My TOP 7 Tips on Buying a Home REMOTELY

Hey guys! So…I debated this one. Is this a weird post for right now??

The thing is, with interest rates what they are, so many people are taking advantage and finally getting the home they’ve been eyeing….so while I’m not sure how many people are looking to *move states * right now, I think we can all relate to the whole “remote” thing. 

See, the thing is, when Sean and I first bought the house we live in now (ALMOST 1.5 years woohoo!), we bought it while we a) lived in Colorado b) the house was in Texas c) we never lived in Texas before and d) we’d never BEEN TO TEXAS BEFORE. 

So yea…we’re bonkers? 

But the reality is, ANY time you’re thinking of buying a house, much less in a location you don’t live, much less RIGHT NOW…. it can be daunting to say the least.

And as first-time home buyers, the process seemed downright impossible for us at times. Like…totally, completely, f-ing impossible. I’ll admit it! I’m a positive gal…but there are times that I broke and was like omg this is it, I’m renting for the rest of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it. YUP. 

Thankfully, Sean and I teamed up and despite a lot of frustration and tears (hey, Sean’s a sensitive guy)…we were able to buy our first home that we LOVE! While there’s a lot I’d do differently…these are the top things I think really made a difference when it came to buying a house “remotely”.

#1: Find a real estate agent who has worked with remote buyers before

To be completely honest, our real estate agent was our salvation through this entire process. With fourteen years of experience, she not only negotiated closing deals we never even thought of, she was well-experienced with out-of-state buyers. 

That meant being a stickler for our move-out date with our apartment and sending us digital documents for signing online whenever things pivoted. She sent us a website that was virtually Facebook for real estate, and Sean and I just hearted whatever we liked and she took care of the rest.

The weekend we landed to look for houses well…I mean this woman just GOT ME. We showed up, had coffee, she had all the snacks and the day MAPPED OUT…and we went to town. And I mean ALL OVER TOWN>> there are parts of Austin proper that I’ve seen that I swear long-time residents haven’t heard about.

Having someone familiar with working with out-of-towners just visiting meant that she knew we were here for BUSINESS. I was very much about that. In my experience, it was so great working with someone who just got that time was precious, and could fend off pushy sales people and identify areas where our time was best spent.

TBH…that dedication was like THIS IS IT for us. She just made it so much a priority and I think it really amped it up for us too. This was my ideal agent and trust me we approached a lot before we settled on the right fit.

#2: Being present for the walk-through isn’t that necessary…but it has it’s benefits.

When it comes to buying a house across country, hidden costs can really start to take  their toll on a budget. In a pinch, being present for the walk-through of our new house wasn’t entirely necessary. With all their knowledge and expertise, our inspector and real estate agent were really the ones who caught everything from insulation to flashing to hardware. Had we not chosen to be there, our real estate offered to FaceTime the entire walk-through for us so we could remotely monitor their progress.

That said, being present for the walk-through had a few unforeseeable benefits. Just five years earlier, we had moved from Illinois to Colorado driving a U-Haul with our car on a trailer, and we knew we didn’t want to go through that again.

Driving down for the walk-through allowed us to get the transportation of one of our cars out of the way. We simply left the car in Austin until we were ready to move in, and flew back the next day. All in all, the trip took about two days, including drive time.

Due to last-minute challenges, our builder allowed us to move in to our property six weeks before we actually closed on the house.

#3: Utilize third-party parking lots

Since we didn’t technically own our house yet, keeping our car in the driveway after the walk-through was a no-go. Utilizing an off-airport, third-party parking lot was the most cost-effective place for us to keep our car until we were ready to move.

The Parking Spot is available near more domestic airports and you can usually find a coupon on their website for 20% off. Since the area is all secured by a gated entry, we had little concern for break-ins while we were away. All in all, our car’s 2 week stay cost us a total of $78. Not bad, not bad at all…

#4: Order those can’t-live-without items before your move

Obviously, it can feel risky to the most experienced of home buyers, but I thank my lucky STARS Sean was on top of his sh*t for once and ordered up our refrigerator, laundry machines, and new dishes so that they were scheduled to arrive the same day. He even managed to arrange our internet, electricity, and cable before our move — and let me tell you the internet was ESSENTIAL in his book. 

Obviously a lot of homes come with some of this things already installed, but I think if it weren’t for Sean planning in advance I wouldn’t have even *thought* about this stuff far enough in advance to matter. Factor in super long delivery times (oh, SO the dryer isn’t on Prime?), how long they’ll hold the item for in the event your move-in date is pushed back (sh*t happens), and also the order of things. Like…you need water for them to install the laundry machine…who would have thought? It’s not rocket science but it pays to have it all in mind. 

#5: Pack a “unpacking box” and keep it with you

This is one of those live-and-learn the hard way moments from years of moving states and apartments…Listen.

Have you ever gotten to a new apartment/house/condo/whatever and been like…holy f**k I packed my scissors and I have no way of cutting open my boxes and I’m just like really hungry and tired from moving and I juust want a plate and a napkin and some MF LOTION AND A LOOFAH.

So. Unpacking box. It can be a card board box or a plastic bin…just make sure it’s easy to get into once you arrive. This went beyond just essentials for “unpacking”. Consider what you’re going to want for the next day or two until you really start unpacking things and organizing your stuff. I gotta say, Sean was really impressed with this idea when the day came and I felt a little proud 🙂 

Here’s what I put in our unpacking box:

• Bath towels
• Scissors 
• Bath accessories (think whatever you need to shower i.e., soap, loofah, comb, all that jazz)
• Lotion (boxes just tear my hands apart!) 
• Tweezers / nail clippers ( see above ) 
• A roll of toilet paper and paper towels
• 2 plates, cutlery, cups
• Spare PJS/undies/T-shirts for the next day
• Dish soap, hand soap, and antibacterial soap 

#6: Keeping track with everyone who entered our home

We were very lucky to be allowed to live in our new home weeks before actually closing. That said, we had to accept that our punch list was still largely in the works. That meant getting small fixes and repairs done constantly in the house. Anyone who has ever dealt with a laundry list of contractors knows this is NOT an easy task.

One of the biggest advantages in working with each person who entered our home was retaining a personal relationship and getting their business cards on file. This made it much easier to schedule repairs around a busy schedule. Best of all, whenever something questionable arises in the care of our house, we know exactly what company and what worker made the repair and how.

Staying in constant communication with our builder was also key. Whenever a worker was in our home, I chatted with our builder on their progress and any feedback or requests for materials that came our way. Our builder loved getting the information quickly so he could get ahead of any appointments or materials that needed to be ordered.

#7: That 1-10 Warranty Though

As with any house, we had done our due-diligence and gotten a highly-rated inspector before signing our papers. That said, since we had moved into our house at least 6 weeks prior to actually closing, our punch list was two pages and 52 items long. But because our contract carried the 1-10 warranty clause, we weren’t (too) concerned on getting it all done perfectly by closing.

Over six months later, that punch list is long gone, but new houses will always have a few things creep up that you don’t realize until you start living in the space. The first time we ran our laundry machine it turned out that ONE RANDOM friggen nail had pierced through a pipe …it was a quick and relatively easy fix but you better BELIEVE I was thankful for that warranty!

With everything, be sure to research all your options and talk about what is right for you. Think about how long you want to stay in the home, and anything you think could be a factor years later. These are just some ways that worked out for us! I’m so happy with how everything turned out, looking back I really wouldn’t change a thing about the whole process. 

• Deanna