Searching for home a new home certainly can be fun in the beginning as you start out your home search, but after awhile starts to get cumbersome when you are not finding what you want.  One underutilized tool is the home buyer email alerts.

Almost every home search system has the ability to send you an email alert summarizing the changes in the market in the past 24 hours.  Whether it is Zillow, REALTOR.com or your local REALTOR®’s home search.

Each email alert and home search will have a different flair to it.  But if you really want to maximize your home search take advantage of your email alerts.  It can do a lot of the work for you.

How Do Home Buying Email Alerts Work?

You will need to log in to the search and create an account to set up your home buyer email alerts.  From there you can create a search based upon price, location and any number of criteria that suits your needs.

Once your search is saved the system will allow you to send daily email alerts, to notify you of any changes in the market that has happened in the last 24 hours.  So what will the email alert show you?

• New Listings-  Any homes that have come on the market in the past 24 hours.
• Back on Market- Homes that were currently put under contract and now have come back on the market.
• Price Change-  Homes that may have been too expensive previously that may have had a price change that fits your criteria.
• Contingent-  Homes that have an accepted contract but are willing to show for a back up offer.

This allows you to quickly cull through any homes of interest each day.  You can also save homes you like to quickly find them again.

Maximize Your Home Buying Email Alerts

Know The Systems Abilities and Limitations

Some of the home buyer email alert systems can be quite rich and you can slice and dice the data a million different ways.  Your national aggregates like Zillow and Trulia tend to have watered down search criteria, which for most people is just fine.

But if you are looking for very specific criteria, like a first floor master or you are covering a large territory a real estate agents search system can be set with 100’s of different qualifiers.

More modern searches utilize map based systems where you can specify certain parts of town or a very specific area. For example if you were looking for a specific school district in Tewksbury MA, you could draw a custom area that encompasses that particular school district.   Or, if you wanted to search homes with in a certain radius of work that would be a possibility as well.

Getting to know the email alert system you are using will help you maximize your home search.  If you need help and have very specific requirements, ask a local agent for help setting it up.

Your Home Buying Email Alert System Returns Exactly What You Ask For

One mistake home buyers make is not fully understanding the the email updates return exactly what you are asking for.

If you say you want only 4 bedrooms on one acre, it will not return you 4 bedroom homes that are on .99 acres that could be perfectly suitable.

Think carefully of what you really want.  Be broader in your search and look to the left and right of what you are truly hoping for in a home.

Set Up Multiple Alerts

Don’t be afraid to set up multiple alerts to help keep you organized.

For example you could be considering a single family home or a condo.  Set up a separate search for each.

You could also set up a search for the towns you are most interested in and than one for towns you are less interested in to help you organize your searches and stay focused.

Sometimes the right home is under your nose but you are too busy trying to cover too much.  When you are looking at many homes it can get overwhelming.  Your email alerts will help you stay focused and keep you organized.

Know Your Reality

Knowing where your reality lies can save you months and months of aggravation.  It is common for a home buyer to search for homes that just don’t exist in their price range.  I call it chasing unicorns.

For example in the Tewksbury MA real estate market for about $350k you can buy a decent 1200 to 1400 foot ranch or possibly a cape.  But to think you can buy a 2200 square foot colonial built in 2000 on an acre of land in perfect shape, is not realistic at all.  Unfortunately buyers out on their own will take months to catch up to where market conditions are currently.

So how do you know your reality?  If your home searches after a few weeks are not returning you any homes you want to see, then you probably want what doesn’t exist.  You probably need to adjust your criteria.

A great way to know where your reality actually lies is to look at 6-12 months of the most recent sales.  Do you see no homes that fit your criteria or very few?  Then you are chasing unicorns.

Your goal is to buy a home align your expectations with what the market will return you.

Check Your Email Alerts Everyday

I know life gets busy, but irregardless of the market, whether it is a buyer’s market or seller’s market, the very best homes sell very quickly.  Usually within days of hitting the market.

The best homes are usually the ones that are priced correctly and have desirable locations or are in tip top condition.  Go a week or two with out checking and you have missed the perfect home.

Circle Back and Do A Broad Search

If your have a list of criteria like a particular area, acreage, 1st floor bedrooms, a certain condominium complex, etc…  Occasionally circle back around and do a broad search of just price and town you are interested in.

Agents sometimes are not always correct in the information they input about a home and you do not want to leave any stone unturned.

Your real estate email alerts can be a great asset when you are looking to buy a home.  They can help you cull through properties quickly and keep you focused. Especially, if you are trying to cover a broad area with many homes.

It is much easier to cull through a few homes everyday rather than 25 or more.  Look to your buyer’s agent to help you get set up and suggest some criteria that will give you a good return of homes in your daily email alerts.

Other Resources:

• Bill Gassett  Buying A Home With Lead Paint
• Luke Skar  Should I Use an Agent To Buy A Home

Searching For A Home- Maximize Your Email Alerts was provided by Kevin Vitali of EXIT Group One Real Estate. Kevin Vitali is a Tewksbury MA REALTOR® that services northern Middlesex county as well as Essex county in Massachusetts. Are you thinking of listing your Tewksbury MA home or a home in the surrounding communities call Kevin at 978-360-0422