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albasellsrealestate-blog · 5 years

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Should You Sell Or Rent Your House? 10 Questions To Ask Yourself

When moving out of a primary residence, most homeowners make the obvious decision to sell their current property. But is that really the best choice for you? The answer, of course, depends on many factors -- your current financial and housing situation, the real estate and rental market where you live, and several others that can add up to help you make a decision about what to do.

If you know you're going to be leaving a house that you own and currently live in, consider how renting it instead of selling it might benefit you -- or whether it would be too much trouble and not lucrative enough to bother with as an option. To determine what choice is the best one for you and your current situation, ask yourself these questions and then move forward with whichever path is going to serve you better long-term.

Will you make a profit if you rent?

This is arguably the biggest, most important question to answer before you move on to other factors involved in your decision, and the variables that will influence your profit (or loss) can be complicated, so make sure you spend plenty of time figuring out what a realistic profit would look like and whether you can make it happen.

If you're still paying a mortgage on your primary residence (and you probably are), then you'll need to make sure you can cover your mortgage with the rent price you'd like to charge. You'll also have to pay for insurance on the home -- and this is likely going to be more expensive if you rent it out than straight homeowners' insurance would be, so price insurance costs for a rental with your insurance agent. Property taxes and HOA fees will still need to be paid, too, so include those in the monthly expenses.

And then there are a number of other costs involved with renting a house that you'll want to add to your balance sheet before you can know for sure whether this will be a profitable step to take or whether you'd be losing money every month. There will likely be repairs you have to make here and there to the property -- that's only to be expected. If you don't want to deal with the ins and outs of being a landlord yourself (screening tenants, scheduling repairs, and so on), then you'll want to hire a property manager, and that can cost up to 10% of the monthly rental income. It's unlikely that your home will be occupied constantly, so consider the cost of vacancies, and you'll also need to pay to market the house when it is vacant so you can attract new tenants. Finally, if you want to do any rental reference checks or credit checks on tenants, you'll need to accommodate those costs into your calculations, too.

Once you've added up all the expenses and done some research on fair-market rental prices for your area, you can determine whether or not you'd be making a profit every month or year, or whether renting would cost you more money than it would make you.

Do you need the money from a sale sooner rather than later?

When you have debts that need to be paid or you can't afford the mortgage on your home anymore, it probably makes more sense to sell the property instead of trying to rent it out. Take a look at your current financial situation to determine how critical those funds would be for your future; also consider the fact that ideally, renting your home will produce a profit every month that you can collect as long as you have tenants willing to pay the rent price.

If you're really not sure whether it would be more financially viable to rent or sell your house, talk to a financial advisor about it. Maybe you can set up a payment plan for some of those debts and use the rental profit to pay them off over time, or maybe you could use the cash from a sale to make some smart investments and retire sooner. Nobody knows your financial situation as you do, so do some assessing of where you are and where you want to be, and then figure out whether renting or selling would get you closer to that goal.

Will you want to move back in eventually?

Another important factor to consider is whether you'd want to move back into your house eventually. If you're moving out of the area, but there's a chance you might want to return at some point, then keeping the house and renting it out will probably ultimately be cheaper for you long-term than selling your house and then trying to find something comparable a few months or years down the road.

Maybe you're not sure if you want to move back or not -- that's fine! If it's even a remote possibility, though, sometimes it's nice to have a backup plan for housing, especially if you're heading off to a new adventure and you aren't sure how things are going to go. Obviously, you don't want to plan to fail, but knowing that you have a safety net if you need one and can get back into your old digs without buying them back might be worth quite a bit when push comes to shove.

And if you're upgrading or downsizing, then this lens looks slightly different. Maybe you're not sure you'll enjoy moving into a condo or a smaller home and there's a strong possibility you might want your old space back. Or maybe you're not certain that the upkeep and cleaning that a larger space requires is going to work out well for you. It's even possible that you're not certain your current household configuration is going to last all that long -- if you have kids who are about to fly the nest in a few years, or (hopefully not!) you're unclear that your relationship is going to go the distance, then keeping your home and renting it out might be a good decision long-term.

Can you improve or update the house right now?

Homes that sell the most quickly and for the highest prices in any market are always the nicest, most updated homes available for buyers. If your home doesn't measure up to the neighbors in terms of the appliances and updates, and if you really don't have the money or the interest in fixing or renovating your house so that it's going to capture top dollar for you on the real estate market, then renting might be a good choice for you.

Tenants are typically a lot less selective than buyers when it comes to the brand of appliance used in the kitchen, the wear and tear on the carpeting in the bedroom, or the landscaping in the front or back yards. So if you know your house isn't exactly the definition of move-in-ready -- especially compared to other homes on the market in your area -- consider renting it for the time being and wait until you can make those upgrades before you sell it.

Do you want to live a landlord life?

If you don't want to hire a property manager, it's important to ask yourself whether you'd feel comfortable or would enjoy being a landlord. You might need to have some difficult conversations with any tenants who haven't paid rent. You will almost certainly have to arrange for repairs to be made to the house, usually at the most inconvenient time possible -- sewer mains and electrical systems tend to fail when it's most expensive to fix them, like after 5 p.m., on weekends, or on holidays. Finding and screening tenants can be time-consuming. And tenants usually aren't going to treat your property the same way you would if you lived there, so if the thought of your precious floors or countertops getting dinged or scratched (or worse) makes you shudder, realize it's one of the possible downsides of being a landlord.

After thinking about it, if you decide you really don't want to live a landlord life, then you'll know that you either should sell your house or hire a property manager to handle it.

What's the real estate market doing?

There's no single indication that you should sell or rent depending on the real estate market's current activity, but it can definitely help inform your decision. Maybe the market's been on an upswing for several years and it's looking likely that prices are going to drop in the future -- in that case, it might make sense to sell now, while your house is at its peak value for the time being. But if you owe more on your mortgage than the house is worth, it might be wiser to play a long game and rent it out until the market catches up to your debt or vice versa. If prices look like they're going to continue to rise in the future, then renting, for now, might be your best bet; you can plan on selling and making a bigger profit a few years down the road.

Talk to a real estate agent about where they see the market going, and if you can, try to make sure you're getting opinions from someone who's worked in real estate through several market cycles. Nobody can predict the future, but an experienced agent knows the warning signs of a seller's market or a buyer's market, and they can give you an educated opinion about what to expect for at least the next year, if not further.

How about the rental market?

Some rental markets are healthier than others, and if yours isn't looking all that robust, then now might be a good time to sell instead of count on the rental market improving. On the other hand, if the rental market looks strong and there are indications that it's only going to get stronger -- low unemployment and plenty of job opportunities in your area, for example -- then renting might be the best way to handle your departure from your house.

This is another area where an experienced real estate agent or a property manager can give you some insight into how you should approach your decision. Get some estimates on rent for your house and ask their opinions about whether it would be more likely to increase or decrease in the future so that you can weigh that along with other factors as you figure out what to do.

Can you afford capital gains tax if you sell later?

If you sell a home that you own but haven't been living in for the past two years, then you'll have to pay capital gains tax on any profit you make from the sale. This could wind up being a significant amount of money, and it can be a nasty surprise for homeowners who were hoping to pocket the entire profit. Think about whether or not your finances can handle the capital gains hit if you sell your house as a landlord or investor instead of as a resident.

Are you going to buy or rent another house to live in?

Spoiler alert: When you leave this house, you're going to have to find somewhere else to live. If you're planning on renting a house wherever you go, then it might make sense to in turn rent your house out to someone -- but if you want to buy a house wherever you land, then it's entirely possible you might need the proceeds from the sale of your current house to pay the down payment on your new abode. If you don't have a down payment saved up separately from your home's equity, you could end up paying mortgage insurance on one house while renting out another, and ultimately it might not make very much financial sense to rent your current house and buy a new one. Think about your plans after you leave your current house and what it would mean to sell or rent your current home before you move on.

Can you healthily absorb a financial hit or two?

Renting a house that you own includes lots of surprises, most of them not so pleasant. Can you afford to replace a water main if it breaks, handle a month or two of mortgage payments if the place is vacant, and replace the carpet and paint the walls in between tenants? Remember, most tenants aren't going to be as careful with a house they're renting as they would with a home that they own, so you should plan on doing at least some minor cosmetic repairs and upgrades after tenants leave to make sure the place is in decent condition for incoming renters.

Nobody can tell you whether selling or renting your current home makes more sense -- it's really going to depend on you and your current situation. Think through these questions before you arrive at a decision, and you'll be able to make an educated choice about what to do that works well for you long-term.

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albasellsrealestate-blog · 5 years

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Everything Sellers Should Know About All-Cash Offers

Selling your house can be a very stressful experience for homeowners. It can be emotionally challenging to make repairs or upgrades to a house that you're about to hand over to a buyer; you often need to keep the home in pristine condition for marketing and showings; and even if you find a buyer who's perfect for your place and everything seems to be going swimmingly, a last-minute loan problem can derail your deal and send you back to the beginning -- through no fault of your own.

It's no wonder that many homeowners would prefer to work with an all-cash buyer when selling their house. The sales process with an all-cash buyer is almost always smoother and more convenient for the seller, with no loan contingencies that might cause a sale to fall through, and the seller usually doesn't have to make any repairs to their house before transferring ownership to the buyer.

But there are also some drawbacks to working with all-cash buyers, and some additional factors you need to take into consideration before you decide to go this route. Weigh all the pros and all the cons, and the extra due diligence you might need to do, and then make an educated decision about your own situation.

The pros of working with all-cash buyers

Faster closing time

One big benefit of working with an all-cash buyer is that the closing process is likely to be much faster (and smoother) than working with a buyer whose purchase is financed. Getting a mortgage loan fully approved and deployed usually takes about 30 days, and there's a lot that can go wrong in those 30 days that could cause the buyer to drop out of the transaction and send sellers back to the listing market to find another buyer.

A mortgage loan almost always requires two procedures that a cash buyer can choose to waive: the inspection and the appraisal. Many cash buyers will still ask for an inspection in order to get a full sense of what might need to be repaired in the home, but it's not uncommon for them to agree to tackle minor repairs, letting the seller off the hook for those.

Appraisals are required in a financed deal so that the lender knows that the home is worth the amount of money that the buyer is paying for it (and the amount of money that the lender is loaning the buyer); if the all-cash buyer and the seller have agreed on a price, though, an appraisal really isn't necessary. Bypassing the appraisal (and sometimes the inspection) can also help to shorten the closing timeline; an all-cash deal can usually close in about two weeks.

You can sell as-is

About three-quarters of all-cash buyers are investors, which means they're intending to fix the homes that they buy and either flip them (sell them for more than they paid) or rent them out. Those investors usually have their own parameters and preferences for the appliances, flooring, systems, and other features of the house that typically need to be repaired or upgraded for a financed seller. An investor will want to tackle those repairs and renovations themselves to get everything done to their standards and specifications -- that means the seller doesn't have to worry about it at all.

If your home is outdated or needs minor repairs here and there -- adding up to a significant amount -- and there are financial or other reasons why you'd prefer not to handle those repairs yourself, then working with an all-cash buyer might be an option you want to consider.

There will be fewer (or no) contingencies

In a financed sale, buyers -- and lenders -- might request all kinds of contingencies that sellers will have to accommodate. The biggest one is the financing contingency: If the financing doesn't clear for whatever reason, then the sale will be canceled. There's also the appraisal contingency, which stipulates that if the home appraises at a lower price than the sales price, you'll have to ask another appraiser's opinion (and pay for the appraisal) or negotiate a new sales price that more closely reflects the appraisal price.

Other contingencies might put the burden of paying for repairs or closing costs on the seller. All-cash sales don't include financing or appraisal contingencies, and other contingencies are usually easier to negotiate for all-cash sales.

The sale is more likely to close

When the buyer doesn't need to rely on a lender to secure financing to buy a property, there's a higher likelihood that the sale will reach the closing table without any snags. There are all kinds of reasons why a lender would pull out of the sale, leaving a buyer high and dry, but if buyers aren't using a lender at all, then all of those possible roadblocks are removed. This can be a powerful incentive for sellers to accept an all-cash offer, despite the drawbacks (which we'll cover below) -- sometimes it's preferable to have an almost-guaranteed sale and get the whole process over with.

The cons of working with all-cash buyers

Most all-cash buyers are investors

If you've got a strong emotional attachment to your home -- and many homeowners do! -- then you might not be all that excited to sell it to an investor instead of a private buyer, and most all-cash buyers (about three-quarters of them) are investors. Instead of moving into your house and living there, investors will either be making all those minor repairs and upgrades that will help them get a higher price, then re-listing and selling your house for a profit, or they'll be renting the house out.

Either way, if you made memories (such as raising pets or kids) in the property and were hoping to pass it along to a buyer who will treasure it the same way you do, then working with an all-cash investor buyer might give you pause.

You might not get full price

The all-cash investor buyers who want to fix and flip your home have one goal in mind: They want to make a profit on the sale, which means that they'll need to sell it for more than they paid for it and more than they spent to fix it. One of the best ways to do that is to pay under market value for your home, so if you are hoping to get a relatively high market price per square foot for the place, then an all-cash buyer is very unlikely to offer that. Some all-cash buyers will only offer around the amount of money you still owe on your mortgage, which could be significantly less than you could capture on the open market.

Scams can happen

To be clear, most all-cash buyers operate ethically and above-board -- but there's no licensing needed to become a real estate investor, and there are some all-cash buyers who aim to take advantage of sellers who are in a desperate situation. When you start talking to all-cash buyers, it's a good idea to do your due diligence and look up the company through the Better Business Bureau, paying close attention to any complaints.

One big red flag is an all-cash buyer that wants the seller to pay an application fee; if an all-cash buyer asks you to pay a fee like that, be warned that it's very likely this buyer is trying to take you for a ride.

Other things to consider when working with all-cash buyers

You'll need to verify proof of funds

The term "all-cash" is at least slightly misleading -- the buyer isn't going to show up at closing with a suitcase full of money. Instead, they'll write a cashier's check or transfer the money to your account as the seller, so before you accept the offer or go under contract, it's perfectly reasonable to verify the proof of funds. This basically means you'll take a look at official financial documentation (such as bank account records) to ensure that the all-cash buyer actually is good for the sales price.

If you're not sure how this works, talk to a real estate professional or title representative about what's involved and how to go about verifying proof of funds.

Do some research

As noted above, not every all-cash buyer is an ethical operator, so it's up to you to do some research on the buyer and make sure that the person or entity on the other side of the table is above-board. Spend some time looking at online reviews (if available), ask for references, and do your best to ascertain how trustworthy the buyer is before signing anything that binds you to an agreement.

You'll still need a title company

An all-cash real estate deal can potentially eliminate some of the traditional roles involved in selling a house, but one that you should still expect to work with is the title company. There will still be paperwork involved to officially transfer ownership of the property, and the all-cash buyer will want to make sure that any liens on the house (second mortgages or home equity loans, for example) are documented and handled appropriately.

You may have options you haven't explored

If you're in a financial or life situation that is driving your desire to sell -- and sell quickly -- be aware that you might have options beyond selling to an all-cash buyer. In markets or neighborhoods with high rent prices, for example, you might be able to make some basic repairs to your home and then rent it out, paying for the mortgage and generating some extra income every month on top of that.

In some markets where home sales prices are growing or strong and stable, you might be able to work out a delayed payment deal with some general contractors; they'll get paid for the work after your home sells (for full price) on the open market. Accepting an all-cash offer for less is almost never your only option, so try to explore all the possibilities before you decide to go that route.

Forgoing an agent can be a mistake

You don't necessarily need to work with a real estate agent in an all-cash home sale scenario, and there are plenty of sellers who decide not to use an agent. The choice is entirely yours but think about the potential ramifications before you decide to go it alone.

Many all-cash buyers do multiple real estate deals in a year, and they intimately understand the intricacies of the process. If you don't have the same level of experience and you're not working with a qualified professional who's protecting your interests, then how can you be sure you're doing the right thing and getting the best possible deal for your household? An agent's top priority is to represent their clients to the very best of their ability, and if you're trying to save money by eliminating the agent's commission, you could very well be losing money in the long run.

Some homeowners think working with an all-cash buyer is the best possible way to sell their home, but it really depends on the situation. Every deal is different! Make sure you fully understand the pros and cons of all-cash deals before committing yourself (and your biggest asset) in writing.

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albasellsrealestate-blog · 5 years

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Buying A House In Another State: A Guide

There are plenty of good reasons why you might want to buy a house in a different state from your current location -- and thankfully, modern technology makes it possible to shop for a home and work hand-in-hand with trusted professionals who can make the process easier for you. Whether you're going to be living in the house full-time and want to have the purchase handled before you move, you'd like to find a vacation home in one of your favorite places to visit, or you are hoping to invest your money in real estate somewhere you don't actually live, you're not alone!

Plenty of people are buying homes from across the country these days, and you can make it work for you if you understand what's involved and make sure you're working with people you trust to help you make big decisions. To be successful in your remote purchase, make sure you're covering these basics.

Know why you want to buy remotely

It's absolutely fine to have more than one reason for buying a home in a different state -- for example, perhaps you want a vacation home that you can also rent out short-term when you're not staying there to help cover the mortgage, so you're looking for both a second home and an investment property. But you need to think long and hard about your primary reason for buying a house in a state where you don't currently live full-time well before you start shopping because your primary reason should help you determine what will (and won't) work for you.

If you're planning on moving to the home full-time soon or eventually, then your needs are going to be very different than if you only plan on visiting the house once a year for vacation. You might want more square footage in a house that's going to be your full-time residence than in a house you're only staying in for a week or two every year, and you'll want to make sure there's plenty of room and storage space for all the belongings you want to keep. It might not matter so much if a vacation home or a short-term rental doesn't have great internet access -- the whole idea is to get away from the world, after all -- but a lack of connectivity could be a big problem for a full-time residence or even long-term rental.

Consider how much time you plan on spending at your new home if any, and work on your list of must-haves and nice-to-haves from there. This will be useful when you start actually looking at properties to buy: You'll be able to easily eliminate homes that don't meet all the criteria on your must-have list, and you can prioritize which homes you like best based on how well they meet your nice-to-have criteria.

Research, research, research

You might have a general idea of where you want to buy a house -- maybe you've always wanted to own a home in the mountains, on the beach, or in your favorite city to visit. But you'll need to get much more specific than that before you start seriously looking for a house and start the purchasing process. What metro area or rural area will you be considering for your out-of-state home? How well do you know that area and its neighborhoods or small towns? If you want to buy remotely in a place where you used to live, or somewhere you've visited regularly for years, you'll be in a decent position to make some decisions, but if you're not very familiar (or at all familiar) with the areas where you want to shop, then you're going to have to start doing some heavy research into the specific locations that will work best for you.

Investors who want to buy a long-term rental and rent it out are going to want to consider not only crime rates and home appreciation in the possible neighborhoods and metros for buying a house, but also school ratings and commute times so they can attract the widest possible pool of well-qualified renters to their property. Vacation-home and short-term-rental buyers are also going to want to think seriously about crime rates; homes that sit vacant for some or most of the year are prime targets for burglary and vandalism, which is not something you want to deal with remotely. And of course, if you're going to be living in the house and working in the area, you'll want to know how close you are to work and how convenient (or inconvenient) it will be to shop for groceries, among other factors.

Spend some time reading local publications (if they exist) and digging into the information available online about the general areas where you might want to buy. Keep in mind, though, that the internet isn't going to be able to tell you everything: You're going to want to talk to some actual humans about what you're learning at some point ...

Get some resident opinions

Do you know anybody who lives in the area where you want to buy? This can be a huge asset when you're trying to purchase a home in a different state. And the good news is that you don't necessarily have to know someone in the area already; you can craft relationships from out-of-state with knowledgeable people and ask them every lingering question you have about your future home purchase.

Get onto Facebook and see if the region or neighborhood has a group created, then join it. You might want to lurk for a little bit to make sure it's the kind of environment where people will welcome (and answer) your questions, but this can be a good place to start. If there isn't a Facebook group, try to find property managers, general contractors -- even landscapers and house-cleaners can be great resources for giving you details on which streets tend to be more dangerous than others, what you'll want to keep an eye out for in terms of potential structural problems or damage in the houses you're considering, and the best places to walk dogs or playgrounds for kids.

Decide on a neighborhood

When you feel confident that your research has answered every question you have about the pros and cons of each possible market, town, or neighborhood, it's time to start narrowing down your choices to two or three (at most). Targeting your search is a smart thing to do, at least at the beginning; you can feel confident that the homes you're looking at online meet some of your basic standards -- your must-have list -- and if you don't find the right place in your narrowed set of two or three targeted areas, then you can always expand your horizons later on.

Choosing a specific neighborhood or region also has the advantage of allowing you to do some really deep digging on the average homes -- their size, their price, their lot size, their amenities, and so on. You'll need to know about how much you want to aim to spend before you start talking to a mortgage lender, and it's much easier to do this kind of research on a small set of locations instead of an entire metropolitan area at one time; if most of the houses that seem appropriate to you are out of your reach financially, then that's a signal that you might need to reconfigure your location options.

Pre-approval still matters

When you're buying a house remotely, you probably want the process to move along as quickly as possible, and you want to seem competitive with any local buyers. This means you really should get pre-approved by a mortgage lender before you start shopping in earnest. Securing a pre-approval can be time-consuming because you have to submit so much documentation about your finances, your income, and any expenses, but sellers know that buyers with pre-approvals are both serious about buying and actually have the means to purchase a house for the price they're offering.

A lender who operates in both your state and the state where you're hoping to buy might be a good choice for you because the lender should, in theory, be familiar with both areas; that said, there are some parts of the country where property anomalies make it beneficial to consider a local lender instead. For example, if you're looking at homes in a resort area in the mountains, a local lender will have already encountered any potential issues with construction materials, septic systems, and so on.

Securing the mortgage could be more challenging

Even if this is a home purchase that you're intending to make your primary residence, be aware that getting a mortgage to buy a house in another state can require jumping through even more hoops than normal. For example, if you're relocating and are moving from a city where your employer has its main office to a location with a satellite office -- or if you're planning to work remotely for your employer -- then your mortgage lender is going to want proof that you'll still have a steady income after you move, and will want verification of what that income amount is going to be. This means you might need to get a certified letter or notice from your employer to provide to your lender.

Purchasing a vacation home or second home is also more challenging than buying a primary residence; your down payment requirement could very well be higher, and it's possible that you might not get as low a mortgage interest rate as you anticipated. Make sure your finances can accommodate these potential snags, and do your best to get everything cleared up mortgage-wise on the front end so that you don't end up having to untangle a mess from several states away during the closing process, which is absolutely nobody's idea of fun.

Hire a local agent

It might or might not be beneficial to hire a local lender, but it's absolutely critical that you find a local real estate agent -- preferably one who has specific knowledge about the neighborhood or area where you want to buy. Some remote buyers decide to work with the listing agent for the property they want to buy, and although this is possible, it's usually not a good idea. A real estate agent represents you and your interests, putting your needs first, and an agent who's representing both sides in a deal isn't going to be able to advocate very well for you if push comes to shove.

Local agents will have worked deals in the area before, giving them an idea of what to expect in terms of potential snags or issues; having your own local agent on your side gives you the protection of a trusted, knowledgeable advisor. Some agents even specialize in helping remote buyers purchase homes in their state. Ask any local contacts you've cultivated to recommend a good real estate agent, or you can even ask the listing agent to recommend agents who they think do a stellar job representing clients.

Walk through a house at least once before making an offer

This might not be possible depending on your own availability, but if you can, do your best to walk through any home you're seriously considering buying before you make an offer. Photos, video tours, and even Facetime walk-throughs are certainly valuable and can tell you a lot about a property, but there's also a lot you could be missing if you don't visit in person. What's that weird smell in the bedroom, and can it be eliminated? Why do the floors slope like that in the hallway? You don't want to discover that you can hear traffic from a nearby highway and that it keeps you awake at night after you move in.

If you can't visit the house in person, make sure that someone you trust -- a friend or a family member who knows you well -- can do so in your stead. Real estate agents are fantastic resources, but if you just met yours, it's usually best to find someone who's familiar with your preferences and quirks and can apply what they know to the property you're considering and give you an educated opinion about whether or not it would work for you.

Try to be there in person for the inspection

Maybe you couldn't make the pre-purchase walk-through, but one time when you really should try your very hardest to be present at the house during the closing process is for the inspection. The inspector is going to look at all the major systems in the house, check the appliances, open and close windows and doors, look for signs of damage or structural problems -- and it's really in your best interests to be there in person so you can ask questions and request additional information or clarification around any fixes the inspector recommends or issues raised at the inspection. If it's absolutely impossible for you to make the inspection in person, ask your agent to attend and video chats with you while the inspection is taking place so that you can make sure you're fully apprised of any possible problems with the house before the sale closes.

...And consider additional inspections

Inspection requirements vary from state to state. Some states require pest inspections, for example, while others consider pest inspections optional. You might also want to get radon testing done if you're buying in a state where that's a factor, and there are a number of other inspections that might not be required to close, but that you might want to get anyway -- especially if you haven't seen the house in person yet, or if you know you aren't going to be living there.

If something happens to your investment rental in between tenants while it's sitting vacant, and that something is a result of a problem that could have been uncovered in an optional inspection, you'll be kicking yourself for not seeing it sooner; a little extra money spent at this stage of the process could mean a lot saved down the road, so it's well worth it to be as thorough as possible with the inspection process.

Consider a title agency with a national presence

You don't actually have to be present for the closing, but working with a title company that at least has offices in your state and the state where you're buying can really help expedite processes and make the closing smoother for everyone, including the seller. You can drop off a cashier's check in person, for example, and not have to worry about wire fraud or tens of thousands of dollars potentially getting lost in the mail. Talk to your agent and to the seller about reliable title companies that will be convenient for all sides and see if you can find one that meets everyone's needs.

Find a trustworthy property manager

If you're going to be moving into the home yourself, then you obviously don't need a property manager, but if the home is going to be an investment property or vacation rental, then you'll need someone to look after it while you're away. Your real estate agent probably has some recommendations for people who are reliable, trustworthy property managers, and this way you can make sure that the lawn is mowed, plumbing or electrical problems are promptly resolved, and the place is always ready for you when you show up for vacation or just to drop in and see how things are going.

Buying a house in another state might seem daunting, but it's far from impossible. Make sure you know why you want to make this leap and do your best to enlist the best possible professional support on all sides, and you'll be able to achieve your dream of real estate investment or homeownership -- even from afar.

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