The COVID-19 pandemic has seen everyone having to put lots of life events on hold, such as weddings, vacations and graduations. However, if you’ve had your heart set on moving for a long time, you probably don’t want to wait even longer until the pandemic dies out in order to do it.
Luckily, if you know how, you can safely buy a house remotely and be completely satisfied with the result. Here are five steps to buying a house remotely in 2020.
Take All The Necessary First Steps
Make sure that having to complete your purchase remotely won’t stop you from doing all the necessary research you might normally take on when buying a house, such as carefully choosing a local neighborhood and researching good schools for your children.
These are a good place to start, whether completing your purchase remotely or in person.
Have A Clear List Of Requirements For Your Real Estate Agent
Make sure that your real estate agent is extra clear on everything you want from a new home and is aware that you are buying your home remotely, as this will put extra responsibility onto the real estate agent’s shoulders.
You will need to be more specific with your requirements if buying remotely, as your real estate agent will largely be acting on your behalf and will have to look out for things that you would have otherwise kept an eye on.
Request Floor Plans And Important Documentation
While photos can give you a somewhat good idea of what a home looks like, it can be difficult to really get a feel for your potential new home from photographs alone.
In order to be as sure about the look and feel of your new home as possible, you should always request floor plans from the current owner to demonstrate the layout of the house. You may also wish to request other documents which prove that the home is in good condition, such as documents assessing the good working condition of boilers, air-con, kitchen appliances and the house’s roof.
Request A Viewing Via A Video Platform
As with most things in 2020, if you can’t do it in person then you should at least try to do it via a video call.
Ask your real estate agent to arrange a time when you can be virtually present for a viewing of the house. While this, of course, isn’t the same as doing viewing the home yourself, you will be able to request whoever is holding the camera to give you a closer look at areas you would like to see more of.
Make Sure You Are Covered Legally
It’s important to make sure that you are covered legally when buying a home, but especially when buying remotely, as this could leave you having to deal with issues in your new home that you may have been unaware of due to a lack of visiting in person.
