There's An App For That

There’s An App For That

It seems these days that everyone is on their phone all day. We see them in the coffee shops, the malls and squinting in the sun….what are they doing? Everything! They are communicating with their friends, conducting business and searching for Pokemon targets. If you’re in the market for a new home, there are some great apps to help you with this also. While you won’t gain points for browsing listing (well not yet, but it’s a great idea), you will get tremendous value and information from using an app to find your next home.

Most of the major corporations now have mobile versions and apps to help their customers find and order products. The real estate industry has a number of great apps too. Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia are all great resources for browsing listings and gathering up-to-date information. Each site offers the ability to search for homes and save searches.  You can also get alerts for new listings that meet your requirements in real time. Homesnap goes a step further by giving you the ability to snap a picture of a home and the app will give you detailed information from the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) or public records.

Come on…we all know you’re curious what your neighbor sold their home for down the street!

Apps can be a valuable tool not just for finding and narrowing down the home search, but also during the home buying process. There are lender apps which can help you research and start the loan process. SpotCrime gives you real time crime information for most areas and Dwellr Swipe is run by the US Census Bureau which can give you census information about the community. There is even a terrific app you can use to research neighborhood schools. GreatSchools Finder shows rankings, reviews and performance of local schools to further help you narrow down your search. You’ll most likely find your entire transaction process will be available online for you to track from acceptance to closing.

We are a mobile society. The home computer changed the way we approach the day-to-day activities of our everyday life, but now we need to bring this information where ever we go. The real estate industry has responded with great tools for the mobile phone or tablet. Great homes move quickly and apps help you stay informed the moment they hit the market. Hey, that great home could be just down the street…maybe you should get that latte to go?