If you’re looking for somewhere new to live you’ll be well aware of the main property websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla. But while they carry more than a million listing, you may miss out on your perfect home if you make them your only port of call.
If you aren’t sure where you want to live, want to take on a renovation project or dream of living somewhere truly unique, there are other sites to help you in your search. Here are 15 of the best alternatives for buyers and tenants.
1. Find a Hood Designed to help you work out where to live, this site asks you to describe your “perfect hood” using 10 different criteria. For example, a local park and good schools might be your top priorities if you’ve got kids, while low crime may be more important to you if you have to travel home late at night. It then shortlists 15 areas within your chosen region of England or Wales that it thinks will suit you, based on statistical data from official sources. (You can also check this data for any postcode in the UK.)
2. Property Network This site also aims to help you find a place to live, this time based on what it can glean about you from Facebook. You log into the site via Facebook and it uses information about your “likes”, “check-ins”, education status, work and personal interests to make recommendations about neighbourhoods and properties you can buy or rent. You can also see information – after it has been anonymised – about your potential or existing neighbours.
3. Find Properly Enter your price range and use a map to pinpoint places you regularly commute to or visit (by bike or public transport). You can restrict the maximum commute time and, once you get your results, filter the neighbourhoods by property type, crime rate, the maximum distance to a park and council tax band. You can also restrict your search to certain tube zones and areas popular with either students, young professionals, families or retired people. The site is limited to London at the moment.
4. Waterside Properties If it’s a sea view you’re after, this site is the place to start – it lists properties for sale and rent by water, whether that’s a marina, the sea, a river or a lake. Meanwhile, tucked away on CanalCuttings you can find properties and moorings by canals for sale. Alternatively, if you’re feeling rich, search on Prime New Developments for new-builds around the world in the “sun and sand” category.
5. Property Snake This lets you search for properties in a general area or postcode which have had their prices cut. There is a “listing history” showing when the property was reduced in price and by how much, as well as the usual estate agent’s details.
Zoopla has a similar facility. On its homepage you can “sort by” the “most reduced” properties in an advanced search.
6. Tepilo Set up by the TV presenter Sarah Beeny, this site cuts out estate agents and letting agents, allowing vendors to upload photos and descriptions for free. The commission saved can potentially be passed on to a buyer or tenant as a discount. It is also possible that you will have less competition as a buyer if the properties are not being marketed outside the site.
7. Whitehot Property This site, and another called Property Earth, allow you to buy repossessions. The properties listed here tend to be priced for a quick sale by mortgage lenders. Bear in mind that any money you save may come at someone else’s expense.
8. Unmodernised This is a good place to start if you’re eager for a project. It lists only properties that offer the potential for the buyer to add value, usually because they need refurbishment or because they already have planning permission for work. Similarly, property blog Wreck of the week publishes a regular round-up of homes for sale around the country. You can even put a “wanted” advertisement on the site for six months for £4.
9. Propertyauctionaction For those who are able to act quickly, buying at auction may be an option. This site lists upcoming auctions taking place around the country and has a (limited) search function. Alternatively, you could go straight to the auctioneers’ sites: Allsop, Must Be Sold, Savills, Countrywide Property Auctions and Barnard Marcus are five of the biggest worth checking out.
10. UK Land Directory If, on the other hand, your dream is to self-build, then the first thing you need is a plot of land, ideally already with planning permission. UK Land Directory and UK Land and Farms are among the few sites that allow you to search for plots for free, with most listings stating clearly whether planning permission has already been granted. Other sites such as Plotfinder and BuildStore’s PlotSearch charge between £10 and £20 for one-off access to their listings.
11. The Church of Scotland A large number of period churches, chapels and vicarages are being auctioned off at bargain prices across Scotland. Many are being sold without the planning permission needed to convert them into residential homes, and as they are listed buildings it may be difficult to get. What’s more, some are in extremely rural locations and are not connected to the mains water or electricity supply. However, there are residential properties on the site, and you might be able to grab a bargain. The Church of England also sells off around 20 “closed churches” each year, but doesn’t list prices on its website.
12. Unique Property Bulletin For buyers who want something a bit different, visiting this blog will feel like visiting a sweet shop. The hand-picked properties range from old schools and churches to tube stations, police stations and nuclear bunkers. The Unique Property Site lists equally unusual properties, especially under the “odds and sods” category, where you can currently find an old fire station in Lincoln, a pump house in Lancashire and a 14th-century tower house in Italy.
13. The Modern House This site lists modern properties of architectural note, including many shortlisted for prestigious prizes. But don’t expect to pay a pittance for someone else’s grand design – asking prices for the properties currently on its books range from £285,000-£6.85m. Cheaper architectural gems in the UK and the US can sometimes be found on the property blog WowHaus, if you’re lucky.
14. Period Property UK Whether you want a thatched cottage, a medieval manor house or any other type of historic home, this search engine can help. And if you like the sound of that (and money is no object) then you’ll love British & Irish Stately Homes, which features properties for sale and rent, complete with stately prices.
15. SpeedFlatmating If you’re sick and tired of traipsing around London looking for a room to rent, this site might offer welcome relief. Instead of going to a flat, you go to a “flatmate-finding party” hosted by the website, where you could meet lots of potential flatmates at the same time. Sadly, it won’t help if you don’t live in the capital.
Spotted any useful alternatives to Rightmove that we have missed? What are your favourite property-hunting websites? Tell us about your experiences.