On-line house-hunting saves time

November 25, 1995
Web posted at: 12:45 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Ann Kellan

Home ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Technology is cutting down on some of the hassle of moving, especially when it comes to finding a new home. Choosing a home, finding it, qualifying for mortgage, tracking home inspections, attorneys and closing dates -- home buyers, sellers and real estate agents are starting to do all of this on-line.

Realtor James Sherry says that the push toward on-line realty services is fueled by a need to do more faster.

"The driver is efficiency," he said, "and the answer seems to be technology."

home buyer While looking for her family's second home, Paige Jardina says that she is already noticing a difference in the house- hunting process compared to buying a home three years ago. Then, their real estate agent used a "multiple listing" book similar to a big city phone book.

"Actually, she just basically showed the house to us that she had a picture of .. and we went from there and just looked at it," says Jardina.

Now, before she leaves her real estate agent's office -- or sets foot in any house -- a computer software program called HomeScope will help narrow the choices. The multiple listing book, which lists what's for sale in a given housing market, is now on line. By filling out a questionnaire on a CD-ROM or on a personal computer, the software helps narrow the choices.

"It sorts through the thousands of listing we have," explains real estate agent Jamalyn Cannon.

The software finds three houses that match Jardina's criteria. Once the houses are selected the real estate agent can videotape her choices and send the tape to the client's home. Or she can show pictures in black and white on a portable CD ROM which can be hooked up and played in the car as they visit the houses on the list.

"Then if we're out in a community, and there's a house on a street that she likes that we passed, then we can always pull that up on the CD-ROM and see why it wasn't on my list," says Cannon.

Jardina says she can see the advantages to electronic house- hunting.

"You can put in the computer what you really want, and not see houses that might be out of your price range or might not interest you," she says. (118K AIFF sound or 118K WAV sound)

Jardina -- with a small baby at home -- says that setting priorities before leaving home in search of a new one is saving valuable time and miles.

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On-line house-hunting saves time

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