My husband and I are realtors and help people in this situation often. The great part of your story is that you have been here for a visit and know the lay of the land. I assume that you have a general idea of the location you would like to shop. We typically take the following steps with buyers shopping from a distance:
Establish their budget
Learn what type of home they would like. (villa, designer, premier...)
Do you care of the exterior of the home is vinyl or stucco?
Are you hoping to stay in a certain square footage?
Number of bedrooms and bathrooms?
Are you willing or wanting to tackle updates of any kind, if so, to what extent?
Is an interior lot or a view preferred?
Following those questions we can get more specific with your wish list. If you like, we set you up to receive email listings of properties that meet your general wishes. We then video tour people through the home. Sometimes couples make the decision to come down for a visit to see the top couple homes in person and other times, they purchase without taking the trip.
Find a Realtor that you feel comfortable with. I understand that can be a challenge from a distance as well. Have phone conversations and interview the realtors. If you Facetime, hold interviews in that manner so that you can actually see the Realtor. This is a job interview for a Realtor. See who clicks with you and you feel you can trust.
Hope that this gives you some ideas.
Lee Harper
Quote:
Originally Posted by MplsPete
Okay, let’s get some of the preliminaries out of the way. I did a Lifestyle visit, about 3-4 days, a year ago, in Newell. I spent July in an Airbnb in the northern village of Alhambra. I don’t want to move until I start my Social Security, so sometime after February. Although my wife was smitten with the idea of a new home, the LONG drive down to Eastport made her less eager, and I don’t want the big bonds of the new houses (I know, many say bonds don’t matter for various reasons, but I don’t want a new house bond.)
Maybe I should clarify my original question now:
How do you go about buying a (preowned) home in a community 1500 miles away from where you live?
Thanks to all who share their experiences.
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