Three tips to get the most out of property portals
Do you remember the days when if you needed to borrow money you would visit a bank manager and buying a house involved trotting down the high street to visit every estate agent? Seems a long time ago now…
Today, when buying a property, most of us look at Rightmove , Zoopla, or On The Market and then leave the computer to tell us what we can buy. Much easier, we presume, and a great way to get an overview of the market – or is it?
When to use a property portal
Property portals can be a valuable tool in providing a holistic view of the market; however, home buyers need to be careful not to become over reliant on these portals because they do not always represent a true picture of what is really happening in your local area.
Here are three truisms that will help you to get the most out of your search on property portals.
1. Not everything is on Property portals
Property portals consist of a vast database of properties and most estate agents do advertise the majority of their sales stocks on these sites. But, please do not believe that everything is advertised on here – it is not. Some properties are never destined to be advertised as the owners prefer to sell discreetly away from prying eyes and local tittle-tattle.
Others are expected to be publicised as prime opportunities but are offered to a select few of proceedable buyers in the first round of activity, then get snapped up before the wider world is aware…
2. It appears that there is ‘nothing for sale’
We have established above that not everything is advertised on the portals. One consequence of this is that when homeowners toying with the idea of selling their homes take a quick look to check that if they sell their home they will be able to find somewhere themselves, the result can be an abrupt halt and no further action.
To buy homes we need someone to sell, so if you are spooked by what you see on a property portal, speak to a property expert to find out what is really going on in the market and where the opportunities lie below the surface.
3. Everything you need can be found on a property portal
Photos, maps, stats and sales spiel. What more do you need to shortlist a property? But remember, property portals are sales sites; designed to present a property in the best light (although some of the properties advertised don’t even achieve this!). So, when interrogating properties on a portal build in an equal measure of scepticism and imagination to balance what is showing on screen and the reality or true potential.
If you are considering your housing options and the property portals are not providing the rights answers please get in touch today and we will help you gain a clearer picture of the market in the East Midlands.
