When looking at potential houses to buy, there’s a lot you can do to learn about the property without ever setting foot inside the door.  Whether it’s to save the time wasted on problem properties or gain negotiation leverage when making an offer, here are some of the steps you can take:

Visit the Realtor’s Website

You’ll probably use Realtor.com, or a similar site to start your real estate search.  One of the first things you should do after finding a house that looks promising is visit the listing agent’s website.  The agent site will often have a thorough description and many more pictures than what’s available on Realtor.com.  I’ve found virtual tours and learned a ton by visiting realtor’s sites, even when Realtor.com had only sketchy details and one, or no, pictures.  You’ll also find information about upcoming open houses.

Do a Drive-By

Another benefit of visiting the realtor’s site is that you can often get an address for the property.  This info isn’t always provided at the larger real estate search sites.  With the address in hand, you can do a drive-by of the house before deciding whether to schedule a showing.  Why is a drive-by so important?  Well, pictures of houses are usually taken from the best possible angle and don’t always tell the whole picture.

Here’s an uncropped version of the photo from above:

Still interested?

For a virtual drive-by, use Google Street View.  Speaking of Google, that leads us into the next tool, satellite imagery.

Satellite Imagery

A drive-by will let you check out neighbors, but you might miss out on other issues in the area.  By looking at satellite imagery of the home, you get a broader perspective.  You might spot a garbage dump through the woods, even though you never would have noticed this by driving by.  I’m usually a Google-snob, preferring most of their products.  Google Maps and Earth are really great, but I actually prefer the Bird’s-Eye feature at Microsoft’s Live Search Maps.  Bird’s Eye imagry is taken from lower altitude and gives a lot more detail.  Using both Google Maps and The Live Search Maps Bird’s Eye view gives the most complete picture.

Assessor’s Website

Going to the town or county (depending on state) website that the property is located in can give a lot more information as well.  At the very least, you can probably find the assessment record for the property.  This will tell you the assessed value and may even have some alternative pictures, a floor plan and more.  Often, plat maps, showing the property boundaries are also available.  If you’re really lucky, you may even be able to pull up the property records for the house.  This can tell you the name of the current owner, the price they paid for the house, and even the outstanding balance on their mortgage(s).  This information is extremely useful in price negotiations.  If you’re planning a low offer, you can make it just high enough that it will allow them to pay off their existing mortgage.

Finding Problem Neighbors

As nice as a house might be, a bad neighbor could prove problematic.  Don’t expect the sellers to clue you in on who to avoid.  I like to check sites like Rotten Neighbor, which lets you see ratings for people in your neighborhood.  If you have kids, than doing a Registered Sex Offender Search is an absolute must as well!

One Last Google

Googling the names of the owners, or the address, is a useful final step.  You might learn about a divorce, lawsuit, lien, etc in the process.  If you feel that this, or any of the other steps, is too invasive, then simply skip it.  If not, you may learn something that will help in the negotiations.

Another nice feature of these tips is that they can mostly be done from the comfort of your home.  This is particularly useful if you are searching for properties far from your current address.  Being the most informed buyer possible will ensure that you choose the best possible home available.  Doing some up front work will save you the heartbreak of falling in love with a house and then learning about its problems or paying more than necessary on account of your ignorance.  Happy House Hunting!