CNNdotCOM Tools: House hunting with less hassle

GALLERY   Using Realtor.com, you can browse home listings based on your search criteria. HomeAdvisor guides you through the loan process

From CNNdotCOM Correspondent Mary Kathleen Flynn

(CNN) -- No one ever said buying a home was easy. But you can take some of the hassle out of it by using online shopping tools to view detailed property information, prices and photographs.

From browsing interiors to hiring a realtor, inspector and appraiser, you can find everything you need to buy a home online. We joined Blanche Evans from realtytimes.com to take a closer look at Realtor.com and HomeAdvisor.

Using Realtor.com, the largest home-listing service on the Internet, you can start your search by choosing a state, city and city area. You can then answer several questions on what you're looking for. The site displays house listings based on that search criteria, along with realtors to contact. You can also view pictures of homes online, but photographs aren't always available.

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But before searching for the biggest and best houses online, you might check your credit to see what you can afford, or even get pre-approved for a loan. In addition to home listings, HomeAdvisor provides current interest rates and the types of loans available.

Beware of the risk to your credit rating when shopping around for different mortgages on the Internet. If you click on many different loan sites, it could affect your credit score. Because lenders use credit scores to assess whether you're a good credit risk, loan surfing can make it look like you're trying to apply for multiple loans.

There are still some limitations to online homebuying, though.

"The Internet can't train and educate the buyer," Evans said. "It can only give information. But it still doesn't help you with navigating a transaction -- the largest one of your lifetime."

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