House hunting online... (Huntsville, Decatur, Madison: for sale, new home, buyers)

[MelanieP]

I've found ValleyMLS to be a GREAT site to browse homes for sale, but was wondering if anyone can recommend any sites or agencies that specifically market SE Huntsville, i.e., Jones Valley, Whitesburg, Green Mountain area?

We had a contract on a home in Grant that we loved, but it fell through this week because they got another offer. (it was contingent on us selling our home) Sooo, we thought we'd look closer in this time, starting with the SE Huntsville area. Any recommendations for helping an out-of-stater search would be greatly appreciated! Our price range is up to $250K.

[Charles]

Valleymls is the site I use the most too. I keep an eye on the latest listings:

ValleyMLS.com

Here's a couple of other sites:

Official Subdivision Guide - Huntsville / Madison County Builders Association

Helpful links if you are moving to the Huntsville area

Google map of (some) subdivisions:

Moderator cut: website not allowed

Emaps with detailed property information. (This tool needs work; has overlay problems using both IE and Firefox)

Madison County, Alabama Map



These are sort of like City Data

UrbanPlanet.org -> Huntsville-Decatur (http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Huntsville-Decatur-f302.html - broken link)

Southeast - SkyscraperCity

[Charles]

Originally Posted by level10

I love to see my map actually come in handy occasionally! Hopefully, next week, I'll have a map online that has ALL of the North Alabama Subdivisions, as well as their area outlined.

Are those new home subdivisions only, or, both new and existing subdivisions?

[Seth Parker]

I will have all new and existing subdivisions on the new map!

Plus, there is a vote upcoming for the Realtor members of our MLS. The vote is for us to finally be able to display street addresses again and utilize mapping technology for all active listings in the MLS.

So, everyone working with a Realtor.....PLEASE, urge them to vote YES to allow addresses!!!!!!! This measure has already FAILED once before. I don't want it to again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by level10

I will have all new and existing subdivisions on the new map!

Plus, there is a vote upcoming for the Realtor members of our MLS. The vote is for us to finally be able to display street addresses again and utilize mapping technology for all active listings in the MLS.

So, everyone working with a Realtor.....PLEASE, urge them to vote YES to allow addresses!!!!!!! This measure has already FAILED once before. I don't want it to again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We noticed that valleymls doesn't have square footage but Trulia I think, maybe zillow or yahoo or google or homes and land does have square footage. We also used the Emaps tool from the assesor website. But when looking for a home the drop down box is by 500 square feet increments so I know a home is in a range within 500 square feet - I almost don't care what the exact square footage is.

Layout is ten times more important. I see so much wasted space as described in my post here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/3869627-post43.html

Another thing, I don't know if it is a southern style thing or what but just about every home we have looked at online seems to be way overly dressed inside. Too much stuff, fluff, personal items in the online interior photos. The rule of thumb is nothing larger than a basketball should be visibile in a home for sale. No or a very minimum number of personal photos. Sometimes there are overly backlit or blurry photos. One picture I saw had a roll of toilet paper on top of the toilet. Who the funk was that realtor who let that happen?

It is almost like the same stager is staging these homes - and she is 90 years old and her name is Pearl or Gertrude and she has a teacart...

Look at all this junk. Are these people nuts?

[Seth Parker]

LOL!!!!!! Here's what it boils down to now: (Most, but not all) Agents are too timid to tell their homeowners what needs to be done. You are right in your assessment, too much crap.

Sqft: This has been a pain in my butt too. We used to be able to display this too, until about a year ago. Then, some ignorant Realtors thought they could get more sales if they withheld as much info from the public as possible. Stupid....... Now, the only way sqft can be displayed is if it is manually put in the remarks section (which no one does), or if you manually add your listing in Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, or the like.

To your comment about the layout: On all my listings (starting pretty soon), I will have a floorplan online, even for existing homes. The only issue is, probably no one else will!!!!!!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by level10

On all my listings (starting pretty soon), I will have a floorplan online, even for existing homes. The only issue is, probably no one else will!!!!!!

That's cool. But like you wrote...only your listings.

[Huntsville82]

I use Level10's site now and find it very helpful--especially the listings by subdivision. Thanks, Level 10, for understanding what buyers truly want to see online. I absolutely will not look at a home that does not have informative photos, room listings and school information. It's a waste of my time. If a seller really wants to get their home sold, they should provide as much information as possible online, IMO. I guess some realtors believe that not showing and/or providing that information (especially if it's negative) will bring more lookers, but personally, I just won't waste my time.

[Seth Parker]

Thank you! - And you are right, the more info, the better. We are allowed 9 pictures in the MLS (which is another stupid rule, should be at least 15), and most Realtors never use them all. Some Realtors even fail to put more than one picture. It's just dumb. I saw a $1.4 million home not long ago....it had a total of 3 pictures....and they were terrible on top of that!

Originally Posted by flstatenolefan

I use Level10's site now and find it very helpful--especially the listings by subdivision. Thanks, Level 10, for understanding what buyers truly want to see online. I absolutely will not look at a home that does not have informative photos, room listings and school information. It's a waste of my time. If a seller really wants to get their home sold, they should provide as much information as possible online, IMO. I guess some realtors believe that not showing and/or providing that information (especially if it's negative) will bring more lookers, but personally, I just won't waste my time.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by flstatenolefan

I use Level10's site now and find it very helpful--especially the listings by subdivision. Thanks, Level 10, for understanding what buyers truly want to see online. I absolutely will not look at a home that does not have informative photos, room listings and school information. It's a waste of my time. If a seller really wants to get their home sold, they should provide as much information as possible online, IMO. I guess some realtors believe that not showing and/or providing that information (especially if it's negative) will bring more lookers, but personally, I just won't waste my time.

I like the subdivision thing too. In my case I still use valleymls because I am looking for homes served by a particular elementary school. I don't think Level10 has this feature (I didn't see it). Correct me if I am wrong.

About photos; Our home here in Colorado is currently on the market. Not only did I request as many photos as possible (web server specific); I actually went out and took several night shots of our home using a tripod. They are now in our listing. Not many people do that. Adds a different perspective.



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