Many people looking for a new place to live find it easy to be confused. There are so many ways to find houses for rent or for sale. On top of that, you are going to have to pack and move. Maybe you are already super stressed out because you are being evicted or your landlord has requested to take over your home after your lease is up. No matter what reason you are looking for a new home, it doesn't have to be as hard to do as it may seem to find houses.
Best Way to Find Houses For Rent
The best way to find houses for rent depends on your area and exactly what you are looking for. Are you looking for a whole house to rent or are you looking for an apartment? Do you just want to rent a room or are you looking for a place for yourself or your family? A good place to start is with a pen and a piece of paper where you can write down the things that you are looking for in your area of interest. This way you will be more likely to find the best place for you and your family if you have one.
Don't forget, hiring an agent even for a rental search is something thing you can do. They often have access to more house for rent than you may be able to find or visa versa. If you are not sure what you should do an agent may be able to point you in the right direction in this case.
Best Way to Find Houses for Sale
Finding houses for sale may seem daunting. You go to Google and look for homes for sale, you go to drive by the property, and there are no for sale signs on the lawn. This happens because Google is slow to remove things after they have crawled the web looking for them. Searching a plain Google map for homes for sale may not be the best way to go about things.
The best way to find houses is to employ the help on an agent and do some searching on your own on real estate focused websites. Using sites that are real estate focused will ensure that you are looking at current listings and that you are not wasting your time dreaming about the best place ever and how much of a down payment you need if it is not available.
Best Sites to Find Houses for Sale
A good place to start when looking for the best site is a simple search. You will want to search the name of your area of interest and a phrase like homes for sale, and maybe tack on the acronym MLS. Most states will keep an accurate MLS site. They are often pretty simple websites and can be frustrating to use, but they keep them updated from day to day so that you are not gazing at old listings.
Some of the best websites are places like CraigsList, or you can browse the major brokerage sites in your area. For example, if there is a ReMax brokerage in your area, the listings on their site should be up to date. The best website for finding homes will be the .gov MLS site if your state has one. Then after that, the best website would be Zillow or a brokerage site. Where ever you decide to look, confirm with your agent that you are using a good internet location to browse.
Best Sites to Find Houses for Rent
The best site to find rentals is a bit different. Your state is not likely to keep an updated list of vacant rental properties anywhere. There are a lot of places you can go online to find rentals though. Again, CraigsList is a popular one for rentals. You have places like Apartmetns.com; they are great if you like to stay in places that are condos, large apartments or housing developments. Many commercial rental places advertise on there, some private as well, but mostly large group owned commercial residences.
Zillow and Trulia can both be searched for rentals. These sites tend to have a good mix of both commercial and privately owned properties. Another place to look is rent.com; this site is very similar to apartments.com. Zumper is an excellent forward-thinking application that allows you to read about the history of each neighborhood that you browse. It shows things like landmarks and goes into as much detail as a landlord leaves about each listing. Then if you are looking for something on a shorter term, there is sublet.com where you can find both long term and short term lease agreements. If you need a place that is furnished, this might be your best bet aside from going with an AirBnB a sublease with furniture will have the most personal amenities.
Finding a new place can seem overwhelming as stated above, especially if you are facing tough times, moving far away for a job or some other reason. It is tough when you can't go to see a place before you move in. If that is the case for you ask the landlord to video conference with you and do a walkthrough. It may not be the best idea to purchase a house without first seeing it, definitely rent before buying in the area you are moving to if it is far away.
