Working With A Real Estate Agent To Buy A Home Before You Arrive In A New Area
Shopping for a home is hard enough but if you are moving across the country or to a whole new area, finding a home before you arrive can be difficult. Looking at homes online or in a picture is a good way to browse but it is hard to get a sense of the property that way. Selecting a real estate agent or broker that you can talk to and depend on to give you more details and assess the property on your behalf is important.
Finding The Right Agent
Like finding that home you are searching for, finding the right agent or broker to work with is important as well. When you start talking to agents, you need to try to build a relationship with them without having met them in person. It is hard to get a sense of someone's personality without talking face to face but be as open and honest about what you are looking for so that the communication between you and your agent is clear. If they know what you are looking for, it will be easier for them to select potential properties for you to consider. It is important for you to tell them if you do not like the selections they are presenting to you so they can find others that may better fit your needs.
Scheduling Showings
Once you have selected several homes for sale to consider, you will want to go and visit the area and see the homes. It is important that the agent set up times for showings that allow you to see the homes in one or two days. Travelling to the area for these showings can be expensive and you don't want to have to make several trips. If you find one you like while you are in the area, you can make your offer or wait and work through all the negotiations with phone calls, emails, and other communication through your agent.
Setting the Closing
To avoid another trip to the area, getting your agent to set your closing date as close to your arrival date is important. If you come into town and can close in a day or two after that, you will not have to spend a lot of time making trips back and forth and it will allow you to minimize the cost of temporary housing until you can move into your new home. Your agent and the seller's agent can work together to get the date set and if the seller is motivated to sell, they will want to meet your closing needs as well. Coordinating all of this through the agent or broker is common but you need to have an agent that understands how to make it all work smoothly. One with experience working with long distance sales is important to make the process work.