If commute is not an issue... (for sale, buying, maintenance)

[austin-steve]

She said once she drives us around to the different areas, our gut feeling will help us out.

Yeah, that's right. And good advice. Using the internet to pick homes is like trying to pick a wife from pictures of her closet. Totally not the complete picture you need.

Real Estate buying is a financial decision based mostly on emotional considerations. We all like to think we're practical and smart, but what I observe is that people buy homes they love, not homes that pass a protracted feasibility study, or beauty test, or spreadsheet analysis (though some of that should be included in the decision - i.c. tax rates, commuting costs, convenience to work, etc).

In your case, you're so spread out with possibilities that you might want to make a first pass looking at sample homes in a lot of areas. It will take one entire day to start in Circle C and work your way up to Round Rock, across through Cedar Park, and over to Steiner. And you could see 10 to 15 representative/sample homes in that span if you're fast lookers. Then day two could be a narrowed look at homes in specific neighborhoods.

You'll know right away whether you like Circle C or not. Same with Steiner. And many people like both. I've had buyers pick a home in Steiner as #1 choice, and one in Circle C as #2.

But, based on this comment you made:

What we really want to avoid is horrible traffic just to get groceries or go somewhere local.

I think you're going to take note of everything at the doorstep of Circle C, Legend Oaks, Villages at Western Oaks, and the proximity to downtown. the airport, good schools, etc.

Good luck

Steve

[mark311]

Originally Posted by intmd8r

Aren't the listings on Realtor.com pulled/linked directly from your local MLS site?

I'm not sure about that. Austinhomesearch is run by the Austin Board of Realtors for consumers to use. It doesn't show all the extra information that realtors get to see on the actual MLS, but it's pretty good and as you noted the search functionality is very good as well.

Realtor.com is more of an ad driven site that charges realtors to spruce up their listings from what I can see. I'm not sure how often it's updated, but it doesn't appear to be updated nearly as often as Austinhomesearch. Plus you can't search for just a specific subdivision on Realtor.com from what I've seen. That makes it pretty worthless to me personally.

Maybe an Austin area realtor could give better info, but that's the way I see those two sites.

[intmd8r]

Originally Posted by mark311

I'm not sure about that. Austinhomesearch is run by the Austin Board of Realtors for consumers to use. It doesn't show all the extra information that realtors get to see on the actual MLS, but it's pretty good and as you noted the search functionality is very good as well.

Realtor.com is more of an ad driven site that charges realtors to spruce up their listings from what I can see. I'm not sure how often it's updated, but it doesn't appear to be updated nearly as often as Austinhomesearch. Plus you can't search for just a specific subdivision on Realtor.com from what I've seen. That makes it pretty worthless to me personally.

Maybe an Austin area realtor could give better info, but that's the way I see those two sites.

I agree 100% with what you say about searching. There is simply no comparison between it and austinhomesearch as far as searching goes. I really like that site a lot for searching subdivisions, school districts, etc. like you said. Such a top-notch site!

The reason I asked about the MLS is I used to work with a Keller Williams Agent in Phoenix and the way it worked there was she simply paid a fee to Realtor.com and it pulled all her listing information directly from the local area MLS. She never needed to touch the site at all and it updated with the MLS. As long as she kept her MLS listings current, Realtor.com was current.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's that way all over the country; they could be contracted with some and not others!

[mark311]

Originally Posted by intmd8r

The reason I asked about the MLS is I used to work with a Keller Williams Agent in Phoenix and the way it worked there was she simply paid a fee to Realtor.com and it pulled all her listing information directly from the local area MLS. She never needed to touch the site at all and it updated with the MLS. As long as she kept her MLS listings current, Realtor.com was current.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's that way all over the country; they could be contracted with some and not others!

That makes sense. My question then; is it possible for a realtor to put a listing up on the Austin MLS and not be a member of the National Association of Realtors? If that is possible, would that listing ever make it up to Realtor.com? My guess is that it wouldn't, but I could be wrong.

The link below shows that Realtor.com does allow agents to make their listings "prettier" than others by paying extra. I guess I'm just a person that doesn't want anything to do with that if I'm looking for a house. Agents with more marketing money can make their listings look more appealing to the average consumer even though it is probably a less appealing listing. Otherwise they wouldn't have needed to pay extra to spruce it up like a featured item on ebay.

http://marketing.realtor.com/showcaselistings/faq.pdf

I guess we're getting off topic a bit, but I think it's still somewhat relevant since it involves how Austin MLS listings get up to a national site.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by mark311

That makes sense. My question then; is it possible for a realtor to put a listing up on the Austin MLS and not be a member of the National Association of Realtors? If that is possible, would that listing ever make it up to Realtor.com? My guess is that it wouldn't, but I could be wrong.

No, an Austin Realtor is by default a national Realtor.

But when we enter a listing, we select yes/no as to where the listing appears. It can be in Austin MLS and not on Austin Home Search, or Realtor.com, or any of the IDX search feeds. We can also restrict whether the address shows or not.

I don't know why a listing agent would want to limit exposure, but it's possible to do so.

My wife and I pay a fee to Realtor.com (more than $1,000 yr) so our own listings will be displayed with all 25 photos, provide our contact info, and not be buried at the bottom of searches. Makes me angry that the efforts/expense of Realtors to obtain listings are then used to create a for-profit site to charge Realtors to better display our own listings. But that would be a rant/topic for another venue.

What Realtor.com and AustinHomeSearch.com don't have is an interactive map such as the one provided for users of the Wolfnet IDX product. Several Austin Realtors use the Wolfnet product called maptracks. It's cool because you can enter your home criteria and then drag the map around to different neighborhoods, zoom in and out, and see the homes in that area that match the criteria.

Steve

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by intmd8r

I agree 100% with what you say about searching. There is simply no comparison between it and austinhomesearch as far as searching goes. I really like that site a lot for searching subdivisions, school districts, etc. like you said. Such a top-notch site!

If only it had a map search, it'd be tops. I like Avenue One's site. It has the fastest rendering map I've seen on a a realtor site and if you're familiar with Austin, it makes it easy to dismiss potential houses that look great until you see the location.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

My wife and I pay a fee to Realtor.com (more than $1,000 yr) so our own listings will be displayed with all 25 photos, provide our contact info, and not be buried at the bottom of searches. Makes me angry that the efforts/expense of Realtors to obtain listings are then used to create a for-profit site to charge Realtors to better display our own listings. But that would be a rant/topic for another venue.

Thanks Steve. That clears it up for me. I just don't like that the "Official Site of the National Association of Realtors" puts Realtors on different playing fields. It sounds like you're pretty much forced to pay that extra fee in order to compete. I appreciate the information.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

No, an Austin Realtor is by default a national Realtor.

But when we enter a listing, we select yes/no as to where the listing appears. It can be in Austin MLS and not on Austin Home Search, or Realtor.com, or any of the IDX search feeds. We can also restrict whether the address shows or not.

I don't know why a listing agent would want to limit exposure, but it's possible to do so.

My wife and I pay a fee to Realtor.com (more than $1,000 yr) so our own listings will be displayed with all 25 photos, provide our contact info, and not be buried at the bottom of searches. Makes me angry that the efforts/expense of Realtors to obtain listings are then used to create a for-profit site to charge Realtors to better display our own listings. But that would be a rant/topic for another venue.

What Realtor.com and AustinHomeSearch.com don't have is an interactive map such as the one provided for users of the Wolfnet IDX product. Several Austin Realtors use the Wolfnet product called maptracks. It's cool because you can enter your home criteria and then drag the map around to different neighborhoods, zoom in and out, and see the homes in that area that match the criteria.

Steve

Yep, Realtor.com is free if you want just one photo and not a lot of words. If you want featured status, and lots of photos and lots of words, you pay for the privilege (our broker does that for our office so that all of our listings appear with the extra goodies).

You have to be a member of the National Association of Realtors to be a member of the Austin MLS.

[BobosCurse]

Originally Posted by intmd8r

So I search with austinhomesearch and then use the MLS# from that listing to find the listing on Realtor.com and save the listing.

That is EXACTLY what I do. Many times a listing on Realtor.com will only have a few pictures, but the same listing on austinhomesearch will have lots more, plus tax info and more localized info such as "walking distance to such and such."

[Betina Foreman]

Sorry for the typo that was www.SchoolMatters.com.