The world wide web makes it so easy and convenient to look for homes, it's a wonder anyone stays put. Wait a minute. Lately, it seems no one does stay put! So I'm sure these web sites get alot of use: Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder, and ApartmentGuide. I was very impressed by the Houston Association of Realtors site, or HAR.com. I would certainly recommend this site to others. It not only contained gargantuan amounts of information, but it was enormously fun to use. There are many options to narrow a search by town, school district, and property type, as well as the more conventional criteria of list price, number of bedrooms, and square footage. If there are particular amenities you like, such as a pool or proximity to a golf course, you could search by those criteria, and others as well. I looked at foreclosures in my town and 88 records were found. Listings were detailed and included not only property descriptions but also various links. You can see a map of where the home is located in the community, for example, or send an email directly to the realtor. The photo gallery is a great feature. More expensive homes have links to fantastic virtual tours. There was only one other thing that could make it easier to relocate...gobs of $$$ at my fingertips. Then I could use my favorite HAR.com feature, "add to my cart". Unfortunately, I didn't get to actually exercise that option.
Once you have found your new home, you can easily learn about area weather, recreation, restaurants, shopping, and community events at www.discoverourtown.com. (This is a convenient resource for travelers as well.) Walkscore.com calculates the "walkability" of your neighborhood based on the proximity of businesses, services, and things to do. My address scored 31 (out of 100) and was rated "not walkable", having only a few destinations within easy walking distance. As the site says, "Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment." With the current price of gas, it's good for your wallet, too. This site can provide information for people who want to cut down on fuel consumption without sacrificing quality of life. Its weakness is that it does not take into account crime, traffic, and other safety considerations when computing an accessment.
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