Do you get frustrated looking for real estate for sale online? If you're looking in the Americus, Ga., or Ellaville, Ga., area, you can quickly see every listed property on the Multiple Listing Service website: www.americusareamls.com. This is the website of the Americus Board of Realtors. It lists every residential, commercial and land property for sale through the real estate companies in the MLS.

Currently there are between 165 and 170 residential properties listed. There are 70 land properties, and 27 commercial properties. The inventory of unsold properties is the highest it has ever been in the Americus, Sumter County, Ellaville and Schley County area. This means, if you are pre-approved for a mortgage loan, you are in a position to negotiate a good deal on a house, building lot, or large tract of land.

A Realtor can be your best friend when it comes to finding and negotiating the purchase of real estate. Best of all, the Realtor's services are free to you, the buyer. It's the seller who pays the Realtor a commission for finding you, the buyer, and putting a deal together. If you aren't working with a Realtor, you may not hear about properties that you'd be interested in, and you may not get some professional advice that a Realtor can offer.

You can relate to your Realtor in one of two ways. You can be a "customer" or a "client." There's a big difference. If you are interested, you can visit a new website -- www.americusgarealestate.net -- and ask questions. As host of the site, I'll answer your questions. However, anyone may provide not only questions but also answers. They also may post notices of community interest. Create your own password, login, and visit the site as often as you want to.