Wednesday, June 06, 2007 4:51 PM
Best of the Web
We know that buying a home can be stressful and raise tons of tricky questions. Use these sites to help navigate your way through the process.
http://www.bestplaces.net/
This is a great site if you’re debating which city to buy a home in. You simply enter a zip code and get the city’s stats.
http://cyberhomes.com/
Just because you’re not a home-buying professional, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be working with the same info. Check out this site to get the lowdown on everything from home values to neighborhood trends.
http://domania.com
There something every home-buyer wants to know, but few are willing to ask. Now, you don’t have to. Just go here to find out how much people are paying for their homes – all in the privacy of your own.
http://www.fha.com/default.cfm
6 great mortgage calculators-- the loan comparison one is our fave!
http://www.fsbo.com/ and http://www.forsalebyowner.com/
Granted, they seem little shady at first glance, but they’re the best places to look online if you want an fsbo (for sale by owner) property. Also helps if you want to sell your home (but charges you for it).
http://www.homegain.com/
Don’t trust your appraiser? Or maybe you just want a second opinion? Either way, find out how much that home you’ve been eyeing is really worth here.
http://www.hud.gov/
This government-run website is (surprisingly) easy to navigate. Check out the list of all the home-buying programs that you might qualify for (to save $$!).
http://mtgprofessor.com/
Not the prettiest site on the web, but there’s tons of helpful home-buying info. It’s like an online home-buying course, hence the name.
http://www.myfico.com/
Get your credit score Qs answered by the people who created it.
http://www.naeba.org/index.htm
Worth checking out if you want a buyers agent (or if you have no idea what that is).
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/
Whether you’re looking for a luxury development for yourself or a retirement community for your MIL (kidding:), use this site to help you find your perfect neighborhood.
http://www.realestateabc.com/
You’ll pretty much find the answer to any home-buying question you have here. Yeah, it’s really that comprehensive.
http://www.realtor.org/
Surprise, surprise: Use this site to find (or check up on) a realtor.
http://realtytimes.com/
A good way to stay in the know about the real estate market.
http://www.zillow.com/
Are you getting robbed? Hopefully, not. But find out by seeing how much previous owners paid for your dream house.