5 Smart Ways to Prep for Buying a Home With Zillow’s Featured Notebook in NotebookLM

Meet your new go-to interactive home-buying guide: Zillow’s featured notebook in NotebookLM. We’ve teamed up with Google to launch an AI-powered educational resource tailored to wherever you are on the path to homeownership.

Whether it's your first time or your fifth time going through the buying process, Zillow’s interactive Ultimate Home-Buying Guide in NotebookLM can help answer your questions in whatever format you prefer, from a conversational deep dive, to a visual infographic, or an animated video summary. Read on to learn creative ways to get the most out of Zillow’s notebook to boost your home-buying know-how.

What is NotebookLM?

Google NotebookLM is a personalized AI research assistant and thinking tool designed to help users better connect with and understand complex information. Zillow’s featured notebook in NotebookLM is grounded by our Learning Center guides, which include advice from trusted experts including real estate agents and Zillow economists. These guides cover a wide range of topics around the home-buying process, like how to find a good agent, how to save money, how to prepare to move into your new home, and more.

5 ways to use Zillow’s featured notebook for your home search

1. Learn on the go with Audio Overviews

If you’re too busy to read, Zillow’s featured notebook has a deep dive audio feature. You can listen to a conversational, podcast-style discussion between two AI hosts who break down everything you need to know about buying a home. You can also join a conversation and interact with the hosts. This is a convenient way to learn about escrow or home inspections while you’re driving or doing the dishes.

2. Ask personalized questions (and get citations)

Instead of reading through a long guide to learn about the best time to buy a house, or scrolling around to figure out if you should buy a starter home, just ask. Zillow’s notebook will answer succinctly, and show you exactly which paragraph in which article its information came from.

Here are some prompts you can try:

• “This is my first time buying a house. Tell me everything I need to know.”
• “How long does it take to buy a house?”
• “How affordable is New York City?”
• “What are the pros and cons of buying a starter home?"
• "What are the main differences between an FHA loan and a conventional loan?"

3. Visualize the journey with mind maps and infographics

If you’re interested in more than a written answer, use the Studio panel in the featured notebook to access infographics, slideshows, and mind maps. 

The mind map guides you through the 10 essential steps of the home-buying process, helping you visualize the journey through a linear chart. This is just one way you can learn about critical buying milestones, from financial preparation to closing day.

4. Create a personalized "first-time buyer" checklist

Everyone’s home shopping situation is different. You can ask the tool to synthesize a plan just for you.

• Try this prompt: "I'm just starting my search and I'm worried about my credit score. Create a 5-step checklist of what I should do first." The tool will scan all 40+ articles to pull out the most relevant (and specific) advice for your needs.

5. Master the jargon with instant glossaries

Have you run into a term like "earnest money" or "PITI"? You don't have to leave the tool to learn what that means. Simply ask the notebook to define these real estate terms or even generate a "cheat sheet" of the top 10 terms every buyer should know.

The goal of using this guide isn't to replace your real estate agent or your own intuition — it’s to give you clarity and confidence, in one convenient place. It lets you engage with a research partner that helps you organize the chaos of a home purchase into a clear, actionable plan. And you can rest easy knowing the sources feeding the notebook were created and vetted by Zillow’s team of editors and real estate professionals.

Ready to try it? Click here to access our public home-buying notebook and start beefing up your home-buying smarts today.