Deciding where to put down roots is probably at the top of your mind if you’ve got a new opportunity lined up cross-country or you’re planning to move long distance simply for a change in scenery.
Thanks to innovation in the homebuying and mortgage lending process, you can complete most of a home purchase from behind a laptop anywhere in the world without too much difficulty.
When you’re looking for a home in a new location time may be limited and the budget for travel to do house-hunting can be tight.
To make your life easy, be crystal clear with your needs, wants, and wishes before trekking to the destination to tour properties. Being clear on your desires for the new home will help you and your agent narrow down properties so you don’t waste any time.
It’s not unheard of for buyers to choose a home sight unseen given the technology that’s available to help you shop remotely. Virtual tours featured in home listings have become pretty much the new norm. These tours can help you quite a bit when you can’t physically walk through a home.
Zillow, the real estate marketplace, is an example of just one site that has thousands of properties many of which have helpful virtual tours and walkthrough videos. If there are no videos available for a home you love, you can always request them from whoever’s handling the listing to get a better sense of the space.
It’s possible to become familiar with a location before even visiting! You can review school ratings on sites such as Great Schools and SchoolDigger. You can also join social media forums and search Trip Advisor, Yelp, and City Data to get a lay of the land before you become a full-fledged resident.
Consider searching for an agent on-site that you can trust. This person will likely be your eyes and ears until you can visit. Ask for recommendations on agents and be picky. Interview them to make sure they’re a good fit and pay close attention to their responsiveness.
Doing business from far away means you need to team up with someone you can rely on to respond quickly to emails and phone calls. Ask to see client testimonials and consider reaching out to the clients yourself to get first-hand details about their experience before making a decision.
When you’re ready, online mortgage processes have made it easier than ever for homebuyers to go from prequalification to closing without having to be physically present for each stage.
Our mortgage prequalification process collects all of your financial information including assets, income, debt, and more. You also have the ability to upload financial documents straight to our platform to speed up the process. Making the homebuying process almost paperless.
Learn more about each step of our mortgage process here.
Buying a home from a long-distance doesn’t have to be a challenge. Use online tools and partner with people in the area who you can trust to do tasks that need to be done locally.
