What to Expect – Setting up Your Home Search Radar
The second step in the home buying process, after you have established your budget with a lender, is to come into our office and get your custom search radar set up. There a several benefits to having this run directly out of the MLS! As you will see in the photo above, we can avoid homes close to interstates by constructing pockets that automatically leave a buffer zone. We can also use this tool to watch several different neighborhoods at the same time without having multiple searches running. Spending an hour with us in the office getting this set up in the beginning saves you countless hours down the road by filtering out properties that do not match your goals.
Our Results are Hyper-Focused
When homes are listed in the MLS they are categorized by areas. The map below shows the area numbers designated by FMLS in Atlanta, GA. These numbers are a bit cryptic because they have no correlation to zip codes or anything recognizable to the public. Yet, these area numbers are what we as agents use to build our searches when we are working with buyers. Online search tools on the other hand typically use zip codes and cities. The challenge? Zip code and city boundaries can envelop very diverse areas.
Our searches are hyper-focused so you can have the luxury of skipping the GOOD properties that may distract you from the ones that are the BEST fit. Few things are more frustrating to a home buyer than missing out on a great house because they got distracted with the fringe inventory. Curiosity can be costly!
The photo below shows the same custom search above overlaid on the MLS areas. There is no way to do this with an online search tool. These pockets straddle 3 zip codes, multiple school districts and two MLS areas.
Our Updates are FAST
Once your Custom Search Radar is set up and running, updates come to you via email within about 10 minutes. That means you will have access to the source MLS data virtually real-time. When inventory is low and multiple offers are common, speed matters! Online real estate search tools have a routine they use to extract and reconcile MLS data on a set schedule. These alerts may be delayed.
