Relocating: How to Sell Your Home from Afar

Preparing to move, especially from a distance, is particularly stressful. In addition to the usual preparation, packing, and planning, making a move from a distance also adds a whole new layer of logistics. When you add having to sell your home once you’ve already moved that distance into the mix, it can make relocating seem out of reach. But relocating and successfully selling your home doesn’t have to be impossible.

Here’s what you need to know about selling your home from afar.

How to Prepare to Sell Your Home from Afar

Like we said before, selling your home is stressful enough already, but adding in a layer of having to do it remotely can make the selling process seem like an impossible hurdle to clear. With these steps and considerations, you can take below, selling your home after you’ve already moved a distance from it can be done.

First and Foremost, Find the Right Real Estate Agent

The most crucial step you can take to sell your home from afar is identifying and hiring the right real estate agent. If you want to sell your home with as little stress as possible, find an agent who not only knows the selling process like the back of their hand, but who’s also comfortable with selling the house if you’re not physically present. 

This type of real estate agent isn’t a unicorn; in fact, you can easily find a trusted, top, expert-level real estate agent in your current home’s area on RealEstateAgents.com. Agents on RealEstateAgents.com have the expertise, diverse skill set, and consideration to make sure your home is sold from afar with ease.

Factor in Getting Your Home Ready to Sell (and the Associated Expenses)

No matter when (or where) you’re selling your home, there’s inevitable prep work that needs to take place. This includes things like making minor improvements to increase the home’s curb appeal and make it cosmetically appealing, making any necessary upgrades or repairs, and even hiring a staging company to furnish and decorate the home — especially if it’s empty from your move.

Moving is notoriously expensive, so make sure you’re factoring in these home improvement costs. It’s also important to have a clear line of sight into the home inspection process: if anything critical is found, you may need to fund repairs, or prepare to sell at a lower price to make up for it.

Ask Your Agent How They’re Marketing Your Home

Once you find your perfect fit real estate agent, it’s time to start actually working together. If they haven’t already given you a listing presentation, one of the first questions you should ask your agent is all the ways they’re planning to market your home.

You need to partner with an agent with a strong marketing plan, which will draw in a wide variety of prospective buyers and interested parties and increase the speed in which your home is sold. This helps accelerate the selling process so it’s taken off your plate. Make sure they’re using a variety of online channels, methods, and have strong follow-up plans.

Work with Your Agent to Build a Communication Plan

If you’re not going to be sticking around for very long once your current home goes on the market, you want to make sure you flesh out a strong communication plan with your real estate agent. Ask questions like:

• How often will they contact you, and how often can you contact them?
• Do either of you have preferred hours?
• Is there a time zone difference you both need to consider?
• Are you and your agent comfortable using remote video tools, like FaceTime or Zoom to stay in touch and see what’s going on from afar? 

Ironing these details out from the start will ensure your communication goes as smoothly as possible, regardless of you being physically present or not.

Make Sure You Pick Experts Who Can Work Remotely

When selling your home, it’s not just your real estate agent you need to factor in — it’s also real estate attorneys, title companies, accountants, mortgage lenders, and more. You need to ensure anyone who is part of your team can work remotely, like your real estate agent. 

Most importantly, you want to ensure any important documents you need to sign can be done from a distance with the help of a local notary. Triple-check with these parties that this can be done, or prepare to factor in timing and expenses of traveling back to the property.

Selling Your Home at a Distance Can Be Done

Selling your home from afar may seem intimidating, but with some careful planning and assembling a real estate dream team, it can be accomplished with less stress than you think.

Most importantly, you must ensure you have the right real estate agent to manage the transaction from start to close — no matter the distance between you two. Find your perfect match today with top real estate agents in your current area on RealEstateAgents.com!