When I first started my real estate career I never would have imagined how many people would buy a house remotely in the St. Pete area. It seemed at the time like something that was always going to be a personal hands on experience for most people when looking to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.
The reality is there are so many people moving here that many folks are willing to take a calculated risk as long as they have a good feeling about their real estate agent. If you’ve ever dove into browsing properties online you know that no matter what your budget, there’s always going to be those homes that are exactly what you want and will probably sell quickly.
What I didn’t take into consideration when I first started was the technology and resources we have available to make remote home buying a viable option. We all know pictures can sometimes be deceiving so having the ability to FaceTime or send video has been one of our number one tools for connecting out of state buyers to their homes in St. Pete.
Our other asset to help make our clients comfortable is the database of neighborhood information we’ve put together on our website to help you gain insight into the areas we recommend. Here’s a great page to reference our best blog posts and we are always adding more.
If you’re looking to buy a home in the area remotely you’ll need a great agent who can give you an honest opinion and be able to provide you with the resources necessary to make an informed opinion. Do you happen to know an agent like that? (hint – IT’S US!!!)
The picture below is from a unit at The ONE Tower in which the buyers contacted us and wanted to put an offer in remotely. Everything went smoothly and I met them on the day of closing!
With all that said, here are The Top 4 Tips To Buy A Home Remotely In St. Pete
4. Come Visit And Get A Feel For The Area
Yes you may be considering the option of buying a home remotely in St. Pete but come check it out first. Get a feel for the neighborhoods. Tell us about yourself and what you’re looking to accomplish with your housing goals and we can give you some feedback on areas we think would fit your lifestyle.
I will put myself in your shoes and recommend which areas I would consider if I were in your position. We’ll get you pre-approved so we know what kind of budget we’re working with.
If it’s impossible for you to come visit first we can still make it happen. This happened to me last year when I had a client that was looking for a very specific type of property – a renovated home with a rental unit in the back.
I saw the home pop up on MLS and sent it over knowing that this is exactly what he’s looking for. I knew it was a hot property so I suggested he put in an offer and let me handle everything on the ground. He pulled up in a moving truck on closing day and we finally met, we kept in touch and he actually bought a second house with a rental unit just a few weeks ago.
3. Let us get you prepared for action
We can have our recommended mortgage broker Justin reach out to you if you’re looking to finance your home. He’ll shop around for the best rates and will always be responsive.
Just an FYI – larger banks typically make the buying process a lot tougher. Communication with your lender is key to keeping the stress levels low during a transaction and I can always trust Justin and his team to be on top of it.
On our end we will get you set up on an MLS autosearch which will allow you to look at the properties we send you, favorite them and leave notes so we can see what’s important to you. We are more than happy to actively help find properties that you may not come across yourself.
2. Get our numbers and call or text us when you see something good
Sometimes a sense of urgency is the only time anything good gets done. Get ahold of us and we will set up a showing while we FaceTime with you or put together a video if FaceTime is not an option. We can give you our honest opinions on the house and area.
1. Just Do It!
Start a new page in your life and move to the best city in Florida. I don’t think I would have the passion to be a real estate agent if I lived in a city that I wasn’t excited about.
I remember visiting different cities in Florida as a teenager and having a vivid connection with the tropical atmosphere, easy going vibe and relatively cheap cost of living. It still has a similar vibe and probably will forever. It’s one of the more affordable and nice places to live in the United States and of course we don’t pay any Florida state income tax.
In Conclusion
If you’re looking to move here and buy a home I don’t think you can go wrong. The vast majority of land has already been built on. Owning property anywhere in Pinellas County is a limited supply commodity and will continue to go up in value as this area continues to become a more desirable place to live.
To add to that – We are the most densely populated county in Florida with a wide variety of different cities and neighborhoods that can satisfy pretty much all needs of someone wanting to live in an exciting area.
Come visit and let us be your tour guide. You can also just reach out to us for local advice. You can call email us at the727team@gmail.com or just leave your information below and we will reach out!