Using Online Real Estate Web Sites

There are several different types of online real estate web sites that you can use to find a home or to find financing for your home. The first type of real estate web site that you can use is a regional MLS site. This type of real estate web site typically will offer users access to information on all of the properties that have been listed with real estate agents in a specific geographical area or region. The second type of real estate web site that you can use is a site owned by a specific real estate agent or agency. This type of real estate web site will offer you information about property listings offered by the site's owner, and in some cases it may also offer you access to the area's MLS database. The third type of real estate web site that you can use is a mortgage broker site. These sites will typically outline what types of loans they offer, they will provide online pre-qualification forms, they will provide loan application forms, a FAQs page, and they will provide the company's contact information.

Monitoring Agencies

Generally speaking most real estate listing web sites are trustworthy. If you would like to ensure that the real estate agent that owns the site is reputable and legitimate then you should look for their licensing information on their web site. You can then check this information against the listing of licensed real estate agents for the state that you are shopping in. You can also check out the realtor with the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints made against their company. Your local REALTORs Association or Board or REALTORs are other monitoring agencies that you can contact to confirm the legitimacy and reputability of a specific realtor in your area. Finally, you can contact the realtor and set up a meeting with them. At this meeting you can ask them questions about the services that they offer, the fees that they charge, their sales ratio, etc.

Real estate financing web sites are not subject to the same scrutiny as real estate listing agency web sites are. However, the Better Business Bureau is still a good source for information about the reputability and legitimacy of a mortgage broker web site. If a complaint has been made against the site then you will be able to find a record of that complaint at the BBB. Your second line of defense is to talk with a customer service representative for the site. Ask them questions about how to qualify for a home loan, if they will be holding the mortgages or if they will be selling the accounts to a third party, what interest rates they charge, what fees they charge, how long they have been in business, and what types of loan programs are available. If the customer service representative doesn't sound like they know what they are talking about or if they avoid answering the questions that you are asking then you may want to avoid working with that site. Your final line of defense is common sense. If an offer sounds too good to be true then it probably is.