Buying a new home is stressful enough, but buying a new home in a different state just adds to the stress. Luckily, we’ve put together this guide to help make your out-of-state move as stress free as possible. Researching neighborhoods, finding the right real estate agent and most importantly, finding the right home are just of few issues that we will help guide you through.
FINDING THE RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD
If you’re unfamiliar with the state and/or city that you’re moving to, you will need to conduct thorough research of the neighborhoods of your city. Thankfully, there are a ton of resources out there to help you make an informed decision. When selecting your new neighborhood, there are many factors to consider such as crime rates, school districts, ease of commute, etc. Below is a list of helpful websites that can help you choose the right neighborhood for you.
Once you’ve done your research and keyed in on a few potential neighborhoods, it’s always recommended to actually visit these neighborhoods first. Sometimes staying in a hotel just isn’t “close enough to home”, so in that case, you could try finding a rental home in that neighborhood on websites like AirBNB, Kid & Coe, or Tripadvisor’s Flipkey. Taking this approach could give you the feeling of “living” in the neighborhood before you actually make the move. However, it’s recommended that you hold off on your visit until you find your local real estate agent and have a list of homes that you want to tour during your trip.
FINDING THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT
Finding the right neighborhood is only one of the check boxes on your to-do list. You also want to find the right agent who can help you find the house of your dreams. There are a number of factors that need to go into the agent screening process which are listed below.
- Reputable company
- Reviews
- Phone interview
- Local expertise specific to your neighborhood
Do your research ahead of time in order to help you find the right agent. Most well established agents should have a LinkedIn page that will give you a good gauge of their professional experience. You should also check their reviews on sites such as Yelp orGoogle +. These reviews could be of the agent specifically, or of the real estate agency that they work for. Either way, research is a must to figure out their reputation and level of experience. Once you’ve narrowed your search down to the top 3 agents, it’s recommended to conduct phone interviews with each agent. From there, you should have enough information to pick the agent that you feel is right for you.
FINDING THE RIGHT HOUSE
Nowadays, finding the right house has undoubtedly become easier thanks to the internet. You can search for homes all over the country on sites like Redefy, Zillow and Trulia all without leaving the comforts of your own home. In addition to your own internet shopping, you should lean on your real estate agent to provide guidance and to keep you up-to-date on new listings in your desired neighborhood and price range. Once you have it narrowed down to your short list of homes, now it’s time to see them in person. This would be the best time to take a trip to your new city and start touring homes.
CALCULATING YOUR MOVING COSTS
So, you’ve found the right neighborhood, the perfect real estate agent and the house of your dreams, now comes the dreaded move itself. There are a lot of pieces involved in an interstate move. For instance, you’ll need to decide on whether you want to use a moving company, or try to make the move yourself. You’ll also want to factor in the costs of your visit to your new city which could include airfare, lodging, food, etc. However, as with everything else, there are helpful online tools that can make this process much easier. Listed below are some websites to help you calculate your estimated moving costs and provide you with moving checklists and to-do lists.
NOW YOU’RE READY TO MOVE
Moving to a new city can be stressful, but it should also be a very exciting time in your life. Hopefully this guide has provided you with a few resources that can help you with your moving process. If you’re currently a homeowner, you can also check out this helpful article about selling your home.
