Forget Land.com, FarmAndLand.com, LandsOfAmerica.com, Trulia.com and all the rest as well.

These site take a direct data feed from the various MLS systems throughout the country. They translate the data from these systems into their own proprietary database format and then display their information to the end user. A lot can go wrong in that data translation. As a former software consultant, I can attest to this first hand.

I know. These are very popular home/land shopping sites, but here’s the problem: They are quite often wrong.

I had a listing once that was 20 acres. I kept getting inquiries on it where the users were telling me that the property was over priced. It wasn’t. Land.com had it posted as 10 Acres. It took a property classification our MLS system uses called “10+ Acres” and interpreted that as 10 acres. See the photo below.

To compound the matter, the Coeur D’Alene MLS now allows agents to keep listings active that should be marked as Pending Sales. The only way you know what you are really dealing with is to look for an “A” or “B” after the listing status.

• A = Accepting Backup Offers
• B = Accepting Bump Offers

Either of the above denotes a pending sale that may have one or more contingencies involved.

Here is yet another problem. They are usually way out of date. The hotter the market, the more out of date they are. I still get calls on properties that I sold last year. Now, one might think, ” well, that’s OK, at least your phone is ringing and you can convert that caller into a customer for another property.” That sounds great but is usually just a time-waster for both the buyer and the agent.

The reality is that while these sites do contribute somewhat to our ability to market our listings, they are, in fact, a mixed blessing.

This website has a direct portal into the Coeur D’Alene MLS that will function just like Zillow and the others. The big difference is that, here, you are looking into the real data, not something massaged into a state of incorrectness.

If you are looking for property, you can use this site to actively search for any property in the Coeur D’Alene MLS. These properties can be in Latah County all the way up to Boundary County – the entire Idaho panhandle.

If you have any questions about how to use the portal, give me a call and I will personally instruct you in how to use it.

In a very hot market, like the market we are in as of this writing, the best way to hunt for property is to get on my mailing list and get personalized updates sent directly to your email address. You are proactively notified about properties that match your specific search criteria within minutes after they are listed. You can cancel your subscription at any time.

Call me if you would like more information.