House Hunting at a Distance

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of pexels

While moving presents its own challenges, so does house hunting at a distance.  Whether you decided to move for a change of scene, or because you have accepted a job in another city, the art of locating a residence that is hundreds or even thousands of miles from home can be a daunting task.  Before you double the stress associated with moving, let me give you my short list of helpful hints designed to find you a home no matter how far from home you need to look.

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Since teleportation hasn’t been invented yet, let me offer the next best thing: telecommuting. Thirty years ago, long distance house hunting meant jumping on a jumbo jet.  Today it’s not only possible to house hunt via the Internet, you can even check out which neighborhoods are good and which are not 

at the click of a mouse. 

Zillow.com – Want to scope out homes in San Francisco?  No problem.  Zillow.com can show you houses and condos galore.  Everything from prices and pictures to square footage and the realtor that listed the properties are available online.  More importantly, the site also contains a wealth of information on neighborhoods, schools, taxes and more.

Neighborhoods.com – Unsure of how safe a given neighborhood is in any town in the USA?  This is the go to portal to research the local scene.  Containing a number of handy listings, including Quick Facts, Amenities, Where to Live, What You’ll See, as well as what locals love and don’t love, this site takes the guesswork out of finding the right neighborhood for you and yours.

Image courtesy of flickr

Google Earth – Talk about teleportation, Google Earth can take you nearly anywhere on the planet.  This means once you find a likely home, you can do a virtual fly-by that will let you do a walkthrough of a neighborhood without ever leaving home.

Realestate.usnews.com – A subsidiary of US News & World Report, this database-driven website can help you sort through oodles of data about any town in the US without working up a sweat. It will even allow you to customize selections including those for rent and home price, commute time, and population size to help you find the best town.  Then it will provide you with everything from crime statistics to cost of living and job markets that make it a snap to scope out the ins and outs of any community.

Roping the Right Realtor

One of great things about realtors today is they are also Internet-savvy.  This gives them the ability to take you on a virtual tour of any listing, as well as work with you at a distance to help you find the right home. Even better, as well as getting a realtor to work with you from afar, you can also check any realtor out before you decide to work with one at all.  Realtor reviews and video testimonials are a great way to weed out the wrong realtors, so you can work with ones that have a spotless record, amazing connections and impeccable reputations. Another advantage of communicating via web is you will be able to meet your realtor face-to-face.  This is what Google Hangouts is all about: videoconferencing.  The right realtor is one who is easy to reach via phone, text and email, doesn’t waste your time and knows the town you want to move to like the back of his or her hand.  They should also get to know your needs well enough that they can weed out improper listings and contact you as soon as those that will interest you hit the market.

What Do You Want?

Speaking of knowing your needs, if you want to save time and trouble when you house hunt at a distance, this is something you need to take stock of before you begin the search.  While realtors and the Internet make long-distance house hunting a lot easier than it used to be, if you don’t limit your search, the amount of information discovered about any given location can be overwhelming.  That’s why I always recommend any house hunter begin by determining their needs and wants before the safari commences. Below is a list of questions to ask yourself:

1.     How close to work do I want to live?\
2.       What kind of house or condo do I need? (bedrooms, baths, sq. feet, garage, etc.)
3.       What are the local schools like?
4.       Where are the nearest shopping centers? 
5.       Is public transportation important to you or yours?
6.       How much house will my budget buy me? (west coast cities can be shockingly expensive) 
7.      What’s the local cost of living and how much more will I have to budget for this?

Plan a Visit

Image courtesy of wikipedia

Once you’ve homed in on a neighborhood or a few homes you think fit the bill, it’s time to plan a visit.  As good as the Internet is, there are a number of deal killers you may not discover by telecommuting.  Eventually you’ll want to jump on a jet to scope the place out for yourself. The last thing you want to find out once you’ve signed on the dotted line is the fish packing plant or the sewage incinerator located a half mile downwind of your new home that you failed to discover online and your realtor neglected to point out.  Also, a scouting trip is also a great way to get to know the neighborhood and the neighbors.  You’ll be able to check out amenities such as stores, as well as potential deal breakers such as rush hour gridlock.  You might also have an opportunity to check out a few more properties you missed from afar.

While a weekend jet jaunt could set you back a few bucks, it’s far better than finding out you have bought into a neighborhood that you or your family can’t stand.  Until warp speed and teleportation is available, it’s the best we mere mortals can hope for in this day and age.

With over 5,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.