sites near your home: airports, landfills, sewage plants, etc. For Android phone. Cost is $1.99.
• Safe Neighborhood - Free for the Android, this app provides access to the National Sex Offender Registry and locations of offenders in your potential area.
• Crime Stats - Using FBI data, this app shows statistics on violent crimes and property crimes for U.S. cities. Cost: 99 cents for iPhone and iPad.
• Walk Score - If you prefer walking to driving, you'll want to know an area's Walk Score. On a scale from 0 (poor) to 100 (great), this score rates how easily you can walk to grocery stores, coffee shops, drug stores and more. It's free for the iPhone and iPad.
• Around Me - Similar to the Walk Score app, this version gives distances to important locations such as banks and post offices. Also free for iPhone and iPad.
• SiteWise - This app uses current census data to provide a demographic report of your prospective area. Information includes population by age, number of children, household income, and more. Cost is $9.99 for Blackberry and iPhone.

If you don't have the particular smartphone or tablet to run these apps, contact your Internet service or phone provider to see what they offer. New apps are constantly being developed, so you shouldn't have long to wait.

Using any of this technology and teaming up with a great Realtor® will make finding your dream house faster, easier, and ultimately more satisfying.

No matter how you conduct your buying or selling process, I can make it go smoothly. Let me show you how my experience and support can help you make your dreams a reality. Check out my website. I look forward to making a connection with you!