Buying Your Home Online in Washington, DC

For many people, buying what they need online is a part of everyday life. They're already used to chatting with customer service, comparing products, and reading reviews. So, if you are buying a home in Washington, D.C., you might wonder how to use your online shopping skills in your house hunt. 

Luckily, as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, modern brokerages are using online tools to help people find homes efficiently.

Learning about your digital options for finding and purchasing the right home can be overwhelming. That's why the team at Prevu Real Estate has put together some tips to help you buy a house online in Washington, D.C. 

Steps to buy your home online in DC

• Do your research
• Use a tech-enabled brokerage
• Ask for a commission rebate
• Connect with a dedicated agent digitally

Do your research 

If you're used to shopping online, you can use those skills to help you search for homes. 

You can use digital tools to learn about a few target neighborhoods, then check the cost of homes in those areas. Maybe you'll like brick homes in Columbia Heights and proximity to the Metrorail. Or, you may prefer the riverside nightlife of Georgetown. 

From there, you can search online for lenders and get a mortgage pre-approval to help you understand your budget. A pre-approval can help make your future offer stand out and can also help you decide how much you're comfortable spending.

It’s possible to work without a real estate agent during these early stages of your search. But after you know what you want, working with an expert can make the technical side of homebuying a lot easier. Agents can be especially helpful with things like title insurance, home inspections, closing documents, and remote online notarizations.

But that shouldn’t have to mean an old-fashioned brokerage whose emails, texts, and calls you’ll constantly have to track. 

Luckily, there are modern brokerages that integrate a tech-forward approach into an online home buying journey. 

Use a tech-enabled brokerage

As you get closer to choosing a home, you'll want to find a brokerage that embraces 21st-century methods. 

When you team up with a tech-savvy brokerage, you can blend the knowledge you already have with online tools. 

For instance, Prevu's digital home buying platform offers a streamlined way to find the perfect home online. 

You can enter your ideal price, neighborhood, amenities, and home type, and receive property alerts as soon as a matching home goes on the housing market. Home buyers can even schedule home tours with the click of a button directly through the platform. 

To make the process online even smoother, Prevu allows you to securely upload important documents, giving your agent easy access to vital paperwork whenever it is needed.

Ask for a commission rebate

Buying a home online can be more cost-effective because you can take advantage of commission rebates.

The concept of a commission rebate is straightforward: The buyer's agent returns a portion of their commission to the homebuyer as a refund after closing.

It is crucial to interview several buyer's agents to know whether they offer rebates and understand how their process works. 

For example, Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate can offer a refund of up to 1% of your home's purchase price. So if you buy a home in Dupont Circle for $1,500,000, you could potentially save up to $15,000 via a rebate. 

Prevu's digital platform makes the entire home buying process a lot more seamless, allowing their agents to offer such significant savings to the homebuyers. 

You can then use the extra money to furnish your new place, renovate a bathroom, or replenish your savings account after closing costs. 

Connect with a dedicated agent digitally

Regardless of your experience as a homebuyer, you should always be able to communicate with your agent whenever you need. 

Prevu’s tech-enabled approach allows you to tailor the agent-buyer relationship to your needs.

For instance, if you need to reschedule a property tour, you can take care of it while talking with your agent online, directly through the platform’s chat feature. 

An experienced agent can help with the details of your real estate transaction. Whether you need help negotiating the bottom line, talking with the listing agent, or touring the property in person, you can contact them whenever it's convenient for you. 

New real estate technology allows you to combine your skills with the personalized care of a dedicated agent. Through an updated brokerage, you'll have a friend in the early stages of your search and an expert guide in the final mile of the closing process.

Homes for sale in Washington DC

Thinking about buying a home this year? Browse listings and learn how much you can save with Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate.