Buyers usually have an idea of how their first home should look like. If you have not thought about it, you may want to spend a few moments, listing all the details of what you would like to see in your home.
It is not that you are going to find an exact match for what you have dreamt about your home. On the practical ground, your budget will likely be the biggest hindrance in the realization of your dream. Not many homes are priced too low to suit the budget of first time home buyers.
You need to search comprehensively to see everything that the market can offer. Searching online can be advantageous as you can search through thousands of listings while sitting comfortably at your home or office. Here are some of the best online resources for home search.
- Online MLS: A number of real estate websites pull property data from the multiple listing service or MLS, a huge database maintained by thousands of agents across the nation. The most authentic website to search across millions of home listings is Realtor.com, the official website of the National Association of Realtors. The listings are updated every few minutes, so you will get here the most accurate property details.
- Home Shopping Websites: These sites feature MLS as well as other listings submitted by their user agents spread across the nation. Visitors can find more detailed information about the homes and their sellers at these websites. Among the most popular ones include Trulia.com, Zillow.com and Homes.com.
- Real Estate Owned Websites: Banks and financial institutions often have websites listing foreclosed homes, bank-owned and REO properties. The banks get to acquire these houses as a result of foreclosures and short sales. While first time home buyers are likely to find homes at competitive prices, they must do a home inspection to ensure there is not much to do in repair work. Bank of America, Chase Bank, CitiMortgage and Wells Fargo are among the leading providers of real estate owned properties.
- HUD Homes: If you are buying your first home, but don’t have a budget to consider the regular home that is up for sale, then you may need to search through HUD Homes at HUD Home store websites. The owners of these homes have defaulted on their FHA loans, resulting into foreclosures and the transfer of deeds to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Buyers are, however, warned that these properties are sold “AS IS” and may need repairs.
- Homes listed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: These two financial institutions fund lenders to make loans. They acquire houses as a result of foreclosures and short sales on the mortgages they have funded. A home buyer can search through the listings of properties for sale at homepath.com, the official website of Fannie Mae. The other institution Freddie Mac also has a similar website that lists houses for sale.
