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Making any kind of move can be anxiety-inducing. This is even more so when it comes to moving across the country. The entire experience can be adventurous and exciting, but downright stressful at the same time. A lot is going on when you are moving. This is only compounded when you are moving to a completely new locale across the country. You have to find the right home, new schools, hire a moving company, and more. The list can seem endless. Proper preparation is a good way to minimize the stress you’re forced to endure throughout the entire process. Here are some of the top tips for buying a new home out of state.
Tips For Purchasing A New Home Out Of State:
1. Research The Cost Of Living
Regardless of why you are moving out of state, you want to understand the cost of living in the area. While moving to a completely new state can be exciting, you don’t want to lose yourself in the moment without factoring in a few things. While you could get offered a new role with a much higher salary, you need to factor in whether or not you will be saving that money or spending it because of an increase in your cost of living. After all, the goal is to make more and save more. You need to analyze how much the cost of living is going to increase or decrease to do an accurate salary comparison.
The cost of living in a place will take your salary, healthcare, utilities, goods, and everything else into the equation when it comes down to determining how much money you need for that respective city.
There is a lot of research out there you can delve into when it comes to making an out-of-state move. Smartasset.com notes you can anticipate having a 6% increase when moving from Omaha to Denver if you are a family of four. It would also come with a 6% increase in your taxes.
There are so many location options that could appeal to you. You want to look at the various cost of living calculators online to see what you can expect to pay in any given city.
2. Conduct Research On The The Neighborhoods
It could be the climate that is appealing to you in the new spot. It could be the views offered by that new condo on the beach. You need to do your due diligence to find the right neighborhood. Not only do you need to do this to find one that fits your specified budget, but you also need to factor in what’s a priority for you. You need to think about whether or not you can afford to pay for two houses at once or if you need to sell your current home before moving. If you are already renting a spot, you need to factor in if you are going to sublet it before moving.
As you consider all of the things discussed above, you need to further figure out what’s the most important to you in regards to your new home. Is having an extra room that can be converted into an office most important? Or is it being situated in a good and safe neighborhood with excellent schools? This will likely change based on whether or not you have children of school age. Because of these things, you need to figure out what you are prioritizing when you are shopping for a new house.
You want to have a priority list that you can check off to compare two different options with one another. One house may have an amazing view, but it may not be situated in the best school district. Whereas another home may have fewer rooms than you want, it’s located in a prime spot for the best schools.
Take this priority list you’ve created and figure out which home is the right fit for you and your family. You also want to factor in whether or not you are looking to purchase a home right away or if you are looking to wait. Just be certain you are creating this list and comparing your options with your budget at the forefront of your mind. You do not want to narrow down homes to properties out of your price range.
A good way to conduct this research is by spending time on social media groups. You will find a lot of groups on Facebook discussing the neighborhoods and more. You can use these groups to extract information that you can use to make your next home buying decision.
3. Create a Checklist For Your Move
Things can get incredibly hectic when you are moving any kind of long-distance move. Because of this, you want to ensure you are constantly planning and maintaining optimal organization throughout the entire process. By maintaining good organization throughout, you can ensure the process goes as seamlessly as possible. You are not only buying a new home in a different state but you will also be tasked with doing a lot of other things too. This includes having to register new vehicles, sign up for new utilities, change your address with the post office, and more.
One of the best ways to ensure you maintain high-level organization throughout your entire move is by creating a checklist of sorts. You want to create a moving checklist that will help you remain on top of any deadlines you have. It will also keep you from forgetting to complete various essential tasks.
You could potentially make it even smoother a process by hiring a relocation specialist. These people are experienced in facilitating long-distance moves. They can be good resources to use to make the entire process less stressful overall.
4. Hire A Moving Company
When you are making a big move, typically the process of moving everything is one of the most tedious, stressful, and time-consuming. You want to hire someone that has the experience, manpower, and equipment to get it done quickly. When you are moving to a completely new state, you will likely be without your stuff for a while. Because of this, you want to hire a professional moving company sooner rather than later.
You can get a free estimate from a lot of reputable moving companies to ensure you are getting a good and competitive price. If you don’t have to move at a specific time or date, you’re likely going to save a bit. Having flexibility with your moving dates is always a good way to save money.
You also want to give yourself plenty of time to go through everything to get rid of things you don’t need. Everyone has unnecessary clutter taking up space. You want to purge these things from your life before you pack them up and continue the cycle. Also, it will free up a lot of stuff that you won’t have to pay to move.
Typically, your total professional moving quote is going to be based on weight and size. The more stuff you have taking up space, the more you can expect to pay. It’s always worth getting rid of things you don’t want or need beforehand. To get more informed about what you should ask a prospective moving company, you can take a look at this FAQ resource for more information.
You want to also consider how much you could end up saving facilitating the move yourself. For most, this isn’t going to be practical because you would likely need to rent out a truck and do everything on your own. However, for those with very little belongings, it could be a cost effective approach and the savings may be worth it.
5. Work With A Local Agent
Finding any kind of agent is likely going to be difficult if you aren’t in the state. This is especially true if you are looking for a buyer’s agent in a new territory. However, it’s one of the most important steps of making a move out of state. You want to have an established buyer’s agent working on your side. They will negotiate on behalf of the buyer throughout the process. Because of the importance of having boots on the ground, you want to hire an experienced agent that knows what they are doing and that knows the area well. Finding the right agent can make the entire process much smoother.
The beauty of having a local agent working for you is the fact that you can have them looking at houses and emailing new listings on your behalf. They will also be able to check out the price reductions directly from the MLS. A lot of the listings on it will even have extra photographs and other information that you can use to make better decisions. You can even leverage Google Street View if you want to check out the neighborhoods and see what they look like without physically being there.
A reputable and experienced agent will be able to walk you through the entire process of buying a home out-of-state. They are working for you and they will do a lot of the legwork for you. They will be working with you to ensure you get the home of your dreams at the best possible price.
6. Get Pre-Approved
What is equally as important as getting an experienced agent on your side? Getting pre-approved for a mortgage. You want to check your credit to ensure it’s looking good. Pre-approval can be a major factor in determining whether or not it’s easy to get your next home. This is a process that needs to be done beforehand. You want to have a good credit score and have everything situated to get the most competitive interest rates. The better your credit score is, the better the rates you’ll get. You can check out our monthly mortgage payment calculator to see how much you can anticipate paying for your mortgage.
Also, a mortgage pre-approval letter can help you figure out the right budget to work with. It will provide you with a very clear estimate of the type of house you can afford. It will also help you stand out from the rest of the competition that didn’t go above and beyond to show they are serious home buyers.