Hack: anything that solves a problem in a clever or non-obvious way.

Once upon a time, homebuyers had to go visit a real estate brokerage and flip through an oversized book of listings to even see which homes were on the market. 

Now, we’re all used to being able to surf for listings at midnight, in our PJs.  But this summer, finding homes for sale and for rent online is just the tip of the iceberg - the techie toolkit for hacking your house hunt is more fun, efficient and sophisticated than ever before! 

Here are our 9 Tips for using tech tools to power your house hunt:

1.       Feedback from Facebook Friends.  Find a listing you like on Trulia? From the property detail page, click the Facebook icon and share it with your digital peeps. Add a comment and ask them for their input on the house or the ‘hood – this is especially handy if you’re relocating and others in your social network have insider info to share. Here’s more on how you can employ Facebook (and your friends) in your home search.

 2.       Vids and Pics.  Don’t just rely on the listing photos – when you visit properties, document what you see with your own two eyes by taking your own digital pics. It’ll help you keep track of whether the blue Craftsman was the place with the sweet redwood deck or the organic kitchen garden.

 Moving out of town? Couples, families and those partnering to buy together can save loads of time and money flying back and forth by having the pickier partner do the first pass house hunt solo, and record their walk-throughs with a Flipcam, so the one who stays at home can view the video.  If you find a real contender (or 3!), make sure to film the street and nearby neighborhood hot spots, too.

 3.       Find Properties and Professionals. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that you can find more homes than ever – both for sale and for rent  - at Trulia.com.  Also, if it’s been awhile since you’ve visited, you can get more info about each property than used to be the case, from the listing information, to the price history and even real estate trends and comparable homes for sale in the neighborhood.

 And if you’re just getting started and you need a local agent to rep you, every property page also offers an agent (or four, or more!) who would be happy to help.

 4.       Map Views You Can Use.  Once you’ve found a listing you like, but before you go out to see it, scroll down to the map and click Satellite to see where the place is positioned – check out whether it’s on a big street, next door to a shopping mall or school. Then, click Street View to scope out the neighbors’ homes and how they are maintained.

 5.       Property Specs by Text.  Don’t you hate it when you drive past your dream house, screech the car to a halt, hop out to grab a flyer and there’s none in the box?! Or the ones that are the box are all faded from the sun or matted from the rain, or sprinklers?

 Check the flyer box and the sign itself to see if the agent offers ‘text’ flyers – increasingly, you can opt out of a paper flyer and just send a quick text to get an immediate reply that includes the beds, baths, square footage and list price for the property.

 6.       Get Listings Even When You Get Mobile. Speaking of driving around, if you find yourself in a neighborhood that you fall in love with at first sight, whip out your iPhone, Blackberry or other mobile device and visit Trulia’s mobile site (http://www.m.trulia.com) to see what homes are on the market – on the spot! You can even get the listing agent’s number, email them, rate the neighborhood and save places you like to your MyTrulia account – all from your PDA.

 7.       There’s an app for that.  Used to be, the serious tenant or buyer took along a backpack full of stuff on their house hunting trips: a camera, a compass, paint swatches and a tape measure, at the bare minimum. Now, there are apps for each of these functions – so your PDA can minimize your load. 

 Not only can you use it to search Trulia Mobile, your PDA can play quadruple duty as:

• your camera,
• your compass and tape measure – just Google ‘your brand of phone’ and ‘compass app’ – there are dozens available, and most are free!  This way, you can check different places’ exposure to light to make sure it jives with your preferences (e.g., light in the morning (or not), plant placement, etc.)
• your paint match tool – Sherwin Williams’ ColorSnap® app lets you match real-world colors to a paint color, get coordinating colors, and create custom palettes that compliment the property you’re viewing.

8.       Local Experts’ Answers to Your Personal Real Estate Questions. Smart home hunters often have questions specific to their personal situations that aren’t on any tutorial or FAQ list. When you have personal, pressing questions about your renting or buying experience, post your question to Trulia Voices. Specify your area, and local Agents will chime in and share their expertise and need-to-knows.

 9.       Give and Take - Neighborhood Ratings and Reviews. When you see a Trulia listing in a neighborhood you know, take a few seconds and rate it, and even write a quick review sharing your opinion of the place with the world!

 And vice versa – when see a listing you like in a location that’s new to you, scroll       down from the property and check out what other Trulia folk have said about the place. You might just find out that the best bakery/bar/bookstore/yoga studio in town is a hop, skip and a jump from your prospective home-to-be!