The search for a property can be stressful but here are six of the best house hunting tools that can help you find the home of your dreams.
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Land Registry
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do
Many people are unaware that you can use HM Land Registry to find information about a property even if you don’t own it. If you have the address of a property in which you are interested you use the search to find the owner, the extent of its boundaries and, most importantly, whether it’s at risk of flooding. This could save you valuable time. Viewing the title register will also allow you to see how much the property has sold for in recent years and if there are any rights of way of access points affecting the property.
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Google Street View
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/
You may be interested to learn that you can use Google Street View to have a look back in time at most properties in the UK. This is not always possible; Google Street View might not have the historical images or they might not reveal much. But it is completely free, takes minutes to do, and always worth a try, just in case it does reveal anything of interest.
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Rightmove
Rightmove.co.uk is the UK’s best-known and largest property portal and the UK’s number one property marketplace. The platform brings together the UK’s biggest and most active house hunting audience and the largest catalogue of properties in one place, which is easy to navigate, and there is also an app. Today, a search here is the first point of call for anyone wishing to buy or sell a property and it is also extremely useful for working out whether an estate agent’s valuation is realistic. Can be also be used to search for rental properties.
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Zoopla
Zoopla is another extremely useful property website and app with well over a million properties for you to browse. The website features a range of features that allow you to filter them in all kinds of ingenious ways. Its clever tools include one that allows you to define your search area by drawing on an online map and a travel time tool that locates properties currently for sale and, for example, a 30-minute drive from your place of work.
The property portal also prides itself on reliable house price estimates, so it’s a good website to check to make sure you aren’t paying more than you need to. However, it’s always a good idea to cross-check sold house prices and current house estimate with other reliable sources.
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The Agent Guide
https://www.yopa.co.uk/estate-agents-in/
If you’re struggling to find suitable properties in your area, it is almost certainly worth speaking to a local estate agent. Quite often, they will be happy to notify you of any new properties coming on to the market and – crucially – before they become listed on the major property portals.
But which estate agents should you be speaking to? Enter, The Agent Guide. This website gives full breakdowns of estate agent branches in over 700 towns and cities, including the number of properties on their books and average review scores.
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OnTheMarket.com
OnTheMarket.com is a relative newcomer to the property sector and claims to provide a clean, fresh, and more focused approach with hundreds of thousands of well-presented homes for sale or rent across the UK.
OnTheMarket.com features hundreds of new properties each month, many coming to the portal before they are advertised elsewhere. If you’re looking to rent or buy, make sure you don’t miss out on these fast-moving properties and set up an instant property search today.
All OnTheMarket.com properties are also on the market with estate agents, letting agents or new homes developers who are experts in their local area.