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More cool (?) On-Line Tools for Home Buyers

I recently posted links to two web sites that evaluate the "walkability" and "driveability" of a given home or condo, based on its location and nearby facilities. Other on line sites like Zillow and Trulia provide interesting data, such as estimated sales prices and sales histories of other nearby properties. Obviously, these tools can provide killer information for homeowners and buyers interested in the given area.

Well, the wonders never cease. Here are two more interesting tools worthy of consideration:

RottenNeighbor.com touts itself as the first real estate search engine to help the curious find troublesome neighbors. Registered users can post notices about, well, you-kn0w-who's. Mapping technology allows viewers to search a city or zip code and see where those nasties live and why they have drawn the ire of someone else in the community. The notice I read in in Realtor Magazine today describes a typical venomous post:


“These are the dirtiest and most ignorant people I have ever met. Their house looks like a landfill.”

This site is great (at least I'm going to think so until my neighbors catch wind of this or until a client who wants to sell gets blackballed.)

The clever folks at EveryBlock.com are aggregating data from public sources to give pretty unique overviews of selected City neighborhoods or zip codes. Registered users can sign up for daily updates reporting everything from police activity (arrests), business licence applications and results of business inspections; reviews of local businesses; even photos posted to the web that depict the 'hood!. How else would I know that each and every street closure in my zip code last year (all 27 of them) allowed for a block party (we are, in my estimation) the block party capital of Chicago). Again, a great resource for anyone considering moving into an unfamiliar area - well, an unfamiliar area, as long as it is in Chicago, New York, or San Francisco, anyway.
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