We want to provide our customers with as many free resources as possible to help them make better and more informed decisions. Below are links to some great sites we have found to be particularly useful to our clients. They should all pop up in a new browser window for your convenience. Please email us if you have more ideas on how this site can better serve you.
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Our Favorite Real Estate Sites
Market Trends
- Renting vs. Owning
The New York Times tool for calculating the break-even point on renting vs. owning is more gorgeous than useful but still makes the grade.
- What You Can Afford
The MSN calculator for figuring out what you can afford is our favorite, but others like the one from SmartMoney is good too.
Neighborhoods
- Schools
- City Profiles
- Amenities
Walk Score, to rate how many coffee shops, head shops and restaurants are near a particular house runs a little slow but it's sweet. - Prices
- Pricing Trends
AltosResearch has good graphs on pricing and days-on-market trends by neighborhood, even if the data is sometimes glitchy. Zillow is always fun to check out, has some great tools as well.- Public Records, Ad Nauseam
PropertyShark is great for getting all the demographic data on a neighborhood and every public record on a property. Also, these guys are a little tough to navigate but they are the official list of all county property appraisers.Buyer's Resources
- Search
You can search for homes on our site for free of course, or check out Realtor.com. For New homes only check out NewHomeSource . Another great site that answers many of today's questions is the HomeBuyingInstitute, well worth the visit.- Foreclosure Auctions
RealtyTrac is the best. Sure it's a $30-per-month subscription...but it's data you can't get anywhere else. Serious investors only. A bit spammy, so use your hotmail address when you register.
Doing the Deal
It's hard to avoid a sales pitch here, but we like our free buyer's guide. Click here if you need Adobe's PDF reader.
- Have the Home Inspected
Make sure you've hired a certified home inspector. These three sites can help you find the right one for you. Distressed Properties
- Foreclosure Heat Map
The zoom control on hotpads.com is seizure-inducing, but the foreclosure map is excellent.
We give credit where credit is due to RealtyTrac again, because their explanation of how a foreclosure auction works is just awesome.
Mortgages
We like Bankrate for comparison shopping and their calculator. Mortgage News Daily is also a great resource for up to date news and articles.
- Current Rates
This federal government site has nice summaries of current rates.
- Credit Score
720 is the new super-gold standard, 680 is still pretty good and below 620 is almost a death sentence. Credit pulls when you're shopping for a mortgage don't hurt your rate, and anyone who tells you that is selling something. You can get a free credit score pretty easily, so long as you remember to cancel your sign-up before they charge you $30 a month. - Closing Costs
ABC News' article on the closing costs is a great place to start when trying to figure out which fees are real and which are bogus. BankRate has a useful feature that lets you look up the average closing costs by state. - Need help moving?
Don't forget about Home Warranties, some people don't need them but if you're not sure, click Do I need a Home Warranty? 
Equal Housing Opportunity
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law (the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1968).
It is illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
•in the sale or rental of housing or residential lots
in the sale or rental of housing or residential lots •in advertising the sale or rental of housing
in advertising the sale or rental of housing •in the financing of housing
in the financing of housing •in the provision of real estate brokerage services
in the provision of real estate brokerage services •in the appraisal of housing
in the appraisal of housing •blockbusting is also illegal
blockbusting is also illegal ALL CONTENT Copyright 2009 MyPocketBroker LLC
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