How to Buy Real Estate Remotely

by William Tingle

How do you buy and sell remotely and who do you need on your team to do it?

Buying remotely is really not that much different than buying locally. In fact, if you just think about all the things you do when you are buying and selling a house then just think of who in your circle would be perfect to do those things instead of you, you will have your list of team members.

If you have been thinking of trying to invest remotely which, by the way, I do not recommend unless you have a really good grasp of the process of buying and selling locally, try this.

On your next deal, don’t leave the house to do anything having to do with it. Do everything by phone, text or email. This will be somewhat easier for you than actually doing a remote deal because you will be working with people that you already work with and trust. Try not to actually leave the house to do anything at all with this deal. Don’t even go out to look at the house. Let your photo takers and video people will do all of that.

Give it a try and see how it goes.

I think the best way to show you how I do things is to just run through a scenario of buying and selling on a typical deal for me.

Let’s say I am sitting around one day and I decide to buy a house.

I could put together a list and have a mailing done on foreclosures, divorces, MLS soon to expires or any other of 100 different people who may want to sell but today I decide to cold call.

I get on Zillow and tune in to one of the areas I work in and do a search for homes in my price range, number of beds and baths, FSBOs, with any other search criteria I want. Then I start dialing.

No, No, No, Maybe…let us think about it. No, No, No, No, could you do that? We really need to sell this thing now.

Bam! My sign-up doc package goes out to them and 2 hours later, I have a contract, limited power of attorney, authorization to release, and seller’s disclosure in my email inbox. I have also asked the seller if they have their closing package from when they bought the house. If they do, I have them take photos of the HUD, Insurance dec page, and the pages of the note on the house.

I give my agent or field inspector a call to swing by 123 Oak Street and take my photo package for me (50 to 75 photos on highest resolution) along with a 2-minute video. I let my seller know to expect “Sam” or “Sally” who will be coming by to take some photos and assess the condition of the property. I also remind them we will be placing a sign in the yard at this time.

My usual cost to get this done will be in the $25-$50 range.

Less than 24 hours later, I am looking at photos and video. If I have any questions, I call up the homeowner and have them take specific photos for me for clarification. If anything seems amiss, I call up a contractor or appropriate inspector to take a look. If this house is in the South, I am definitely going to want a termite inspection.

While I was waiting for photos, I got the bank on the phone, provided the authorization to release and got info on the loan, balance and any reinstatement figures if there are any.

If I am satisfied with the condition of the house and the loan information, I give my title company a call and order title work. I also start the marketing process. Signs in the yard, emails to all realtors, mortgage brokers and agents in the area, directional signs in the neighborhood. I also send an email out to my buyers list for the area.

Then, I wait.

A couple of days to a week later, my title report comes back and I know where I stand on the deal. If all is well, we proceed to a closing date with the seller. In our previous talks, we have at least gotten an idea of an approximate time but now we want to nail it down as we are also talking to potential buyers and trying to set dates for viewings and open houses if needed.

Since I now have a closing date, I call my insurance agent and tell him about the house on 123 Oak Street that we are taking subject to, give him the name of the mortgage company, the trust name and trustee name, the seller’s name and the date we plan on closing. If I already have my buyer, I give him my buyer’s name as they will be an additional insured on the policy.

We schedule an open house unless the situation with the seller is such that one is not an option. Some sellers actually use us so they don’t have to have people walking through their house all the time and we respect this. In this case, potential buyers are able to look at photos and drive-by but nothing more until the house is in our possession. This does happen but is rare. Most times the sellers are cooperative in the showings and more than half the time we have a buyer under contract with a deposit in hand before we close on our buy-side.

If we do not have a contract from a buyer by 1 week before our closing to buy, utilities are ordered for the day of closing.

When closing day arrives, we send off our closing docs package to our favorite mobile notary who meets with the sellers and gets the documents signed off on. I am on the phone with them to explain anything or answer any questions. Once the docs are signed, my notary takes the deed and appropriate docs to the courthouse and files the deed then FedExes the document package to me.

At this point, I call up the insurance agent who had the homeowners policy on the property and tell him that the property has been placed into a trust. Give him the date of the transfer and cancel the existing policy. We send him a copy of our POA and HUD for proof of the sale and instruct him to mail any refund to our address in the name of our trust.

Once we have taken possession of the house, an agent has a cleaning crew come in and make it nice, the carpets are cleaned if needed and any freshening up done to the grounds.

If we have not already found a buyer, an agent schedules an open house and does 2 group showings a week. Callers who are interested in looking at the house are given the choice of 2 different days for a walkthrough or they can attend the open house but they are reminded that the first one who signs the contract has first consideration. Doing group showings has actually resulted in bidding wars over who would get the house.

When someone raises their hand that they want the house, my agent has them complete a contract and collects a deposit that is wired to my bank account. The deposit is usually 1/3 of the total down payment and is non-refundable if they change their minds. It is refundable if they are turned down for any reason for which I only have a couple that would disqualify them.

Once they complete the contract, they are referred to one of our local mortgage brokers to go through the qualifying process. This consists of a 1003 loan application and verifying their income, and other information. Once he has run them through, he lets me know what we have, the likelihood of them getting financing and what would need to be done to get them financed. Most people fit within our parameters.

Then it is a case of scheduling the closing. I forward the information to my closing attorney and he puts the package together using our docs. He then sends them over to me, I look them over and approve them and we are set to close.

Also during this time, my buyers are assigned to a credit repair specialist who uses the information from the mortgage broker to formulate a plan for getting the buyers credit where it needs to be to be able to get financing within the next 24 to 36 months.

I also order a 12 month home warranty for the property in the name of the buyers.

My buyers attend the closing, give my attorney the rest of their down payment and receive the keys, their new home warranty, and their new home. They are instructed on how to make their payments and sign up with ClearNow to have them ACH drafted on the appropriate date each month.

My attorney wires the proceeds to my bank and we are done.

That is my process for a remote buy and sell. Most of the time the entire process happens in less than 30 days.

Buying remotely is not difficult but you should already have a clear understanding of the process. The biggest part is having the right people in place to get things done. Once you find the team members who can deliver, take care of them. They are your most important asset.

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