Home Buying Tools - 5 Helpful Real Estate Tools

Order Your Credit Report

Did you know that your credit report and your credit score are two different things? Did you know you actually have three credit reports, one for each of the credit-reporting bureaus? When buying a new home it's important to understand these things.

Good credit is essential for home buyers, now more than ever. With the current mortgage crisis we are seeing, lenders are paying closer attention to the credit scores of applicants.

It's even more important to get copies of your credit reports and scores early on in the home buying process, so you can review them and take action as necessary. For instance, if there's an error on your credit report, you can work to get it corrected before applying for a mortgage loan. This is buying a home the smart way, with proper preparation!

Here's the good news. By using a trustworthy website such as Credit.com, you can request all three of your credit reports and scores at one time — safely and conveniently.

Click here for a free credit report

Find a Home Online

Of all the home buying tools you can find online these days, the home-search tools may be the most exciting to use of all. After all, what is more fun than previewing homes online, with the realization that one of them could be your home some day?

There are a lot of home-search websites online these days, and in many regards one is just as good as the next. As long as the website offers access to a lot of listings, and it has photos, property address and other details, it's a useful home buying tool worth a look.

Shopping for a home online is also a great time saver. By screening properties online first, you can determine if they are outside your budget, or if you simply don't like the way they look. This prevents you from having to see every home in person. Use the home buying tool below to shop for homes today!

Shop for Homes Online

Find a Realtor Online

If you are buying a home for the first time, or if you are relocating to an area you're not familiar with, it really is a good idea to have professional help. This is where a Realtor comes into the picture.

When you consider how much money is involved with the average home buying transaction, it's easy to see the value of professional guidance. Your real estate agent can help you find a home that meets your needs, make an offer on the home, negotiate with sellers if necessary, and much more.

Once again, this is where the Internet comes in handy. There are many home buying tools and websites online through which you can find a Realtor who works in your area. One of my favorite tools is the one listed below, because it allows you to request information (bio, credentials, etc.) from several Realtors at once.

Find a Local Realtor

Get Mortgage Quotes Online

The Internet has changed many aspects of the home-buying process. While the basic transaction of buying a home remains the same, many of the actions along the way can be greatly simplified by using the Internet. The home buying tools offered throughout this website are a prime example of this.

For example, buying a home means shopping for a mortgage loan (for most of us anyway), and this is an area where the Internet can help. These days, you can request a mortgage quote online by supplying only some basic information about yourself. You will then receive general quotes from multiple lenders, which saves time and hassle.

In this modern age of buying a home the smart shoppers know how to leverage such tools and services to their advantage. LendingTree is a good place to start, because they have access to a large number of mortgage lenders:

Find a Foreclosed Home

If you've been watching the news lately, you've probably heard about the current record-breaking number of home foreclosures in the U.S. This represents a good investment opportunity for anyone buying a home in this country, because it means you could get a home for less than market value.

You see, when a bank forecloses on a home, they want to sell the home as quickly as possible. After all, banks are in the business of making loans — not selling homes. So foreclosure properties will often be sold below market value in order to secure a quick sale. Obviously, this could benefit the people who are buying a home in that same market.

But before you can invest in a foreclosure home, you have to know about it! That's where foreclosure tracking services come into the picture. These services will monitor pre-foreclosure activity in your area and notify you about new foreclosures. RealtyTrac is one of the best services in this industry, and you can take a free trial below:

FREE Foreclosure Listings!