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So you find yourself in the position of looking for a home, and you want to be able to search for and research homes, but you do not want to be chained to a desk or carry around a laptop.

If this describes you, and assuming like most people you have a smartphone, particularly an iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile phone, there are a few applications that you may want to check out. This is the first of three reviews of mobile phone real estate search applications that consumers have found helpful.

Of course, the information contained on these online consumer-oriented services is not as “fresh” as the information you could get from the MLS (the “multiple listing service.” which is the real-time service Realtors use).

So, keep in mind that, while you are perusing the gorgeous photos of what you think could be your next home, that particular property  may already have been purchased by someone else. I mention this only because I’ve had more than a few clients fall victim to this “stale information” phenomenon that is the only real downside to using these real estate search sites.

Trulia Real Estate Search

Quite possibly my favorite real estate search application is Trulia. The application is currently only available for iPhone users. (For non-iPhone users, check out Trulia’s mobile friendly site: http://m.trulia.com)

After installing Trulia, you are presented with a clean, but robust home screen. Tied directly into your phone’s GPS unit, any search that you run from this application will return results of properties within proximity of your location.

Prefer to search farther afield? Simply zoom across the map to the city you wish to search. Create and save your property searches to your Trulia account and access the results from your iPhone or your computer’s browser. The strength of Trulia’s search app is that it returns results closest to your position given by the GPS.

To create a search, tap “New Search” right in the middle of the Trulia homescreen and you will see the following screen:

The interface is easy to use and easily handles the basics of a real estate search. For more advanced or in-depth searching, you will need to go to your computer’s browser. The search results are initially tied to the GPS location of your iPhone. To change the location of your search to, say, the town just over from where you are currently sipping your latte, simply use those iPhone map zooming skills to a move the map. As you settle on a location and zoom level, the map will populate with the Trulia pins to show available properties.

Once you have your search criteria and location set, you will see that your search results can be presented in either a list format or as pins on a Google Map, as you can see below:

And the good news about this application is that it is free to download and use! Trulia is tightly integrated with the iPhone. So, when you find a property for your real estate agent to show you, the application automatically fills in a draft email for you to simply add an email address. Need directions from your current location to the property? Touch the car symbol and the route is automagically laid out for you in your iPhone’s Maps App.

Happy house hunting from your mobile device!