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If you're considering buying, selling, or renting a property, it makes sense to search the property's address online. It's a quick way to see what other homes in the neighborhood are selling or renting for (though for true comparables it's always best to get a complimentary Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) from your favorite real estate agent (shameless plug)). But there are other important reasons to do internet searches of a property address.
Sites like zipskinny.com or city-data.com can provide some demographic information for a zip code, but searching an address along with "crime data" may turn up results that include your local police office's crime map, and sites like Trulia even display crime maps for cities, zip codes, and neighborhoods with color-coding to differentiate the intensity of crime. Search your street or zip code along with "Megan's Law" to find out if there are registered sex offenders in the area, with offenders' names, addresses, and perhaps even photos.
Additionally, searching the address with the term "schools" can provide valuable information in selecting a home to buy or rent, or in marketing your home for sale.
Other benefits of searching a property address online include: 1) finding what neighboring homes have sold for, which may assist you in petitioning your county to lower your property taxes, 2) view your home's property records, and update them to include recent upgrades or renovations, 3) see the Google street view of the home (which may very well be an outdated view), and 4) discover if scammers are attempting to rent or sell your home via fake home listings on the internet (I've even seen my own rental listings copied and re-listed on craigslist at unbelievably low values by overseas scammers posing as the home owners in an attempt to make quick money from less-savvy home seekers). In the event you ever find your home falsely listed, contact the site it's on, identify yourself as the real homeowner, and request the listing be removed immediately. If you're looking for a property and see a listing where the owner is overseas, be very cautious. Legitimate owners who have been transferred internationally would most likely have a local representative (i.e., a property management company or real estate agent) handle the process on their behalf. Never send money hoping they'll send you the keys!
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