How to use MLS effectively?

[Camdenlofts]

Nobody would suggest that viewing a property could be replaced by an on-line DB. My point simply was that the website needs to be much more transparent, more accurate and much better designed .
I know this will come because market forces will push them, as they have in so many other areas, where the good folks clung to their monopoly with tooth an nail. It's just not fast enough for me. But watching what's happening in the hospitality industry gives me hope; just as I don't need to be ''sold'' a dish in a restaurant, I don't need to be sold a home. I can figure most of it out by myself, provided I have all the details.

The ''lesson'' above about measuring - it's an old hat, and it would not fly in many places on this globe, as it is. My point was simply that the square footage a builder initially claims, should at least be stated in a listing. This would let me pass those which are too large or too small quickly. And every builder lists those totals in their brochures - with the usual disclaimers naturally.

Just think, when you buy a decent camera or a new car, you want to know every little detail about it, when you buy a place for half a million, you are happy with the stuff they feed you.

 

[ISYM]

Camdenlofts,

The issue with square footage is that builders’ square footage claims are often not useable on the MLS Systems because they incorrectly include dead (condos included), below grade or balcony space. Some provincial real estate acts require a listing show both square footage - properly identified as that above grade along with total useable space. In anything other than a condo, square footage should never be stated as an absolute unless it has been measured by someone actually qualified to do so because a house is measured from the outside and each type e.g. one and a half storey, back/side splits, or those with dormers, double height foyers and built-in garages reduced accordingly by missing interior floor space including stairways.

I’ve yet to meet a buyer who when requesting a size over 1,000sf can properly tell the difference between that and 900sf and the larger the size the greater the disparity in perception. Court records are filled with such lawsuits and the buyers generally lose for this reason. In fact I would state that if having the room sizes isn’t adequate then knowing total square footage is of no help to a buyer and the unfortunate thing is that buyers often confuse total square footage with the total size of all rooms.

A final point is that many owners either no longer have their builder’s floor plans or they are obsolete given last minute changes to the build or additions to a house made after the fact.

 

[TheRedPin.com]

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but you can search through the MLS® system on TheRedPin.com. Our database is directly connected to the real estate board's feed so you get live listings free of charge no contract/obligations. 120 more data points and much more up to date than MLS.ca.


I aslo agree with James and bliss by the way. Going to showing is a must. Don't just judge the property by its photos.