Zeus of the ‘NetReviews of the Coolest Sites on the Net

With the economy slowly chugging along it may not seem like the best time to buy a house, but it actually is (at least for those who are in the financial position to do so).  However because of the large number of houses on the market, many potential buyers are quickly realizing that finding the right house is a very time consuming process.  That’s where Redfin.com can help out.  This site helps to make gathering important information about a particular house easier.  Redfin also offers brokerage services, which is something that none of their competitors can say.

Launched in February 2006, Redfin provides quite a bit of data as well as maps, of houses located within the geographic areas they currently serve (which includes most major metropolitan areas in the U.S.).  This data includes basic information like square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc., but also things like how much you can expect to pay in property taxes.

If you’re looking to do some research for that next (or first) house you might want to pay a visit to Redfin.  They just might have the information you’re looking for!

With the economy getting worse and worse as the months go by, it seems like everyone is now watching every dollar they spend and for good reason. With rent being the largest monthly cost most people incur, I thought this rent calculator site would be of particular interest to those out there that are looking to rent an apartment sometime in the near future.

Rentometer is very basic and easy to use.  First enter in whether you are a tenant or landlord, then enter in your address, followed by how much the monthly rent is currently, and lastly how many bedrooms the apartment has.  You will then be taken to the results page that displays a meter (that looks similar to a speedometer) that gives you a quick visual as to whether the rent is reasonable or overpriced.  At the top of the page it will also tell you what percentage of apartment listings are either priced higher or lower in the surrounding area.  And finally on the bottom right hand side there is a Google Maps mashup that displays other apartments in the area.

This site is a great quick reference tool that can be used by anyone out there that is in the market for an apartment and wants to know what the average rent cost in a particular area is and if they’re getting a good deal.  After all every dollar counts during these tough economic times.