closing on property when buying out of state

[dragonfly99]

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I am planning to buy a condo or townhouse out of state in several months (due to moving for work/job). Excuse my ignorance, but how does the closing work if one cannot be physically there on the day of closing? I am pretty sure there is a way to still close on the home/condo, but how does it work? Would I have a representative, such as a real estate agent, there in my place?

 

[edmadison]

There are several options here. You certainly can give someone power of attorney to complete the transaction for you. A real estate agent would be a poor choice for this. Their interests are not the same as yours. A better choice would be your attorney. I'm a firm believer in hiring an attorney to represent you for every real estate transaction. The cost is relatively small (500-750 dollars, usually). I'm an attorney with some experience in real estate and I've hired an attorney on both the purchase and sale of each of my 3 homes. There are too many traps out there that can get you caught up. Certainly there are less with a town house/condominium, but there still are many.

Do you have a family member that could do it for you with a POA? You could also do the transaction via fed ex, but that can be a pain because you have to sign ALOT OF STUFF. You'd still need an attorney to point out what to sign.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I've closed by fax. It is not big deal. You'll need either a real estate attorney or a realtor to help out probably.

 

[mshheaddoc]

I've closed on both sides of the table (purchasing/selling) via mail. The real estate agent can attend closing for you if you get and sign the documents ahead of time and mail/fax back.

Only thing is, home inspection. We weren't here for that and trusted the real estate agent and the inspector. BAD IDEA. NEVER EVER AGAIN. Always be there for that esp for an older house, etc.. And make sure you are getting someone with alot of experience, not someone who "constructed" houses before or any of that crap. Prefer the person who has years of experience as a town/city/county/state inspector. It might be an extra $100 but its WELL worth it when you have people who might try to "hide things" especially plumbing and electrical issues that aren't easy to see. Please. I was told that and I didn't listen ... I wish I would have because it would have saved us a ton of hassle to know about some of these issues ahead of time and I probably would have asked for more credits at closing.

 

[dragonfly99]

thanks for the great advice, you all.

I have heard that the home inspection is important. I'll keep that in mind.

I don't have anyone in that state who can be there at the closing for me. I have family members involved in the land title business, but they live in yet another state (not where I live, and not the state I'm moving to). Perhaps I do need an attorney, but hate to cough up even more money for that...perhaps it would be wise, however...not sure it's worth it on a 130k condo though...

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I've closed on both sides of the table (purchasing/selling) via mail. The real estate agent can attend closing for you if you get and sign the documents ahead of time and mail/fax back.

Only thing is, home inspection. We weren't here for that and trusted the real estate agent and the inspector. BAD IDEA. NEVER EVER AGAIN. Always be there for that esp for an older house, etc.. And make sure you are getting someone with alot of experience, not someone who "constructed" houses before or any of that crap. Prefer the person who has years of experience as a town/city/county/state inspector. It might be an extra $100 but its WELL worth it when you have people who might try to "hide things" especially plumbing and electrical issues that aren't easy to see. Please. I was told that and I didn't listen ... I wish I would have because it would have saved us a ton of hassle to know about some of these issues ahead of time and I probably would have asked for more credits at closing.

To expand on this excellent advice:

ALWAYS hire an inspector that is a member of ASHI (www.ashi.org) Good ones will volunteer how long they have been a member and you can verify that. When I moved to a new city (where I had NO contacts) I found a great home inspector this way. Start with the ASHI list, and call and "interview" them. The inspector that I ended up using had been a HUD inspector for ~20 years before going out on his own to be a private home inspector. We have had no surprises (though he did miss a legitimate pipe grounding connection that he wrote up as not-to-code, but I guess it's better to be a little over-cautious than over-sloppy!) with the house.

 

[mshheaddoc]

To expand on this excellent advice:

ALWAYS hire an inspector that is a member of ASHI (www.ashi.org) Good ones will volunteer how long they have been a member and you can verify that. When I moved to a new city (where I had NO contacts) I found a great home inspector this way. Start with the ASHI list, and call and "interview" them. The inspector that I ended up using had been a HUD inspector for ~20 years before going out on his own to be a private home inspector. We have had no surprises (though he did miss a legitimate pipe grounding connection that he wrote up as not-to-code, but I guess it's better to be a little over-cautious than over-sloppy!) with the house.

Sad part is he was an ASHI member ... so not all ASHI's are alike.