Tips and Tricks for Searching the MLS 

Everyone who has ever searched for a home or property online has had one or more frustrating episodes while trying to search.  There are many options when searching for a home online, there are nationwide sites like Realtor.com, company websites such as Coldwellbanker.com or century21.com, and then there are individual agent sites such as ParadiseRetirees.com. The only difference is the information the web provider provides.  This is where ParadiseRetirees differs.  This website is designed specifically for you, the young retirees looking for a place to begin to enjoy the pinnacle of success, Retirement, as well as those of us who are just starting to think of retirement but want to keep our fingers on the current Real Estate market. All Real Estate websites utilize the same information provided by the local Multiple Listing Service.  MLS is the term often used to describe this service, which is simply the place Realtors enter their listings. In Butte County California, the MLS system is known as CalRedd.  This system is very new, launching in January 2010.  Expect to see lots of improvements and changes as the system grows.  Don’t forget to check out some of the newest features like the map search and most important of all, don’t forget to sign up for the automatic email notification.

Automatic Email notification is a service is of monumental importance and should always be used, you never want to miss out just because you didn't know about a new listing soon enough and someone else buys your dream home.  Click here to enter your property requirements, your special needs and wants and your contact information and get started getting the most current information designed specifically for you.  We will enter your email address and property requirements and anytime a property comes on the market, or if an existing property has the priced reduced to meet your criteria, the listing will be emailed to you.  This is imperative for you, since the well priced properties sell very quickly, you must know of any new listings as soon as possible.  Matching listings are emailed twice per day, at noon and at seven pm.  Don’t worry about putting in your contact information, this is a personal website and your information is never shared with anyone, see our complete privacy information here.

The actual search criteria entered is important because entering too much information won’t get you all the listings you’ll really want and not enough information, you’ll get everything, not just your particular type of home.  Some general parameters are: 

• Bedrooms – most 2 bedroom homes will have a bonus room so try to stay with 2 unless you really need 3 or 4. 
• Bathrooms – the new CalRedd system shows full baths and partials.  Try to stay with 1 bathroom, since most homes with 1200 square feet or more will have 2 bathrooms, putting in 2 will delete a lot of the homes that could work for you and probably have a three quarter bath. 
• Square Feet – Unless you really are looking for a very large home try to keep your square foot requirement as low as possible, putting in too large of a square foot requirement will again delete a lot of the listings. 
• Age – Try to keep this blank unless you’re looking at Manufactured Homes in which case you will want to put in 1976 as your minimum age.  Since many older homes have been totally remodeled, age is not a good requirement to search by.  Save the smaller requirements to help you evaluate the properties as they come to you.  Putting in too many requirements will cancel out listings that might work for you.

These tips and tricks will help you to search the MLS effectively.  By taking advantage of the automatic email notification you’ll be one of the first to know about the new listings.  By keeping your search simple and only limited by the most important criteria, you’ll save time and energy in your search for the perfect home.  If you would like to see inside any of the homes in your search, regardless of the office that has the listing, give me a call on my cell phone at (530) 520-6900 or contact me through any of the questions/comments boxes located throughout the site. I can help with any homes or properties for sale in Butte County, feel free to contact me for parcel maps, more detailed property information, or just to say hi, I'm here for you.