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DotHomes: Find the most expensive (or affordable) housing in your neighborhood
If you're the sort of person who always wonders how the other half lives, you might want to check out DotHomes. The service is basically a real estate search engine, with some of the same features you'll find on other web sites like Zillow. But DotHomes has one thing we haven't seen before: An "I'm Feeling Wealthy" button that works much like Google's "I Feel Lucky" button. But while Google's tool brings up the web site that the service feels you were most likely looking for, DotHomes will present you with a list of houses and apartments that you probably can't afford.
Aside from the Wealthy button, it's worth taking DotHomes for a spin because it's one of the easiest to use real estate tools we've found. Whether you're looking to buy or rent, all you have to do is enter the basic info in plain text. For example type "apartments under 1k in Philadelphia" in the rent tab and you should get a list of apartments in your price range.
The listings are all plotted on a Google Map, and you get thumbnail images. If you want more information, you can click on a listing and you'll be taken to the realtor's web page. Sellers can also add to their listings by uploading video tours, or quick videos shot with a cellphone camera.
DotHomes is based in the UK, but recently expanded its operations to the US.
Comments
4
Subscribe to commentsWrongWayMay 5th 2008 3:27PM
Found homes in Chicago, but could not find a single home in any of the 25 suburbs i tried.
Seems this site is not yet ready for prime time IMHO....
BavMay 5th 2008 6:06PM
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Seems there are no homes available in California...maybe they should've worked on their database a slight bit more before going live...
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TaylorMay 5th 2008 10:20PM
Soo... It tells the criminals where to look?
-Taylor
hnkelleyMay 10th 2008 7:30PM
I was able to find a few properties just fine in Pasadena, California. The trouble is that all the links to view details go to RealtyTrac, a pay site. If you're serious about looking for property, then a good pay site is the right way to go. The problem with RealtyTrac is that the have played games with members credit cards. The accounts of s few of my friends were set to NOT automatically charge and renew, but they did anyway, several times. And getting the refunds was a pain n the ass. Very sad, really, since otherwise it's a great resource.
(I should be clear: my search was for homes I could afford, which would be foreclosures. Other homes listed with other agencies also show if you're search is more, um, reasonable and flexible than mine, which I discovered just now when running a new test.)
Google is also a good place to look for real estate since it lists from many agencies as well, also displaying them on a map. That map is bigger than the one used by DotHomes, so it is easier to see and use. On the other hand, DotHomes itself is easier than Google for the search itself.