I’ve helped buyers purchase homes on Florida’s Treasure Coast who walked through the front door for the first time after they owned the house. My husband always wonders how anyone could feel comfortable sending that much money for a home they’ve never set foot in. What those buyers have told me is that by the time they arrived, the house already felt familiar. They’d seen the view from the kitchen window, looked at how close the neighbors were and gone over the inspection report. They’d also heard exactly what I didn’t like about the property.
After more than 25 years of helping people buy and sell homes here, I’m comfortable helping a buyer choose a house remotely. I’m also comfortable telling someone when I think they need to get on a plane. In this episode of Florida Explained, I share how I make that distinction and what I’d do first if you’re considering buying a Florida home from out of state.
Visit the Treasure Coast to decide where you want to live
If you can make one trip early in your search, I’d use it to get to know the area. Stuart, Jensen Beach, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Hutchinson Island and Port St. Lucie may all come up in the same online home search, but you can have a very different daily routine depending on which one you choose.
While you’re here, drive from a neighborhood you’re considering to the places you’d go in an ordinary week. If you plan to spend mornings at the beach, make that drive. If you want to be close to your doctors, favorite restaurants or grocery store, see how you like getting there. A map can tell you the grocery store is 12 minutes away, but you may have an opinion about that drive once you’ve done it yourself. When you head home knowing which neighborhoods you’d return to, we can put your time into houses you’d actually consider buying.
Tell your agent what would make you turn a house down
“I’ll know it when I see it” presents one small problem when you’re buying from a thousand miles away. I’m the one standing in the house, so I need to know what would make you turn around and walk back out.
Maybe you’re happy with a two-story home as long as the primary bedroom is downstairs, or perhaps stairs anywhere in the house rule it out. If you own a boat, tell me whether being near the water is enough or whether you need to keep the boat at home. The same goes for a fenced yard, a private pool, an HOA and how much maintenance you’re willing to take on. Knowing what you disliked about the last three homes you saw can help me decide whether the next one deserves a closer look.
What should a live video home tour show you?
When I take you through a house on FaceTime, I want you to be able to stop me, ask me to open a closet or have me go back to a room you want to see again. We’ll look closely at the floors, walls, windows, appliances and bathrooms. Then I’ll turn the camera toward the things that are harder to judge from listing photos. How close is the house next door? What do you see across the street? When you sit on the back patio, how much of the yard can your neighbors see?
If I know privacy matters to you and the kitchen window looks straight into the neighbor’s house, I’m going to show you that view. Sometimes it works the other way, too. A house you nearly passed over online may be worth seeing once you get a better look at the yard or how the rooms connect.
The video showing helps you decide whether you want to pursue the house. If you put it under contract, you’ll still want appropriate professional inspections, time to review the reports and answers to the questions they raise. Being out of state makes those conversations especially important.
Should you come back to Florida for the final walkthrough?
That depends on what you need to see for yourself. I worked with buyers who came to Florida to choose their home, and I showed them more houses than I’d shown anyone in quite a while. By the time they chose one, I had a pretty good understanding of how closely they looked at every detail. I asked one of them to come back for the final walkthrough so they could see the condition of the house for themselves before closing.
Other buyers I’ve worked with have been comfortable asking questions over live video and reviewing photographs and inspection reports from home. If there’s something you know you’ll still be wondering about after we hang up, tell me while we have time to plan a visit.
Can you close on a Florida home while you’re out of state?
Even if you come to Florida to pick out your house, you may be able to sign your closing documents from home. The arrangements depend on the transaction, whether you’re paying cash or financing, and the requirements of your closing agent and lender.
One possibility is remote online notarization, often called RON. For eligible documents, you meet with a notary through a secure audio-video session, verify your identity and sign electronically.
Your closing agent may also be able to send documents for you to sign and return by overnight delivery, or arrange for a mobile notary to meet you at home or at work. I’d confirm which option is available well before closing day, especially if you’re deciding whether to book another flight.
If you’re planning a move to Florida’s Treasure Coast, tell me when you can visit and what you’d like to learn while you’re here. We can use that first trip to narrow down the neighborhoods, then decide together which homes you’d feel comfortable touring from out of state. Contact Maria Wells at Lifestyle Realty Group.
You can also get a feel for the area before your visit by watching my Treasure Coast neighborhood tours on YouTube.