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Question(s): how does one find a "good" real estate agent (I guess the proper term now is buyers agent) long distance (1500 miles away) when knowing no one in the area? Are there agents that specialize in long distance? And then once one does, how does long distance buying work - searching, looking, inspections, closing, getting the key, etc. - if one can't be there locally other than one or two visits? I'm sure not everyone who moves long distance can afford (time, money, local responsibilities like children, dogs, jobs) to just pick up and visit for two or more months straight to find a house then jump through all those hoops. So how is it done? (This would be a cash purchase so the financing aspect won't apply.)
Do you have a local agent that you know/trust? If so, ask them for a referral.
Just the realtor I used to buy my current house, no personal connection and I haven't seen him since. But I guess that is at least a start.
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Consider posting on the CD forum for the area to which you are moving, asking for recommendations (they will have to send them via DM).
That is a good idea. I have posted there with other questions already, but it didn't occur to me that they could give recommendations. This will be a year out or so, I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row now for what I'll need to do and get as much out of the way ahead of time as possible.
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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Hi,
I do have some suggestions for finding the agent you want to work with in your home buying process. I would suggest selecting an agent who normally works not only in the area where you wish to purchase a home but also the price range. He/she should be up to date and knowledgeable about local listings, neighborhoods, schools and general area information. They should be up do date on recent sales in your targeted area and/or neighborhoods.
Some agents may disagree with me, but most buyers would be better served by working with a real estate agent who does real estate full time vs a part-time agent. You want an agent that makes real estate a priority. Along that same line, I would also suggest asking the agent how long they have been working in real estate. While the amount of time they have been a real estate agent doesn't guarantee their ability to do a good job, the skills needed are mostly learned while actually doing the job. So hiring an agent who makes their living by listing/selling real estate full time and have been doing so for at least a few years generally equates to a better, more knowledgeable agent.
Once you've identified a few potential agents, you should interview them over the phone, then narrow it down to one or two to meet in person.
When you contact an agent you should definitely ask whether you will work directly with that agent or will they hand you off to a member of their team. There's nothing wrong with an agent having a team, but if you are going to work with a designated buyer's agent from a team, you should really be interviewing that team member, not the agent you originally contacted, to see if the agent is a good fit for you.
The agents you contact should spend at least a half hour or so with you initially, either in person or by phone, to get a good fells as to what type of home you are specifically looking for, going into details as to your likes and dislikes. That's a good time to evaluate the agent's communication skills and whether they are really listening to your answers. The agent should ask probing, detailed questions about the features & style of home, neighborhood and other criteria important to you.
Since you are not going to be in town for inspections, etc, I would also bring that up in your initial conversation with agents. Discuss your expectations with the agents. Do you want the agent to attend all inspections in your absence? Has the agent helped other buyers in a relocation purchase? If so, can they provide references or customer reviews?
It's important to take the time to find an agent you feel will represent your interests, that will spend the time required to find the right home for you and help you through the process all the way to closing.
We had this exact situation. We are relocating from Buffalo, NY to Florida. Our first trip we got a referral and the agent was exceptional but she was only for a specific area of Florida (Boca, Delray, Boynton Beach) we didn't care for the area and decided not to move there (traffic and other reasons). I got other agents off Zillow that had lots of sales, many good reviews and looked really perfect. That was the plan but it turned out one was worse than the next. The first agent I told no equity buy ins and what happened all the houses he had appointments had equity buy ins so we had to start over again and the houses we found were terrible at best a complete waste of time. The next stop we had picked 8 houses we liked and told the agent to set appointments. Everything went OK for the first house and the next one we didn't recognize from the list we provided. We asked and she told us she couldn't get appointments and made others for houses we had zero interest in. At that point we cancelled the rest of the appointments since they were nothing that we wanted. The next day we saw 1 or 2 more and the agent confided in us that she was carrying pepper spray which we understood but what a stupid thing to tell a client. I was put off that she thought we were some kind of crazy people that she would need protection from, single female agents need to carry protection but don't share it with the client. Our final stop, the agent I had been in contact with, couldn't see us so he handed us off to another agent who was OK but the house we decided on was in a questionable area even though he assured us it wasn't. When we found out about the area we cancelled the sale and moved on. On our next trip we got an agent by referral and they were the worst ever, they were extremely nice and competent but we almost wound up with a disaster because unfortunately the commission was their overriding concern. After that we stopped at 2 more cities with agents that looked good on Zillow but they were OK not great. The super popular agents on Zillow frequently don't have time for you and you are shuffled off to an associate who may or may not be any good. The ones we had were average at best. So to answer your question Zillow is a good source but you need to contact the agents and talk with them to make sure you get along. Referred agents seem like a good idea but they have to pay a referral fee to agent that referred you and may have less interest since they are not getting a full commission plus if you are 1500 miles away chances are they don't know anyone in your new area.
Thank you Sunshine Rules; good suggestions and things to look for. I have bad visions of contacting an agency and being passed off to someone who isn't so good or aggressive because I will be mostly long distance. Hopefully I can get some individual recommendations instead.
We had this exact situation. We are relocating from Buffalo, NY to Florida. Our first trip we got a referral and the agent was exceptional but she was only for a specific area of Florida (Boca, Delray, Boynton Beach) we didn't care for the area and decided not to move there (traffic and other reasons)... <snip>
Oh gosh, I will be leaving the Boca, Delray, Boynton area after 25 years here. Funnier still, I came here from North Tonawanda! The area is nothing like it used to be, and I can't wait to leave.
Your story is exactly what I'm afraid of! I can't even begin to imagine how upset/angry I'd be to go through so much effort and expense to set up those visits and have so little to show for it. Not to mention everything that goes on after making an offer. Good luck to you!
You can find good agents long distance is a lot easier with the Internet and also because more real-estate agents and companies are specializing in relocation.
I would go to a site like realtor.com find a property that would be one that you are interested in and fill out the form that says that you are interested in this property put your phone number in a min and they will contact you speak to them on the phone to see how helpful they can be in your circumstance I am only about two and a half hours from the area that I want to purchase in and so far submitting an offer with a HUD property has been a lot of trouble doing it remotely the whole deal actually fell through after I had already paid after I had already paid $1,000 in earnest money because the water could not be turned on for inspection due to a problem that was not disclosed earlier
I would go to a site like realtor.com find a property that would be one that you are interested in and fill out the form that says that you are interested in this property put your phone number in a min and they will contact you speak to them on the phone to see how helpful they can be in your circumstance I am only about two and a half hours from the area that I want to purchase in and so far submitting an offer with a HUD property has been a lot of trouble doing it remotely the whole deal actually fell through after I had already paid after I had already paid $1,000 in earnest money because the water could not be turned on for inspection due to a problem that was not disclosed earlier
A plumber can check the lines' ability to hold pressure with a compressor. It works well, and is fairly inexpensive.
Regardless, foreclosures are often messy deals, and it stinks that you got burned.
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How to find "good" agents long-distance?
