Buying Houses Online-A Whole New Cost-Effective Way to Invest

The world has become a much smaller place since the internet came into its own. We're using the internet and websites to buy and sell nationally, as well as globally. That holds true for real estate as well as for other products.

While it isn't, perhaps as common to buy a house online, it is happening more and more often. People are relocating a great deal due to the downturn in our economy. Quite often they do not have the wherewithal to visit or view the house or property ahead of time. If money is tight and you have to select between taking a nicer house, and flying across the country to view it in advance, I personally choose the former.  I've purchased a home online without seeing it personally several times-- with some great results--and of course some which were not so great. Here is what I have learned from my foray into online home purchases.

Can You Legitimately Buy a House Online-Sight Unseen?

The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!" You absolutely can find a great home, second home, or investment property online. Do you have to be more careful? Certainly so, otherwise you'll end up with something that may not be all that the owner or advertiser says that it is. I personally have purchased houses in Arizona, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and am currently reviewing places in Georgia. I've done this about 8 times all told. One was disastrous. I’ll admit that most of that was my fault.  I didn’t pay attention and I didn’t have someone look at the house for me. It cost me in both time and in dollars, but it taught me a very valuable lesson.

You can get some great deals on houses in areas in which you would like to have a second home or a permanent home. It takes a lot of mouse clicks to find what you're looking for.  The first two houses I found were ones I was considering renting. When moving from the very furthest Northeaster corner of the United States to the Midwest, I didn't have a lot of time and money was a bit tight. Finding prospective rental properties was simply maddening in the amount of time that it took to research each one. As I was researching I came across a new item to me. For Sale by Owner houses were popping up in my search. I had no idea what this was and it made me quite curious. It honestly never dawned on me until this search that home owners were so rushed to sell their houses that they were willing to carry the mortgage themselves in order to sell the property.

I had no way to go and actually see the house, so I relied on some friends from online who lived in the area to preview it for me. We ran into a few hitches along the way, but with western Union to transfer the funding and a title company to help to transfer it, the private loan became a reality and the house was recorded duly in the courthouse in our name.  These homes and this type of loan are becoming more and more common and are in fact a legal way to purchase a house. The home, the taxes and all of the other aspects of the house are in your own name. The deed and the purchase are recorded, so if you’re not sure this is a legal method of home purchase, let me assure you, it is.

Bear in mind that not every FSBO home is an owner will carry home. There are those who simply want to sell the house for cash, but in many cases, on For Sale by Owner homes or properties, the seller is willing to carry the mortgage, at least for some period of time while you get established in the area. This is an idea way to go for those who are not certain about the house or property and will not be visiting it in advance.  Homes which are for sale by the owner will normally offer you a better deal financially than those which are offered through a realtor, although of course that isn't always the case.  Finding houses for sale by the owner isn't always an easy task. You will spend hours on the MLS or on virtual venues such as Craig's List in order to find the kind of properties that you are interested in and waste a lot of time unless you learn to use a service.

How Do You Find the Homes in Which You Are Interested?

Buying  FSBO homes is easier however when you’re not spending hours or even days finding the ones that you are, or may , be interested in viewing or purchasing.  That time is better spent working with people to view the houses, or finalizing the deal to actually purchase the house.  Along the way, since that first home purchase online, I’ve learned a few lessons and have a few tips to pass along to would-be internet home buyers who may not be able to see the house on their own until they take possession.

Top Tip for Online Home Buyers:  

• Make sure that SOMEONE - even if it isn't you - gets current photos or actually visits the house for you.
• Take the home inspection when it is offered. It’s just good sense when you aren't going to view the house in person.
• If you can afford it, join a site to find the houses you’re going to want to purchase to save time and effort. This is the best piece of advice that I can give to anyone. The time factor that is spent in researching these houses is astronomical. If you can get all of that research in one place, do it, even if you pay a little for it. 

There are wide arrays of sites online that will help you to find the FSBO homes that you’re interested in. While it’s not the hard and fast favorite, the one that I found most unique and full featured was RealtyStore.com. Realty Store is what most people use when seeking a foreclosure, but I found it was actually more helpful in finding an FSBO than most sites which were actually fully dedicated to FSBO.
While it may cost a few pennies a day, one stop shopping, to me, will always be the way to go. That first house took several weeks to research and to get back responses from the people involved because the email was not updated.  A realty company was handling it, even though it was an OWC or "owner will carry" house.  They got a huge bite of the cost of the house and as such, my price, of course, went up to compensate the seller for that.

In cases of FSBO houses, sites like RealtyStore.com take out the middle man and put you directly in touch with the buyer. They also take a far lower fee. In addition, you have far better ways to research the materials than I originally had. My first method of buying a house online consisted of finding the MLS for the given state. I then perused it to find out what was for sale. I then reviewed any which said FSBO might be possible. Then it took several more days to research the house and the area, as well as to ensure that the property was clear and able to be purchased.

I found that I could look up the state, then view the cities and areas, as well as to search it by other criteria that I was interested in.

RealtyStore.com View of FSBO State Table

It was remarkably easy to find houses that I was interested in and the company offers services such as home inspection companies, as well as people who will go out and take photos or video of the home and property for you to review in a close up and personal way.

Clicking on the state name takes you to this information.

The search was a vast amount more rapidly done. The screen captures will show you why that was the case. Rather than having to review each home and then find and dig up the statistics about it online in other places, I love to use sites such as the one at RealtyStore.com offer you that information all in one place.  You will navigate fairly easily (well, that is true on most sites, but if the navigation is circuitous, find another site.) from national, to state, to local areas and be able to search by those for FSBO homes.

Local areas, searchable by several criteria.

The figure that you see below shows you the many different ways that you can search on sites such as these. Today, it isn't at all uncommon to buy your house online, to pay your down-payment through Paypal or a bank wire transfer. Before you put the money down, do your homework. Get in touch with the people from whom you will buy the house, get that home inspection and most importantly, get someone to visit the house for you, which is one of the services that RealtyStore.com actually offers you.

There is a cost for membership to the site, but there is also a trial membership for most sites of this type. Take advantage of that trial to ascertain if it’s the kind of site that will help you in the long range. I’m guessing if you’re serious about buying a house online, it will benefit you greatly. Normally the cost is about 30 to 50 cents a day. When I’m considering spending thousands and putting down a down payment on a place I've never seen, I think getting good information is imperative. Getting it all in one place saves you time and money—and quite often, using a service helps to prevent nasty surprises.