3 Tips for Buying a Home Sight Unseen

Whether you're out of the country and can't be there to shop for homes in person or you just don't want to do the legwork of in-person home buying, you can always buy a home sight unseen. Here are a few tips you can use to ensure that your shopping experience is a positive one.

Hire a Realtor

Hiring a real estate agent is one of the most important things you can do to help ensure that the home you end up buying sight unseen will meet all of your needs and expectations as time goes on. You can count on your realtor to do all of the in-person legwork for you so nothing important is overlooked and you know exactly what you're getting into when choosing to buy any specific home.

Your real estate agent will visit each prospective home on your list in person and take pictures to send you so you can inspect specific features of the home yourself. And things like negotiating a price, securing a mortgage, and making sure all the paperwork is properly filled out and filed will be taken care of by your realtor, which should help make the purchasing process less stressful and more enjoyable overall.

Take Virtual Tours

A great way to get to know prospective homes you consider buying before making any offers is to take virtual tours of them online. You are likely to find lots of information about the homes you consider making an offer on so they're less mysterious when deciding which one to purchase. From photos and videos to neighborhood statistics and community reports, you can use a variety of available information to create your own custom virtual tour of each home you have an interest in.

Ask your real estate agent to provide you with a list of website addresses where you can find information, photos, and videos about the homes you're interested in buying so you don't have to figure out where to find the information yourself.

Order an Inspection

It is also a good idea to order a professional inspection of the home you decide you want to make an offer on to ensure that it's in good condition and to get an idea of the kinds of maintenance tasks and repairs you'll likely have to take care of as the new owner of the home. Make sure your service provider inspects things such as the foundation, the electrical and plumbing systems, the roof, the siding, and the landscaping.

Make sure the inspector provides you with a condition report of every part of the home that they inspect, along with a list of recommendations for repairs and upgrades that should be done to improve the condition of the home. The reports you receive should help decide whether the home is really worth the price you're considering offering.