Special offer

Don't Be Caught Offguard - Google the Address!

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker, 170 N Main Street, New City NY 10956

Don't Be Caught Offguard - Google the Address!

Google NeonWe're all in the habit of google-ing our names at regular intervals, but have you ever thought to google your address? And, why would you want to?

With all the information that's available to us via the internet, a savvy buyer will be looking on-line to try and find out as much as he can about  the neighborhood and the home he's thinking of buying.  If you are selling your home or thinking of putting it on the market anytime soon, wouldn't you want to know what that buyer will be looking at if he google's your home? What information out there on the world wide web will he find out about your home and your neighborhood?

When you google your address, you'll get a google map of your home, the property records for your home and other homes recently sold or currently on the market.  But in many instances that's not all you'll find.  You might get a list of foreclosures for the area, a crime report for the neighborhood, any interesting historic information about the area or discover whether or not there are any sex offenders living nearby.

If your house was listed for sale, wouldn't you want to make sure that there isn't any information out there that your buyer will find that might work against you somewhere in the home buying process?
If you were in the market for a home, wouldn't you want to know everything you can about the home you're thinking of buying?

Whether you're a buyer or seller, don't be caught off guard - Google the address!

Flickr phto by mjmonty

 

 

Posted by

Lora "Leah" Stern - Your Rockland County, NY REALTOR of Choice - (914) 772-4528

Your Rockland County, NY Real Estate SpecialistLeah Stern Signature Photo

Lora "Leah" Stern
Real Estate Salesperson
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
(914) 772-4528 CELL
(845) 634-0400 OFFICE
(862) 345-2463 FAX

If I can assist you in any way with your real estate needs in Suffern, NY Rockland County or the surrounding areas, please feel free to contact me by phone at (914) 772-4528, email me at Leah.Stern@cbmoves.com or visit my website .

Follow Me:        Twitter icon      Linkdin icon      facebook icon     AR raindrop

 

Chuck Carstensen
RE/MAX Results - Elk River, MN
Minnesota/Wisconsin Real Estate Expert

I have not done this but it would be good to know if there is information that might keep people from buying.

Sep 02, 2011 05:48 AM
Dawn Crawley
Dawn Crawley Realty - Pinehurst, NC
Find Pinehurst Homes

Great idea. I never thought about that. Off to google right now to check out some of my listings.

Sep 02, 2011 05:48 AM
Liz Johnson
Keller Williams Realty East Valley - Chandler, AZ
Realtor Selling AZ Homes ~ Chandler, Tempe, Marico

Good advice, I hadn't thought of that!  

Sep 02, 2011 05:56 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Lora,

I Google my name, my address and all my properties daily to see what comes up. I also have Google Alert for my name. I also go on Yahoo. I am told the more we google, the higher the google juice for us.

Sep 02, 2011 06:00 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA
For all of the things I turn to Google to check out these days, I somehow hadn't thought of this. Thanks for the idea!
Sep 02, 2011 06:05 AM
Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Leah, don't forget my personal favorite that can materially damage the seller's ability to sell the house: The real estate websites that produce those woefully INACCURATE "estimates" of the homes' value.  They are awful in our area!

Sep 02, 2011 06:27 AM
Lora "Leah" Stern 914-772-4528
Coldwell Banker, 170 N Main Street, New City NY 10956 - New City, NY
Real Estate Salesperson

Chuck - There's one way to find out.  Just google the address.

Dawn - hope you find just the ordinary public record and maps data and nothing surprising.

Liz - It's not something I thought to do either until someone mentioned it to me.

Kristin - Now that's interesting and not something I would have thought of.  Thnaks for sharing.

Nancy - Seems like google is on their way to taking over our lives.

Bruce - FUnny you should mention that.  It's the subject of a post I wrote yesterday on whether or not online price recommendations are on target or worthless.

Sep 02, 2011 09:58 AM
Christine Smith
Buyers Brokers Only LLC - www.BuyersBrokersOnly.com - Canton, MA
Exclusive Buyer Agent & Attorney, Canton, MA
Leah....while I knew you could do this, I had not thought about it much. Great suggestion!
Sep 02, 2011 02:39 PM
Debbie Walsh
SHAHAR Management - Middletown, NY
Hudson Valley NY Real Estate 845.283-3036

I had not thought about doing this either and I think it is a great idea as well.   I think this is worth sharing!

Sep 02, 2011 02:41 PM
Lora "Leah" Stern 914-772-4528
Coldwell Banker, 170 N Main Street, New City NY 10956 - New City, NY
Real Estate Salesperson

Christine  and Debbie - Another thing to just add to the list for our sellers to do.

 

Sep 03, 2011 01:56 PM
Cal Yoder
Keller Williams Elite - Lititz, PA
Homes For Sale in Lancaster PA - 717.413.0744

A great reminder because as your title says, "Don't be caught off guard!" Great job and have a wonderful holiday today Leah!

Cal

Sep 05, 2011 12:57 AM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Great idea Lora.  For our own safety,  I've heard of googling the client's name as well!

Sep 07, 2011 02:21 AM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Leah, I've done that for my buyers trying to find more information on a home, and sometimes the leverage is right there at the end of the search.  "Congratulations on the job promotion and relocation out of state!" :)

Jan 13, 2013 10:10 PM
Lynda White
Bluegrass Homes & Farms Realty, Agent Know How - Louisville, KY
Admin. Mgr., Keller Williams Realty

I hadn't thought of that either, but it makes sense. You'd want to find out all you can about a house you are getting ready to sell. 

Jan 13, 2013 10:47 PM
Lora "Leah" Stern 914-772-4528
Coldwell Banker, 170 N Main Street, New City NY 10956 - New City, NY
Real Estate Salesperson

Bliz - Great idea to do it for your buyer and to use the info you find to your advantage.

Lynbda - Absolutely.

Jan 13, 2013 11:46 PM