Tips For When Buying a Home Sight Unseen

The thought of buying a home without seeing it in person may seem like a wild idea or like something that doesn’t happen often, but it actually does. Especially with the events over the past year when buyers have been relocating to areas where they can work from home and enjoy more space. While the purchase of a home without physically seeing it live may seem challenging, it is possible to do it successfully if you follow some important protocol.

Work With The Right Agent

Working with the right agent is important with any transaction, but especially when you need to lean on them even more in this type of scenario. Be sure you select an agent who knows and specializes in the precise area that you are interested in moving to. Do your research to see their experience with past sales, reviews and where they do business so you can confirm they are the right fit. 

Ask Many Questions

Whenever you think of a question or concern, start to create a list. You can never ask your agent too many questions and while you may seem like you might be overthinking things it is always better to cover important details rather than have unexpected surprises when your deal comes together later. 

Utilize Technology

These days there are plenty of tools available to us for home searches. Make sure you take advantage of everything that is at your fingertips as you get a good feeling about a home of interest. Many listings will have virtual or 3D tours which is very helpful to see a home’s rooms and layout. If not, your agent could potentially do a live video chat with you. Finally, you can do a Google Street View of the address so that you can get a sense of the location and immediate surroundings in the area.

Consult Floor Plans

Many listings also have floor plans available for prospective buyers. In the event that it does not, then your agent could help with getting you some rough measurements of the key rooms that you wish to mock up a layout for. It can be helpful to get a general idea of size but it is also important to know what furniture will fit.

Inspect It

A home inspection is always important but when you aren’t viewing the home in person then it is especially crucial to lean on an expert. Even if you are purchasing with cash and don’t necessarily need an appraisal or inspection for financing it is still a wise idea to do for insurance purposes and to know and plan for exactly what work the home may need.