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Internet "Home" Shopping

The Internet is a great place to find out how to buy a home in the convenience and privacy of your own living room.  

Some of the services are free and others will require a nominal fee.  If you are serious about buying a home and want to do everything possible to make it a successful venture, the following suggestions are worth the time and effort.
 
Check your credit:  There are three major credit-reporting agencies and you are entitled to one free credit check a year.  Equifax at: http://www.equifax.com  or Trans Union at http://www.transunion.com charge about $8.00 or http://www.icreditreport.com has an online for $8.00 or a combination of Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union for $29.95.

Research Neighborhoods:  Community profiles can provide valuable information necessary to decide on potential neighborhoods.  Sources for demographic, economic, and school information are http://www2.amshomefinder.com/virtual_relocation/, and http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/.  A crime statistics tutorial can be found at http://www.crime.org/ and is designed to allow you to easily locate and assess the accuracy of crime statistics.

Get Pre-approved:  Online mortgage brokers like E-Loan http://eloan.prepsoftware.com provide customers a wide variety of lenders and loans programs to insure the best match for their needs.  In many cases, the fees charged are less and there may be no up-front fees required.  The loan commitment, usually available in 24 hours, can help you negotiate a better price for the home because the seller will feel more secure about the sale actually closing.  Go to eloan.prepsoftware.com.  Answers to your questions about mortgages from a Wharton professor and nationally syndicated columnist and recognized expert on mortgages can be found at http://www.mtgprofessor.com/.

Search for a Home:   REALTOR.com at http://www.realtor.com offers the greatest number of online listings but other listing sites are http://www.edinarealty.com - This site gets over 2 million hits per month and is on the cutting edge of internet technology - Check it out! 
Other sites you might visit include: http://www.homeadvisor.com, http://www.homes.com, http://www.harmonhomes.com,  http://www.homeseekers.com, and http://www.classifieds.yahoo.com/.

Making an Offer:  Steve Ganz can supply you with comparable sales that will help you determine what kind of bid to make for the home.  There are online services, such as http://www.inpho.com  and http://www.experian.com/consumer/index.html
for a small fee that also provide sales information.

Inspect the Property:  An objective, unbiased report on the condition of the structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems will help you avoid unnecessary surprises.  The American Society of Home Inspectors can provide you a list of local inspectors by going to to http://www.ashi.com.  Print a home inspection guide from http://www.freddiemac.com/homebuyers/index.html

Settlement:   Once your agent has negotiated a successful contract, you will need to complete the loan process by having the appraisal on the property made.  Prior to the closing, you will need to provide property insurance.  If you don't have an insurance agent, go to http://www.edinarealty.com or http://insurance.yahoo.com. 

Moving:  Planning the actual move requires time to arrange for a mover, sorting what is going to the new home and what is going to be sold, discarded, or donated.  Proper packing is important to prevent damage to your valuables.  For suggestions and a moving estimate, go to http://www.moving.com/.

Home Improvements:   http://www.improvenet.com/ matches consumers with local contractors and designers through a national database of over 630,000 contractors.  The retailer Home Depot is a great source for home improvement advice and ideas. To get started, choose from hundreds of great How-to projects, go to http://www.homedepot.com/cgi-bin/prel80/index.jsp.

Change of Address: http://www.addresscentral.com or http://www.usps.gov. 

Excerpts taken from an article by Pat Zaby, who is a nationally known real estate speaker and trainer.