How to Buy a Philadelphia Home Remotely
By Sean Creamer on February 03, 2024
One of the silver linings of Covid is that the world is a slightly different place than it was a year ago. Whether you are working from home instead of a physical office or doing the majority of your shopping through online retailers, you are likely living more of your life remotely.
How we interact with real estate has definitely shifted as well. There was always an inevitable virtual shift and Covid just accelerated things. Regardless, buying a home can now be done online these days too.
People have been bidding on and buying properties for years sight unseen, but with FaceTime, Zoom, online access to limitless information and city and municipality records, it’s never been easier to buy a home online.
Before you take the leap remotely, below are some useful tips on how to buy your next home from the comfort of your couch!
Step 1: Get prepped
Like any home purchase, the most important thing to do is to be prepared and know the market. Whether you are buying virtually or not, it’s crucial to be pre-approved by a mortgage lender or have enough cash in the bank to buy a property without a loan. Most people finance their home purchase -- and rates are at records low -- so get in touch with your lender to understand your budget and how much home you can comfortably afford.
The budget clearly dictates the search parameters, so this is the first and most important step.
Step 2: Decide what you want
The next extension of being ready to go is knowing what you’re looking for and where you want to be. Sometimes it’s as specific as knowing a particular condo building on Rittenhouse Square or maybe it’s knowing that you want a historic property in Society Hill, preferably something dating over 200 years old. Or maybe you are flexible and are open to a few select neighborhoods. Regardless, knowing what you’re looking for is more than half the battle.
Step 3: Do your market research
In tandem with identifying the budget and knowing what you want to buy is making sure to study the local market. The best way to do this is by using a digital home buying platform like Prevu to streamline your search remotely. You can search homes, track listings, and collaborate with a local expert in a particular local market.
The more you study, the more you’ll know. You’ll see how some homes will trade rapidly and you’ll get a very clear sense of what you can buy for your budget. This is crucial so that when you actually engage with an agent and do virtual tours of actual homes for sale, you’ll be able to decide quickly if it’s a home for you and whether or not it’s priced fairly or aggressively.
Step 4: Pick some homes to tour
This is the fun part! Engage with your local real estate professional and pick out a handful of homes. Ask them to send a video of a property -- or better yet -- do a live video chat with them while they are in the property so you can ask questions and the agent can be your eyes and ears (and nose). Make sure to ask the agent to show you the street and the surrounding areas too, if you are unfamiliar!
"This has been a popular method for several buyers moving to Philadelphia," says Todd Hovanec, Director of Real Estate Services for Prevu Real Estate. "We’ve seen a big pick-up in folks moving to Philly recently, including former and future Wharton students, Jefferson alumni, and also New Yorkers looking for a bigger home within a 90-minute radius of their job in Manhattan. Anyone who has spent some time in Philly knows what a top city it is and that it’s undervalued relative to other major East Coast cities, notably DC and NYC."
Step 5: Close the deal
This step is most similar to any real estate deal. The purchaser will work with their agent to get the home inspected and make sure it’s in good condition. The buyer will work on their financing as in any normal transaction and the title search will be completed, again, like any other transaction.
Before the settlement, the agent will do a walk-through and make sure the home is good to go. Settlement can all be done virtually by wire transfer and overnighting back and forth legal documents.
From there, you are good to go!
Last step is to come to Philadelphia and enjoy your new home!
