Buying a house is a rather daunting experience. It’s nothing like walking into your local shop, choosing an item, and taking it home. There are reams of paperwork to read through, an arduous shopping experience, and the terrifying process of signing a loan that will last half a lifetime.
While Google can’t remove all of that scary stuff from the process of buying a house, the search giant is doing its bit to make the experience a little easier. aiming to help out with some features that’ll make learning what goes into buying a house a little less painful.
Google’s New Mobile Search Feature
As detailed in a post on The Keyword, Google has created a new mobile experience in Search (check out our Google Search cheatsheet). This is all about empowering homebuyers in the United States with an essential tool… knowledge.
Thanks to a partnership with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), typing the word “mortgage” into Search will provide all sorts of information that will come in handy when you decide to purchase a home. There’s information on rates, refinancing, the buying process, credit, and much more.
There’s obviously so much information on the internet about buying a home that it’s impossible to know where to begin. With this feature, Google is attempting to bring it all together into one place, which is an admirable effort.
The most useful part of the new search tool comes when you click on the Process section. Google and the CFPB break down everything from shopping for a home to the actual closing and everything in between.
A big part of buying a home is securing the loan, and Google has all sorts of tools and information that will help you understand the process of applying for a loan, determining how much you can afford through debt-to-income ratio, and more. It even has a breakdown that’ll help you compare loan offers so you can understand which one is the most cost-effective.
Outside of the information provided by Google and the CFPB, there are also links to news articles related to buying a home. This will help Google surface useful articles that won’t be too heavy on the jargon, to be understood by regular folks looking to buy a house.
How to Use Google’s New Search Tool
As mentioned above, all you need to do is type the word “mortgage” into the search bar on a mobile device. From there, you’ll see various tabs along the top of the screen. You can tap the one you want to learn more about.
For example, if you’re interested in the current interest rates for mortgages, you can tap Rates to see percentages in your area for different types of loans.
Once you’ve purchased a house, be sure to use these tips to get the best Wi-Fi reception in your home. After all, optimizing your internet connection might be just as important as choosing the home in which you want to live!
Image Credit: Woodleywonderworks/Flickr
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