A multiple listing service (MLS) is a company that maintains a database of properties listed for sale within a certain geographic area. Agents, with any qualified real estate agency, submit their listings to the database, and they can search these listings when trying to find appropriate houses for a given buyer. This way, all agents in the area have access to information about any MLS-listed house for sale, whether or not it is listed through their own agency. Each MLS number refers to a unique listing. MLS listings expire after a certain period of time and must be relisted and receive a new number. In Atlanta, First Multiple Listing Service of Atlanta (FMLS) is more dominant in the intown market and Metro Listing Service Atlanta (MLS) is more dominant in the suburban market. To search for a home on showing247.com by MLS number, just type either the FMLS or MLS number into the "(F)MLS" field. Properties on showing247.com are more likely to be listed by their FMLS number.
What types of properties are listed on showing247.com?
Our service is primarily for residential properties. On showing247.com, we classify our listings based on ownership type or building type:
Detached Single Family Home - Ownership/building type. A traditional home that does not share any common walls with another home and is purchased under a fee simple arrangement.
Condominium - Ownership type. A form of property ownership in which each owner holds title to his/her individual unit, plus a fractional interest in the common areas of the multi-unit project. Each owner pays taxes on his/her property, and is free to sell or lease it. When you buy a condo, you will be required to pay an separate condo association fee (probably monthly) that covers things such as shared utilities, maintenance, landscaping, and insurance on the shared property.
There are many types of condos around Atlanta, ranging from large new complexes to small old apartment buildings that have been converted from rentals to condos. Different styles of properties (townhouses, lofts, former apartment buildings, even multi-family homes) may be offered as condos.
Townhouse - Building type. A townhouse is one of a row of houses connected by common side walls. A townhouse can be either a fee simple ownership structure (like a single family home) or a condo.
Loft - Building type. This is an architectural designation. Loft living has become very popular. Many older buildings -- particularly commercial and warehouse space -- have been converted into fabulous lofts. There are new loft developments as well -- many of which have been built to look like their historic counterparts. On showing247.com, we classify buildings based solely on the architecture, regardless of ownership structure (i.e., fee simple, condo, etc.).
Duplex/Multi-Family - Building type. There are many duplexes, triplexes, and other multi-family homes in the intown neighborhoods. Some were built as single family homes and subdivided over the years, others were originally built as multi-family residences. If the entire multi-family property is for sale, it will be classified as duplex/multi-family. If only one unit is for sale, it will be classified as a condominium. For rental properties, see our rental section.
Other - Any properties that don't fit into the categories defined above will be listed here, including commercial property.
Who are the real estate agents shown on the search form?
The agents listed on our search form all have web sites on showing247.com or our sister site, atlanta-midtown.com, and specialize in Atlanta's intown neighborhoods (although they also assist buyers and sellers in other parts of the city). Each Realtor web site identifies the agency with which that agent is associated. showing247.com is not a real estate brokerage -- we simply design web sites and virtual tours for agents and sellers in this area. We also provide tours for agents who do not have sites on atlanta-midtown.com, although we do not offer the ability to search for their listings by agent.
More Search Tips.
If you are searching for a house on a particular street. If you've driven by and a house and seen a showing247.com yard sign but didn't get the entire web site address, just enter the first major word or two of the street name in the "Street" field. (Example, "Morningside" or "Rock Springs".)
If you know the exact street address, just use our simple naming convention to locate the tour. We identify each property by street number and the main part of the street name. For example, to find 1234 Example Drive NE, the tour address would be showing247.com/1234example. Don't put the street or direction designation (e.g., Drive, Road, SE, NE, etc.), and don't capitalize anything or put any spaces.
To find a house based on search criteria. The more detailed your search criteria, the fewer results will be returned. Choose the criteria that are most important to you, whether it's price, number of bedrooms, or neighborhood, and start from there. If you end up with too many homes, search again using more critieria.
Can't find a house in the neighborhood you want? We specialize in tours for homes inside the perimeter and primarily east of I-75 and north of I-20 (although we do sometimes have homes that lie outside these boundaries). Of course, just because we cover a certain neighborhood doesn't necessarily mean that we will have tours of any homes for sale in that neighborhood at any given time. If you find our tours helpful, please mention them to your agent! You can also sign up for our mailing list to stay informed of new tours as they go online!
