One of the most important aspects is obviously more remote communication. It is now everywhere and it is very diverse: we now more often buy food online, we work from home, and we participate in virtual meetings. The possibilities of distance communication and mastering them have become one of the conditions that allowed life to continue.
Distance communication, when well prepared, can be no less effective and productive than a live meeting. Yes, you can even choose a new home remotely! In America, for example, virtual transactions were successful in the spring when buyers on one continental coast bought property on the other side of the U.S. because it was impossible to travel to the location by plane at the time.
I don’t recommend doing absolutely everything just virtually, but our team has already had about 100 distance meetings and refined five basic steps that will make buying a home with maximum use of distance communication tools a not only mission possible but also a convenient and even enjoyable process.
1. Assess your needs and possibilities
Gone are the days when we bought a home for life. Now we do this under certain circumstances, i.e. when our needs change. This usually takes place when our family composition changes: our family increases or decreases (say, after our children start living independently).
This allows one to choose the housing that best meets these needs, but sometimes it happens unplanned. If you needed to do this now, first assess your needs and possibilities. As always, the size of the housing you buy should be of the necessary size - unnecessary or unused square meters or rooms for the “future needs” will become a completely undesirable ballast.
Also evaluate your financial capacity and look for alternatives. Banks sometimes evaluate customers too scrupulously and may be hesitant to provide financing, but there are also alternatives on the market that are worth looking into (such as leasing or rent-to-buy services).
In any case, do not forget to assess all the planned costs: evaluate not only the initial contribution, the loan amount, the funds needed for furnishing, but also, for example, the potential fuel costs if the change of your place of residence means that it will take longer for you to go to work or to drive children to school or kindergarten.
2. Do your homework
Only by identifying your needs and expectations and gathering the necessary information about the project of interest will you be qualitatively prepared for meetings and negotiations.
First, decide how long you plan to live in the new home.
Depending on the stage, it usually takes 3 to 5 years for people to “mature” for change of residence. So, think of a home that is liquid so that you can sell it easily and without any losses whenever you need to.
Also consider the size and the number of rooms it should have, as well as the directions of its windows or floor the flat will be in the house. Recently, it has become increasingly important to have a balcony, terrace or patio so that there is at least a little bit of nature. Of course, a house close to nature itself would be even better.
After all, decide the budget you can spend on the housing and estimate, as it has been mentioned, the overall cost.
Then make sure that the price of the selected housing is adequate and not too high. You can find the former transactions of the neighbouring dwellings and their amounts for a small fee on the specialized website NTsandoriai.lt.
3. Try to have a productive first meeting
This is where the difficult part begins. The previous two steps do not, in any case, depend on the circumstances such as quarantine - they are always important. However, it is often the importance of the distance meeting that people underestimate, and its result is poor.
The first meeting with the home seller is organised in order to get to know each other - for the buyer to tell about his or her needs and expectations, and for the seller to identify and suggest the most appropriate solution. The steps taken earlier are important for this, but insufficient attention to the meeting itself can ruin everything.
First, set aside enough time for a distance meeting - at least an hour. Sometimes buyers looking for a home think that 10 or 15 minutes will be enough for the first meeting, they are not focused, communicate inattentively and rush somewhere that is scheduled after that meeting. In this case, the whole meeting is worthless.
Prepare the right hardware: a computer with a secure connection and software. Your phone isn't very suitable for that, because the picture will never be as good as on the computer screen - it's a bit distorted, so you won't look so nice. In addition, it will be necessary to review the drawings, plans, and it is likely that the seller of the home will show the project, which is not very convenient to do on the phone.
Ideally, you should have a dedicated camera and a microphone. Mobile internet can also sometimes be a little less reliable. Being well prepared will completely reduce the gap between a live and a distance meeting.
Pay attention to the software as well. There are many options and they are all basically suitable: these are ZOOM, Google Meet, Skype and others, but Microsoft Teams has the most options and is best suited for such meetings. It can, for example, mark notes, synchronise with the work calendar, and so on. Plus, it's free of charge.
By the way, a meeting can be attended by several people from different places - say, with a partner. Just inform the rest of the participants and everything will be fine.
The most important thing of all is the mindset. Again: a distance meeting is first and foremost a meeting, not a call. The ethics of this “genre” requires to prepare for it in the same way you prepare for a live meeting because a camera will be necessary. Therefore, I encourage you not to become an Internet “meme” and not to participate in distance meetings with pyjamas, curlers or surrounded by pots. :)
4. For the second meeting, meet live and inspect the project
Since housing is probably the most expensive purchase in life, it is necessary to choose it very carefully. It can be difficult to fully assess the project environment without seeing the specifics of the area with your own eyes. Because quarantine restrictions allow you to leave your home, you can go there and take a walk.
There is also an opportunity to meet the seller of the house live - for example, for a walk outside and to inspect the project. The quarantine requirements allow outdoors meetings of two or three people, but again it is very useful to see the project by yourself.
In any case, if you agree on a live meeting, ask all participants to wear protective masks, disposable gloves and keep a distance. If you go inside, try to stay there as short as possible and ask the seller to ventilate the premises before the meeting begins and to disinfect all the surfaces. Health is the most important thing of all!
5. Discuss the contract details remotely
The third step, which you will need after the previous steps are all done and the only thing left is to negotiate and sign a contract, will be really simple. In order to protect your health and save time, I recommend doing this remotely as well: you will be able to receive the contract electronically, like all the other material, read and discuss it conveniently over the phone.
And when everything is agreed, it can be signed digitally - all you need is an e.signature or a mobile signature.
Good luck!
Translated by Metropolio vertimai – your trusted translation partner
