Tom Taulli is the author of "Investing in IPOs" (Bloomberg Personal Bookshelf). The book can be purchased at Amazon.com by clicking here. You can reach him at tom@taulli.com

If you like what we do here, please click on our sponsor's banner. Thanks!

Buying a home is perhaps one of the most important financial decisions you'll make. Census data shows house consumers spend up to 88 percent of their annual income on the process. There are literally thousands of websites that provide tools for buying a home -- but only a few do it well.

A standout is HomeAdvisor, which was launched in July 1998 and is part of MSN. Microsoft says it spent two years talking to consumers, real estate agents, and lenders on how to build the site. What is great about the site is the organization -- it provides a road map for the home-buying process. For example:

Getting Started: This section walks you through the initial decisions for buying a home. You'll cover such issues as buying vs. renting, loan qualification, and real estate agents. With the online calculator that's included, you can estimate your home-buying budget based on monthly loan payments. There is also access to a wealth of content, such as tips, in-depth guides, checklists, and glossaries.

HomeAdvisor offers a real estate agent directory, searchable based on city or ZIP code. For each agent, you get such information as phone, fax, e-mail, and personal Web page.

"Home buying is and always will be a professionally assisted transaction," says Ian Morris, group product manager of HomeAdvisor.

Neighborhoods: The price of a home may sound good, but what about the neighborhood? HomeAdvisor provides information such as demographics, crime statistics, school information, as well as information on hospitals and police stations for each home listing.

Homes: You can search for homes based on a myriad of factors, such as price range, property type (condo, single-family, farm), age of home, size (number of bedrooms and bathrooms), and other features (waterfront, fireplace, swimming pool, central air, etc.). The database is updated on a daily basis.

Financing: You can compare loans, get qualified, and apply for your mortgage -- all online. You can also refinance a loan. Finding a loan is very easy as you go through an interview process. You can also sign up for a loan alert, in which an e-mail message will alert you when a loan meets your requirements. When you find a loan, you can submit your loan information securely to the lender.

HomeAdvisor has relationships with four lenders: Principal Residential Mortgage, HomeSide Lending, LoanWorks, and American Finance and Investment. Why the low number? "We make sure the lenders on HomeAdvisor are well-established, respected institutions home buyers know and trust," Morris says. HomeAdvisor will be announcing new national lenders in the near future.

Offer and Closing: Such things as escrow, closing costs, and warranties can be very confusing. HomeAdvisor provides you with content that explains these issues. You'll also learn about negotiation tactics and being able to spot home defects, such as foundation cracks and electrical shorts.

The key to success for a real estate site is listings. HomeAdvisor has signed a myriad of agreements, such as with Prudential California Realty Sacramento, MLS Hawaii in Honolulu, Orange Coast Association of Realtors in Newport Beach, Calif., and West Essex Board of Realtors in Caldwell, N.J.

HomeAdvisor has also been aggressive in getting distribution. The site has agreements with a variety of portals, such as Yahoo, GeoCities, and Infoseek. Such distribution makes it very attractive for brokers and mortgage lenders to participate in HomeAdvisor.

The company has a program called BrokerFirst. As a broker, you get a Web page to promote your services. There is also the AgentFirst program, which lets real estate agents list their properties for free. Such programs have resulted in a big flow of leads for the real estate community -- but have also provided consumers with much more choice.

What's In Store For The Future

Of course, HomeAdvisor has intense competition, such as from QuickenMortgage and HomeShark. But, according to Morris, "HomeAdvisor is the only fully integrated home-buying guide that takes consumers through all five areas of home ownership. Our experience as a software company, in addition to our partnerships with first-class content providers, makes us the most user-friendly and useful real estate available."

And HomeAdvisor isn't slowing down. This week, it announced it has added apartments through AllApartments.com and ImproveNet. Users will have direct access to apartment listings, searchable by city or town.

"We're seeing millions of home buyers on HomeAdvisor with numbers increasing each month," says Morris. "Despite the seasonal nature of home buying, January was a record month, and we expect to see this trend continue throughout the spring and summer. The success we've experienced in this industry and as a website since launching six months ago has been beyond our wildest dreams."

And it looks like there's much more to come.

For comments/questions, contact Tom Taulli at ttaulli@bpia.com.

Commercial: Readers interested in IPOs may want to check out The Investor's Guide To New Issues: How To Profit From Initial Public Offerings, available in our bookstore.