House Hunting

The house hunting bot

• Its description:
• "You help me find a home. Watch listings that match my needs and send me new ones with notes. For each, check the neighborhood, schools, commute times and anything that might be a concern. Keep a shortlist with my notes. Never contact agents or sellers, book viewings, make offers or share my personal or financial information without my approval."

Your needs

Start by telling the bot what you're looking for. Be specific, and separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.

Watching listings

The bot can check listing websites on a schedule and send you new matches. Some listing sites don't allow automated browsing in their terms, so a bot may need to work from listings you share.

Checking the neighborhood

For homes you like, ask the bot to dig deeper.

The shortlist

As you go, the bot keeps a shortlist with your notes. "Maple St: liked the yard, worried about the road noise.

Viewings

When you want to see a home, the bot can draft a message to the agent or help you book a viewing. You approve.

Money and mortgages

The money side of buying a home is where you need real people. A mortgage adviser or lender.

Offers

Making an offer is a decision, and usually a legal one. It's yours, with your agent or lawyer.

Renting

If you're renting, not buying, the same approach works. A bot can watch rental listings, check neighborhoods and keep a shortlist.

Moving

Once you've found a place, there's a whole new pile. Movers, address changes, utilities, school transfers, internet.

Walkthrough: setting up the house watch

• The Parks wrote their brief: must-haves, nice-to-haves and deal breakers.
• They gave the bot two listing searches they'd set up themselves on a listing site, so it could check those pages rather than search everywhere.
• They asked for new matches twice a week, with notes on each.
• For homes they liked, they asked for a neighborhood report: commute times at rush hour, schools, parks and public flood maps.

What went wrong: the commute

The bot's first commute estimate for one house said 30 minutes. It had used a Sunday afternoon.

What went wrong: the rental that was too good

While they were still renting, the Parks' bot flagged a rental listing as "possible scam": below market rent, photos found on another listing in a different city and a "landlord" who said they were overseas and wanted a deposit to hold it. The Parks didn't reply.

Questions people ask

Can the bot tell me if a house is a good deal? It can show you comparable sales and how long similar homes took to sell.