Searching For a Home From a Distance?

Whether you have just finished residency, or are well into your post-training career, a new job may also mean relocating out of state. While a non-local home search can be more complicated, it doesn't mean it can't be done and done well. Relocation will never be stress free, but working with a real estate agent focused on physician relocation and who has experience walking in your shoes will help make the process less stressful.

Here are the steps to help make your remote home search more successful:

1. Arrange a call with a real estate agent who specializes in physician relocation (If looking outside of Southern Oregon, I can refer you to a realtor in my network). This initial call will be used to ensure that your agent understands what is important to your family in a home and a community. Being on the same page as your real estate agent is key, especially when searching for a home in another state, as they may need to be your local "eyes and ears" for various steps of the process if you can't physically be there.

1. Create your list of needs, wants, and don't wants in a community and home. These will help your real estate agent ensure you are looking at homes that fit the criteria. Note some things on your list may change as you start to tour houses and communities – that's okay, just be sure to let your agent know.

1. Find out how much you can (or are willing to) spend on your home. If you will be taking out a mortgage it's beneficial to get pre-qualified before looking at houses (note, this is more formal than being simply pre-approved, but also carries more weight behind it). This way you know you are only looking at houses in your financial comfort range. Plus, getting prequalified allows you to put a serious offer on a house when the right one pops up!

1. Spend time physically visiting the various communities that you could call home. Getting a first hand look at what each community has to offer will help you make a more educated decision on what is the best fit for you based on your needs, wants, and don't wants. This step is VERY important because you can always update a home but you can't change its location.

1. Start your home search – Once you know your price range and the community, or communities, you want to live in, you can set up an MLS account to get alerted when houses meeting your criteria come on the market.

1. Tour homes that fit your needs in person or virtually! When a home comes on the market that meets your needs and you can't see it in person, have your real estate agent take you on a video tour. Again, the more understanding your real estate agent has of your specific needs the better.

1. Once you have found a home you love, you have a few options of how to proceed. As your real estate agent I can help walk you through the pros and cons of each which will vary based on your unique needs, the market, and more:
2. Wait to put an offer on the house until you see it in person and hope no other offers come in before your visit.
3. Put an offer on the house with the option to withdraw during a certain timeframe. This gives you a chance to travel and tour the home in person before starting escrow.
4. Put an offer on the house sight unseen (understand the risks of this before moving forward).

1. Once an offer is accepted, you are in escrow!

Relocating to another state can add some complexity to the process, but working with a real estate agent who specializes in physician relocation and personally understands the demands that a physician and their family possess can help! And if your relocation isn't taking you to Oregon, I can help connect you to a realtor with physician relocation experience in states across the country.