Earlier in the week we talked about the home purchase tax credit and how this credit might now be applied in some cases as a down payment. We wanted to stay on the topic of first time home buyers and offer some potentially useful websites that might aid those in the search for their first home.

Studies have shown that more than 80% of prospective homebuyers now use the internet exclusively to begin their search when purchasing a home. In response to this, most real estate brokerages and their agents are beefing up their web presence significantly from what it was even only two years ago. Century 21 discontinued all television advertising in favor of advertising on the web and they have enhanced and improved their web presence as a result of this effort.

There are many sites that are well trafficked and well known by most families searching for a home. Some of the better known sites are Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, and HomeFinder.com. Those sites might cover the needs of a large part of the home-buying public. But there are a few more sites prospective home buyers might also want to bookmark and save for later reading.

Bankrate.com has been around for more than ten years and may be considered the granddaddy of websites when it comes to answers for the personal financial questions you may have. Use this site to see what size mortgage you might qualify for based on your financial parameters or to determine how much your payment might be given the home sales price and factoring in your down payment.

For those currently in a home and considering seeking assistance about refinancing or loan modification possibilities, go to the government’s www.makinghomesaffordable.gov website for information along with links to those organizations that may be able to help.

Finally, another government site at www.hud.gov has taken on more importance for prospective homeowners in this tough economy since the HUD site offers lists of programs by state to help those searching for a home while also listing organizations to assist current homeowners who may need assistance with their primary residence.

Prospective homebuyers and existing homeowners alike will find that there is a treasure trove of information on the web covering all areas of home ownership. Start with some of the websites we mention and this should be a good start.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under In The News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.