Anyone using a home search app these days probably has two that send status updates and new listing alerts. Believe it or not, long before Zillow, Trulia or Realtor.com, there was a way for me to automatically email new listings to my clients ~ way back in 2001!
Yes, in the early 2000’s my hip Gen-X clients were showing up with printouts from L&F.com, AOL and ZipRealty. So I found a way to do that too.
I understand today’s home search game of having accounts at Zillow and Redfin to send you minute by minute updates, but you may have discovered that everything doesn’t always pop up the way it should. I mean, have you ever driven to see a house and pass one that wasn’t on Zillow? Of course, that’s why you have Redfin and Trulia.
That may have described you last weekend? It’s crazy.
But sometimes, a house won’t show up on any of them.
Why every house isn’t on one web site…
The issue is with the system which syndicates the new listings to these “third party” marketing platforms. And that issue came to light for me at my new firm because the syndication process isn’t automatic or the same as at the old firm.
For you, the consumer, the results can be frustrating (okay, infuriating) when you drive past an attractive Vienna home and see it is already “under contract”. And, the alert never hit your iPhone.
My goal this week is to help find a new, local solution. Local to our market in Northern Virginia.
I feel your pain and have a solution
Every other year our MLS comes up with some public interface to give consumers a mainline into the Realtor for-sale data. Homesdatabase.com was the first incarnation, which evolved into MrisHomes.com
But they came up with an app for smartphone users (iPhone, iPad, Android) that is so much easier that I use it myself.
Click here to see HomeSnap and it is going to become your favorite app on your phone. The smartphone app is awesome.
When you try it on your phone, have it search by “Current Location”.
Let me know how this works for you.
