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Imagine a person wants to buy a condo in Texas - which is located about 1,500 miles from current residence in Ohio. Can a person who has never set foot in Texas buy a condo there by FAXing a written offer, wiring the cash money, and then receive the keys in the mail? Most document signing can be done via FAX or Fedex. I assume this is very irregular and unlikely. (Even many apartments complexes won't let renters sign a lease for a rental that hasn't been viewed).
What, then, is the fewest recommended number of trips an Ohio buyer should take to Texas to complete the condo buying process?
One trip to Texas to view potential condos.
A second trip to Texas for final walk-through and receive the keys.
Are there any more recommended or required trips needed to Texas in order to complete the condo purchase?
Don't do it. Really. It's thoroughly stupid to buy real estate without looking at it. It's fairly stupid to buy real estate without learning about the area first and evaluating comparables.
It depends on you. There's no right or wrong answer. I met a guy this winter that bought a house sight unseen. He said it was the worst mistake he's ever done.
out of curiosity is this for an investment? Or to move to? It's really hard to judge location from far away.
If anyone's ever bought a condo (or house), how many in-person meetings did it take? Could some of those in-person meetings (paperwork/ payment) have been just as easily handled through Fedex or bank wire, if you wanted to save unnecessary trips?
In my OP, I guessed that two is the minimum number of recommended trips necessary to travel to Texas. First trip is to see the condo in-person before making an offer. The second trip to do a final walk-through and get the keys. Are there any more trips that would be suggested or required in between viewing & final walk-through? (note: this will be a cash purchase).
DH & I bought in Missouri when we were still living in North Carolina. However, we did a lot of research and took two, 2 week trips to Missouri to view properties (that we had researched online prior or that our buyer's agent had recommended).
We found a property at the beginning of our second trip, and utilized the rest of our 2 weeks to start negotiations, get the house under contract and attend the inspections.
However, we weren't there at closing as DH had to be back in NC (military) so we signed off on the final documents and sent them and the check (we were cash buyers also) overnight via FedEx and our Buyer's Agent attended closing on our behalf (she also performed the final walk through for us, and I trusted her judgement completely). I managed to return to MO a few days after closing to pick up the keys and was later sent the relevant documents once the title company had finished processing them.
So, all in all, you can purchase a property remotely- but I definitely wouldn't do it sight unseen. Definitely see the property first, attend the inspections if you can, and above all, find a buyers agent or real estate attorney that you trust to handle your affairs on the 'other end' if you can't be there for closing.
There is absolutely no reason you cannot buy from 1500 miles away and FAX/email/wire your documents and money. But, do you really want to buy without at least seeing the property and neighborhood?
If you were my client, I would recommend a short visit to at least view the property and area. Then you can return home to consummate the deal. My suggestion would be to make your offer contingent upon review and inspection of the home (actually this is normally a standard contract provision in most places). This way you won't have to travel unnecessarily before you have an agreement.
Just so you know - Condo's in Texas are a REALLY Bad deal. They are tremendously harder to resell in ALL areas of Texas. The maintenance fees here are very high in relation to the value, the resell for them is limited, appreciation is negligible (if any) and they are small.
There are a plethora of single family homes & Townhomes that are tremendously better uses of your money. The only advantage of a condo, is no maintenance, but that small advantage does not offset the other detractors.
Buy a house, lease it to someone until you move, or pay someone to just keep it clean & handle the yard. You will be tremendously better off.
Yes, documents can be FEDEXed. I've bought from overseas, no problems.
However, at the very least, go down there and pick the condo out. You'll want to see the entire neighborhood and not just the condo. Also, you'll want to go and sit there in the evening to see how bad the traffic is and how noisy the neighbors are.
If it is for yourself, I strongly suggest a condo building that does not allow renting. Tenants sometimes are not the best neighbors. They have no stake in the neighborhood and you have no control over how they behave.
Do you know anyone else in the area where you are moving to that could see it in person and give you the details? I have shown homes to a lot of people who are looking at it for someone else who's not available to see it in person. They can give you a report, videos, extra pictures, etc. about the things you might be most concerned about.
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