It is becoming more common in my job to work for sellers that I never meet. We have long distance business relationships.
It is more common with condos and lofts than with any other type of real estate. Owners move away and rent out the condo and then decide at a later that they want to sell it.
Some find my web site others get my name from their neighbors and give me a call. It is the internet that makes this all possible. I send them the necessary legal documents by email and a list of questions and set up a time where we can got through the documents by phone. I use a program called skype, and if they do too we can use video, which is almost like meeting in person. After we have gone through the documents they sign them and fax or email them back to me. They send their house keys by Fedex or snail mail. We don’t have a way to get keys through the internet yet but I am working on it.
Once I get their home listed I send them links to it so they can see what it looks like and make sure that all the information is correct. I don’t always get to see the home before I put it on the market.
I set it up so that sellers get an electronic notice every time there is a showing so they can keep track of activity. They also get an email with feed back from each showing.
Once they get an offer it is handled the same way as the listing contract. It is sent to the seller and we go over it by telephone or through skype. The seller signs it and sends it back.
Even though we close at the table here in Minnesota buyers and sellers do not have to attend the closing. With the long distance sellers the title company sends them documents to sign before the closing. I attend the closing on the sellers behalf. The proceeds of the sale are electronically sent to the sellers bank account.
I would love to meet all of my clients in person but it doesn’t always work that way and it isn’t a requirement. Long distance relationships are becoming more common. I have has long distance relationships with buyers but I almost always meet them at the closing or if they come to town to attend the buyers inspection. I have written offers for buyers on homes that they have never been to. We do that over the internet too and it involves taking a lot of pictures and video.
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Great Post, When you get the key thing solved please let us know.
Teresa – exactly right, and discussed a bit about this same topic in a recent post, Home Buying from Long Distance. With the new tools for buyers, “things are a changing”.
We’ll have to see where the future takes us…maybe remote closings (from their kitchen table)?
I can’t wait until all the paperwork at closing is completely GONE — just a few little electronic signatures and you’ve just sold your house. The trees will be happy too!
This seems to have been the trend the last couple of years. Out of town buyers and sellers are embracing the internet more and more. Some areas that have a high second/vacation home population (such as my old residence in Marquette, MI) do the majority of their transactions with out of town buyers and sellers. Although at first glance this looks very convenient – it does have its drawbacks.
Face to Face customer service is under-rated in today’s world.
Most of my clients are in state, though they do travel often. We actually have a lot of “face time” but I try to be as paperless as possible. I use Zipforms to fill out the contract and Docusign for electronic signatures (including my own). This proves to be extremely helpful with their busy schedules, not to mention eco-friendly. I then email all paperwork to the Broker.