Being a home owner is probably in everyone’s wish list – it’s the ultimate American dream. If you’re already close to making that dream a reality, lucky you.
If you’re on the market for a new home right now or just want to get the feel of the house-hunting process, your smartphone is the best place to start.
From searching listings to calculating mortgage costs, checking neighborhoods to learning about real estate terms, here are the 5 FREE mobile apps you need for home-buying.
1. Zillow (iOS, Android)
This app does not only have the largest inventory of properties (we’re talking about more than 1 million rental and sales listings here) but is also very easy to navigate and search for homes according to your specific needs. You can easily sort listings by price, size, school district and more.
2. Zillow Mortgages (iOS, Android)
Another app from the company is Zillow Mortgages, a mortgage calculator to see what you can afford, estimates monthly payments, and get customized mortgage rates from trusted lenders based on your location.
3. Dwellr (iOS, Android)
If you want to truly see what the neighborhood is like, Dwellr is an app that uses statistics from the U.S. Census Bereau to provide you with information that you may need such as home value, median age of residents, racial makeup, education, how you could get to work and a lot more.
4. AroundMe (iOS, Android)
AroundMe is not a home-buying app but a tool to help users find information about their surroundings, which I believe, can influence the choice that you will be making. When you enter the location of your potential home, you will be able to see the nearest bank, gas station, hospital, restaurant, bar, supermarket and all sorts of businesses and attractions nearby, to help you decide whether the property is the ideal place for your lifestyle.
5. Real Estate Dictionary (iOS, Android)
You can’t just get into the home-buying process with zero knowledge on real estate. Thank the Geek gods for making this dictionary app dedicated solely for real estate terms. The app has over thousands of terms and definitions, including images, diagrams, illustrations and even audio pronunciations – just everything you need to keep up with all of those real estate-talk you’ll be hearing about.
