Real estate websites and genealogy

I thought of something a few weeks ago that really helped my research on modern ancestors, although it is a little hit or miss.  A lot of my ancestors lived in Richmond, Virginia, the state capital.  It is a thriving metropolis and is undergoing lot rehabilitation.  Old house are being bought and renovated.  In that process, the houses get listed in the MLS real estate system to be sold.  Well, here is the genealogy connection…

If you go onto a site like Zillow.com, you can enter any almost any address and it will tell you specific information about that residence.  You can see the year built, square footage, tax records, even some ownership information.  If that house happens to be for sale, there may also be some photos of the outside and possibly the inside.  I have been able to find lots of pictures and info about the homes that my grandparents and great-grandparents used to live in.  It’s also pretty neat to know when their houses were built and how big they were.

I have also had a little luck on sites like Realtor.com, if the house is currently for sale.  If a particular home is on the market, you can probably contact the agent for an in-person tour.  That would be pretty neat!

My house is now on the market

My house is now officially on the market. The listing is up at Realtor.com, with a couple of photos available for viewing. The sign should go up in the yard today and we will see what happens after that.

I really hate to sell my home but the family is getting bigger and we need more space to expand. The four of us fit comfortably in this house but another kid would put us over the top! My wife wants to get pregnant again within the next twelve months. With that in mind, it is time to start looking into moving to a bigger house.

We bought this house in 2001 and did a large amount of renovation. Almost everything in the house was replaced or updated at some point in the past eight years. We have a great yard and I will miss that the most. I honestly do not want to move but we will see what kind of offers we get over the next few weeks. Maybe one will be convincing enough to take the plunge.

If you are curious to find out more about the house, you can click on the link below. If you know someone looking for a nice, starter home in Glen Allen, pass it along to them.

Click here for listing information