Step #4: Let's Go Shopping!

Shopping for homes

There are lots of ways to find homes for sale.

  • Buyer’s agent – The fastest, easiest, most effective and efficient way to shop for a home is through a good buyer’s agent, like Robin or Wil. A buyer’s agent has the time an resources to search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the FSBO listings, and advertisements for you, based on your wish list. Because this is his/her fulltime job, your agent is more likely than you are to spot new listings and current listings whose prices or terms have changed. 
  • Drive around – If you have the time and want to get a feel for a neighborhood, talk a walk or drive around and look for yard signs. Jot down the contact information of the home you’re interested in, pick up a flyer if one has been provided, and go home and do your homework. Don’t just knock on the seller’s door and ask to take a look. Make an appointment with the seller for a walk-through, once you’ve had the opportunity to do some research.

If you’re using a buyer’s agent, pass along the information along the info you picked up, and let him/her look into the property for you and set up a walk-through appointment. If you’re shopping on your own, review the flyer, check out any web links provided, and call the phone number on the sign. Have your wish list and a pencil and paper handy – often the telephone numbers on signs are voicemail messages that provide detailed information about the home.

– MLS – The Multiple Listing Service is a searchable database of homes on sale listed by realtors and update daily.  MLS listed properties can be searched on Starkhomes.com – even listings not brokered by Stark. But only professional realtors, who have paid the MLS subscription fee, have access to complete, up-to-the-minute information.

– FSBO – There are numerous For Sale By Owner web sites to search through. Just type “fsbo Madison” into Google.

– Surf – If you type “homes for sale Madison” into the search bar, you’ll have pages and pages of individual homes and lists of homes to look through.

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