The Internet has become a terrific starting point for folks like you who are looking for a home. In fact, in its 2003 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the NAR found that 65 percent of home buyers used the Internet to start their home search, up from 2 percent in 1995. With the advent of virtual tours (where you can view an entire home, room by room, online), digital photography (still photos of the home), and search tools like the online MLS services that many brokerages offer on their Web sites, the Internet has become a consumer-friendly tool useful for culling out undesirable homes and pinpointing those that would make good candidates. The truth is, while technology has put information and resources into the hands of more consumers, it hasn’t really made the homebuying process itself that much easier. So while you might be able to narrow your choices down to six homes by previewing them on the Internet (instead of driving around the neighborhood on a Sunday with your real estate agent), you will still need to touch, smell, and feel a home before making the ultimate buying decision. Whether that means you’ll have an agent, an attorney, or just your spouse by your side when you go into a house is your choice.
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