Build a relationship with local estate agents. Visit them in person, shake hands, and call around once a week to ask if there is anything fresh and exciting on the market. The more they like you and the more invested they are in your house hunt, the more likely they are to help you. Estate agents will always share new properties with their list before they put the property online and they may market 'off-market' properties to you personally if they trust you, in some cases, where houses are being sold discreetly due to sensitive family matters or quiet liquidation of assets. Tell everyone you know in the area that you're shopping and what you're looking for - you may hear about a property before it goes on the market through a personal connection. When this happens, the buyer and seller can save some time and money by skipping out the estate agent altogether.