Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Tutorial

General

The MLS listings provide detail information on the vast majority of homes in the Tampa Bay area that are currently for sale. The free MLS provided by this web site gives anyone considering buying or selling a home in the Tampa Bay area an invaluable tool for quickly narrowing their search for the ideal home for their budget. For someone outside the area, you can quickly determine the current cost of housing in an area where housing costs have gone up considerably in the last few years. Since the database is very large, you want to be able to quickly limit the choices to the ones that are of interest to you and eliminate the ones that are not. The MLS search is simple to use, but like all tools, a brief tutorial will help you quickly master it and become an expert in its use. If you are someone outside this area, it will quickly permit you to find the price range of your dream home in this area, or allow you to manipulate some of the variables involved to make your dreams fit your budget. We suggest that you go to the link on this page for the Printer Friendly version of the page and using it print out this page. You can then click on the link on the Printer Friendly version page to go to the MLS Search page and with the instructions in hand, you will quickly be on your way to mastering the MLS search.

Search Step One MLS Page

When you have clicked on the Free MLS Search link and the page has come up, you find a map of the Tampa Bay area with the major cities shown.   Across the top of the page you see that you have five choices:
• QUICK
• DETAIL
• MLS#
• FIRM LISTINGS
• MAP
The Map choice is currently highlighted so let us deal with it first.    Below the map you have a window that gives you the choice of another map if you prefer the Pasco area north of Tampa Bay.    On either map, if you put the pointer over a city and left click you get a new window and you are faced with a new series of choices.   For now, click MAP and return back to the Map and we will finish that page before going to the second page.

The left hand tab is the QUICK choice.   If you are a first time visitor to the site and someone wanting to get a quick idea of the cost of housing in the area this is the choice you want to make.    Left click on this choice and a new window opens that gives you a series of choices.   You are asked to make selections in the following variables:
• Property Type
• Price Range
• Bedrooms
• Bathrooms
• Year Built
• Area
• Waterfront
• Golf
• Pool
Once you have chosen your values and clicked on SEARCH, you will be presented with a list of homes that fall within the parameters you have chosen in that area.   If there are none listed, there are no homes in the area for the values you have chosen.   You can click on the BACK button on your browser and adjust the parameters until you start getting homes for sale in your range in the area you have chosen.   All of the parameters have an intrinsic cost attached to them and you can see what that cost is by changing one parameter at a time and seeing how that changes the price of the homes.

The second tab on the first page gives you a choice of DETAIL.    This choice can be used once you know your expectations will match your budget and you wish to narrow down the choices within the range you have chosen in the preceding step.   When you click on this choice you will get a new window which gives you all the choice you had in QUICK plus many additional detail choices:
• Square Feet
• Waterfront Access
• Waterfront Type
• Waterfront Extras
• Pool
• Garage
• Amenities
• Community Features
• Floors
• Record Age
• Sort By
The choices available in this window to permit the most discriminating buyer to find the home they want and get a very close estimate of what that home will cost in today's market.

Another choice at the top of the page is FIRM LISTINGS, this choice allows you to view the real estate listings that are unique to Michael and Cindy.   Remember they can represent you in purchasing any home in the Multiple Listing Service no matter who has listed it.   Click on this and you get a new window in which you chose the type of property and you will get the listing available    Click on the link that says DETAILED INFORMATION on any one of the listings and you now have a new window which gives all the details for that listing.   Notice that each of these listings has a unique seven digit MLS number attached to it.  It also has a price.   For now just glance through it and then click on BACK in the upper left hand corner of your browser so we can finish up the main page.

Now click on the MLS# choice at the top of the page and you have a page labeled MLS# SEARCH.   You have a new window where you can enter a seven digit MLS number and then click on SEARCH and it will take you directly to that individual listing.   This choice is used when you have previously searched the database and found a home that interests you and want to go directly back to that listing without doing a broad search.

This completes the first step in your search, now on to step two.

Search Step Two

We get to Search Step Two by either using the MAP, QUICK or the DETAIL choice in step one.   The only difference it will make in step two if we chose the Map and clicked on the area we do not have to chose the area by name, if we use the QUICK or DETAIL choice we then must chose the area by name.    For purposes of illustration lets use the MAP and click on Clearwater.   We now have a new window which is the QUICK choices.   We will be searching the Clearwater area with these choices.

Before starting your first search let's state some common sense truism that hold if all other things are equal:
• The larger the city under consideration the more homes there will be for sale and in general the broader the range of prices.
• An individual house will cost more than a townhouse and either will cost more than a condominium.
• The more bedrooms and bathrooms, the higher the price.
• The larger the square footage of the home the higher the price.
• The newer the home the higher the price.
• A pool adds to the price of a home.
• A garage adds to the price of a home.
• Waterfront property costs more than non-waterfront property. It is worth noting that in this area waterfront property can be the Gulf of Mexico, the Intra Coastal Waterway, Tampa Bay, a lake, a river, a stream, a canal or even a pond. • Amenities, Waterfront Extras and Community Features don't come for free.

You are now ready to do your search.   Enter the Property type you are interested in and the maximum and minimum price range.   Then select the remainder of the variables and click on SEARCH. One of two things will happen, you will either get a list of homes that are for sale in that area that meet you criteria or you will get a message that reads "0 record in 0 city".   By clicking BACK on your browser you can go back to your criteria and refine your choices by changing the price range or eliminating some of the more costly items such as waterfront property, until you start getting a list of homes for sale that meet your criteria.

If you find a listing that you may be interested in and may want to come back to later, there is a link on the listing SAVE LISTINGS.   If you click on this you will be ask for your e-mail address so that listing can be saved for you.   You can save as many of these listings as you want and when you wish to view your listing choices you merely have to click on the LOG IN and you will be able to view any previous listings you have saved.

When you find a listing you may want to actually visit or get more information on you merely have to go to the left side of the screen and click on SUBMIT MLS REQUEST and fill out the simple form that will be e-mailed to Micheal and Cindy.

Good luck with your search for your Florida Dream Home and if you don't find what you want the first time, you are welcome back at any time.   Michael and Cindy are here to represent you in any real estate purchase at no cost to you.   We know the area and will give you professional service.

Michael & Cindy Morris
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC.
Cindy: (727) 480-8427
Michael: (727) 251-7447
FAX (727) 397-5978

Se Habla Español

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC.
1988 Gulf to Bay Blvd.
Clearwater, FL 33765