Virtual Home Shopping While Sheltering-In-Place
Posted on June 22, 2020 by Laura Lucky
Has the social distancing and stay-at-home orders put a crimp in your home shopping plans? It doesn’t have to! With the wealth of technology at our fingertips, discovering your next new home can be easily done from the comfort of your couch. While the internet has made finding properties easy, what about getting a real feel of the neighborhood and community from afar as well? Here, we share some of the websites, apps, and online resources to unleash your inner detective. No need to pound the pavement when you can tap and click instead!
Take a “Walk”
Google Street View is an excellent way to see what the neighboring homes and street looks like. Simply type in the address of the home you’re interested in and click the option in photos. You’ll get a 360-degree vantage point of the entire street.
Check the Vibe
So, what is that neighborhood you’re considering really like? There are several ways to dig deep. City-Data.com can profile the city as a whole, while AreaVibes.com allows you to narrow your search to even smaller parts of a city. You’ll find some demographic info, a livability score, and data on how the residents score and rank the area for a number of characteristics. You can also visit Yelp.com to see peer reviews of the businesses and recreational opportunities of the area. The Gravy app gives detailed information on upcoming events in the area, so you can get a sense of how the residents can spend their downtime.
Take a Test Drive
If you’ll be commuting to a workplace or other destination regularly, open the Waze app to predict what the traffic levels will be like during your projected commuting hours. You’ll find out how many miles your commute will be, but more importantly perhaps, how long you’ll be behind the wheel.
Get the Scoop
It’s simple to put on your private investigator hat with easily accessible data on crime rates, sex offenders, and school rankings. GreatSchools.com gives data and parent reviews on local schools, while many rely on the U.S. News & World Report’s findings on high schools in particular. MyLocalCrime.com allows you to see any crimes that have been committed while CrimeReports.com provides data from the local police station.
Rely on a Trusted Local Expert
Yes, that’s us, The Luckys. We can provide you with virtual tours of homes and their neighborhoods, detailed market data and statistics, a sense of the neighborhood’s personality and characteristics, and down-to-earth data on every area in North Scottsdale. Check out our Facebook.com/troonvillage page, our Instagram.com/the_luckys_real_estate/ page, or our LisaLucky.com website with very detailed information on the characteristics of each North Scottsdale neighborhood.
