Question: Why use a Realtor®?
Answer: …..The Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Access to real estate information: Realtors® have many resources to turn to in assisting you in your home search that public web sites lack. The web has changed the way we all search for information. Many publications are now quoting that up to 80% of home shoppers initiate their search on the web. This is up from 0% about 10 years ago.
Real estate is one of the most commonly search subjects on the net. Every web portal from Google to Yahoo, to Earthlink, to MSN has a real estate tab or sub-site to simplify real estate search. The amount of real estate data on the web will blow your mind. To make things more complicated, every week new real estate sites come online. Realtors® have these public options available along with their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLS as defined by Wikipedia as:
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) (also Multiple Listing System or Multiple Listings Service) is a group of private databases which allows real estate brokers representing sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about properties with real estate brokers who may represent potential buyers or wish to cooperate with a seller's broker in finding a buyer for the property. There is no single authoritative "MLS", and no universal data format. The many local and private databases--some of which are controlled by single associations of realtors or groupings of associations (which represent all brokers within a given community or geographical area) or by real estate brokers--are collectively referred to as the MLS because of their reciprocal access agreements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_Listing_Service .
Full use of an MLS system is generally only available to its members, Realtors®. MLS information is very time sensitive. Once a new listing is obtained from an broker and placed into their MLS system, it is immediately available to its members. A resourceful Realtor® can find a “hot property”, a price reduction or brand new listing by searching their MLS and immediately calling you to set up an appointment. These can be homes that may not be anywhere else on the net. It can take several days for property to go from an MLS system to Realtor.com where it will be viewed by the rest of the world. Don’t get me wrong Realtor.com can be a great place to start, but it gets its information from the local boards of Realtors® and the MLS.
A Realtor® armed with the knowledge of how to efficiently search the MLS system will be able to narrow your search with ease. How many times have you gone to a web site looking for a home and your results were in the hundreds or even thousands? It’s time consuming going through that many properties. MLS searches get very granular, giving your Realtor® the ability to input your criteria, save the search, and have it email them anytime a property match is found. A search could be as complicated as: Condominiums (in your favorite building) with only east facing exposure, between $300,000 and $339,900, that allow pets, come with owner financing, and include the window treatments. Try doing this search on Realtor.com.
Once you employ the help of a REALTOR®, he or she will have access to the MLS. If you are a seller your home will be immediately exposed to the community of agents who also belong to the same MLS. If a buyer, your agent will have up to date information of available homes that meet your discriminating taste; even if your dream home is a concrete home, only two stories, in your favorite zip code, built between 2000-2004, includes a finished basement, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath rooms, at least 2500 square feet on a ½ acre lot and a new roof. Try this one on Realtor.com…..
About the Author: Greg Sullivan is the President of www.electronicappraiser.com, a leading provider of home appraisals offering a nationwide personalized instant information about house values. For more information, please visit www.electronicappraiser.com.
Access to real estate information: Realtors® have many resources to turn to in assisting you in your home search that public web sites lack. The web has changed the way we all search for information. Many publications are now quoting that up to 80% of home shoppers initiate their search on the web. This is up from 0% about 10 years ago.
Real estate is one of the most commonly search subjects on the net. Every web portal from Google to Yahoo, to Earthlink, to MSN has a real estate tab or sub-site to simplify real estate search. The amount of real estate data on the web will blow your mind. To make things more complicated, every week new real estate sites come online. Realtors® have these public options available along with their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLS as defined by Wikipedia as:
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) (also Multiple Listing System or Multiple Listings Service) is a group of private databases which allows real estate brokers representing sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about properties with real estate brokers who may represent potential buyers or wish to cooperate with a seller's broker in finding a buyer for the property. There is no single authoritative "MLS", and no universal data format. The many local and private databases--some of which are controlled by single associations of realtors or groupings of associations (which represent all brokers within a given community or geographical area) or by real estate brokers--are collectively referred to as the MLS because of their reciprocal access agreements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_Listing_Service .
Full use of an MLS system is generally only available to its members, Realtors®. MLS information is very time sensitive. Once a new listing is obtained from an broker and placed into their MLS system, it is immediately available to its members. A resourceful Realtor® can find a “hot property”, a price reduction or brand new listing by searching their MLS and immediately calling you to set up an appointment. These can be homes that may not be anywhere else on the net. It can take several days for property to go from an MLS system to Realtor.com where it will be viewed by the rest of the world. Don’t get me wrong Realtor.com can be a great place to start, but it gets its information from the local boards of Realtors® and the MLS.
A Realtor® armed with the knowledge of how to efficiently search the MLS system will be able to narrow your search with ease. How many times have you gone to a web site looking for a home and your results were in the hundreds or even thousands? It’s time consuming going through that many properties. MLS searches get very granular, giving your Realtor® the ability to input your criteria, save the search, and have it email them anytime a property match is found. A search could be as complicated as: Condominiums (in your favorite building) with only east facing exposure, between $300,000 and $339,900, that allow pets, come with owner financing, and include the window treatments. Try doing this search on Realtor.com.
Once you employ the help of a REALTOR®, he or she will have access to the MLS. If you are a seller your home will be immediately exposed to the community of agents who also belong to the same MLS. If a buyer, your agent will have up to date information of available homes that meet your discriminating taste; even if your dream home is a concrete home, only two stories, in your favorite zip code, built between 2000-2004, includes a finished basement, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath rooms, at least 2500 square feet on a ½ acre lot and a new roof. Try this one on Realtor.com…..
About the Author: Greg Sullivan is the President of www.electronicappraiser.com, a leading provider of home appraisals offering a nationwide personalized instant information about house values. For more information, please visit www.electronicappraiser.com.
Labels: home buying advice, home buying help, MLS, Realtors®
posted by Electronic Appraiser at
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