Microsoft's Bing will stop you from moving to a crappy neighborhood
It is a cliche, but the three most important things to look for when buying a house are location, location and location. In other words, no matter how beautiful the house, if the location sucks, so too will the living experience. For example, if the house is in a city with a high-crime rate, next to the railroad tracks, or near an airport, you just wasted your money (unless, of course, you can't afford anywhere better). If you have children, you ideally need to find a neighborhood with a good school district too.
With all of that said, if you are looking for a new home, you have your work cut out for you. Quite frankly, what should be a fun experience ends up being a stressful chore. Don't worry, however, as Microsoft has your back. Bing is now updated to make this easier for you.
"Now, when you search for a house address on Bing on your mobile device, we provide an at-a-glance overview of the key information you need, from companies you know and love. You’ll see its location and pictures, price and house details, as well as the schools associated with that address and similar homes nearby. If you want to dive further, just click on any one of the site icons, including Zillow, Trulia and others", says The Bing Team.
The team further says, "if you have kids, we don’t have to tell you that the quality and accessibility of schools near your new home can be just as important as the home itself. Found the perfect home on Bing? Click on one of the local schools in the answer to see key information. You'll see the GreatSchools rating and community score at the top, and details including contact information, student-to-faculty ratios, enrollment, as well as rankings and academic indicators for high schools".
Of course, communities are much more than just appearances and schools. If you are like me, you won't want to live anywhere without a good pizzeria. Bing, naturally, will even show you nearby restaurants too. Eat too much pizza and get heart disease? The search service can show you nearby doctors and their ratings too.
Ultimately, Bing will paint a good picture of the overall experience of living in that home. This will take much of the stress and time out of your house hunting and allow you to focus on the fun stuff, like finding your family's dream house.
Unfortunately, Bing can't do anything about those pesky mortgage and tax payments!
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