The availability of online real estate listings has transformed how real estate is bought and sold in Delaware and around the country. Too many people have unrealistic expectations derived from these listings, however. It is important for people to understand the shortcomings of listings so they can get a better idea overall.
Many people mistakenly believe that finding the right house is easy due to their reliance on online listings. Finding a home is just a small part of the process. It will involve making an offer and having it accepted, having enough money to make a down payment, getting pre-approved for a mortgage and going through many other steps along the way.
There are often inaccuracies in online listings. Sometimes, a listing will remain up even though an offer was already accepted. Such things as square footage and other things in the listing may be incorrect. It’s a good idea to call the listing agent and conduct due diligence to learn the specific details of the property. Photographs in listings may portray the home in a better light than reality. Many agents rely on professional photographers to take the pictures. They might do things like use wide-angle camera lenses to make a room look larger, for example. Finally, estimated values for homes online are often wrong, taking into account only things like area home sales and tax valuations. They may not take into account such things as recent remodeling.
The biggest takeaway is that people may start with looking through online listings for residential real estate, but they should take additional steps to make sure what the home’s value is. As the largest transaction most people will ever complete during their lives, it’s also important to make sure everything is done in a way that protects their interests, and a real estate lawyer may be of assistance in that regard.