Here's the next summary post in my Relocation is NOT for Dummies Series, where I focus on house hunting.

Finding a new home is tough, and even tougher when doing a search from a distance, and when you don't know the area. You need to find a good REALTOR, and utilize the resources available to you to learn more about communities, housing costs, and more. And a house hunting trip is likely to be part of your game plan - here's how to make the most of it.

Using the Internet is, of course, essential in gathering the information you need. But once you have decided on a REALTOR to help you, phone conversations are important, too. You can have a more effective dialog, get quick answers to questions, and work on the relationship with your agent, which can be tough from a distance.

You may be a big tech junkie, but don't rule out the good old fashioned telephone. It's also a good way to check out how responsive your agent is...something you need to be concerned about when making a big move where timing is critical.

If you missed Part 1 in this series on Relocation tips, you can read it here.

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I thought it might be useful to provide a summary of the home buying process here in California (some of the general activities will be similar in other states, but check with your agent on the specifics). I've talked about most of these issues at one time or another so this is really an overview/summary.

PRE-APPROVAL

• Done BEFORE you start looking so you know your budget
• NOT just pre-qualification - this really has no value to you
• Lender will review income, assets, debt and credit scores to determine how much you can borrow
• Review types of programs, rates, etc.

HOME SEARCH

• Identifying WHAT you want and need
• Searching in your price range on the Internet, attending Open Houses, driving around neighborhoods
• Select your REALTOR
• Tours with your REALTOR (house hunting trips if you are out of state)
• THE DECISION

MAKING AN OFFER

• Offer to Purchase in CA is 10 pages and includes a Buyer Advisory - verbal offer is meaningless
• Accompanied by a deposit ( talk with your agent about amount) - often up to 3%; goes to Escrow once agreement is reached
• Offer present to listing agent; sellers review and respond
• Any counter offers must be in writing; finals signed copies of agreement and counters provided to all parties

CONTINGENCY PERIOD

• Deadline date agreed on by buyer and seller
• Receive, review, approve and sign all disclosures; check on insurability; approve Preliminary Title Report
• Conduct home inspection (and any other desired inspections), request any repairs, if applicable, and resolve with seller
• Apply for loan; appraisal done by licensed appraiser; loan commitment issued
• All contingencies must be removed by due date unless extension agreed on in writing

PREPARING FOR CLOSING

• Make plans to move (obtain estimates); pack
• Set up utilities in new home; arrange to stop utilities in current home
• Provide any final documents to Escrow Company
• Arrange wiring of any funds to escrow
• Set-up and complete final walk-through before closing
• meet with escrow to sign all documents (or if remote, meet with their representative)
• Once everything received and approved by escrow. transfer of property is complete and docs will be recorded
• CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW HOME - BUY A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE AND CELEBRATE!

I've written about short sales in the past, since they are far more common now than in the past due to the changes in the housing market. My concern is that you might decide to not look at a home once you find out it is a short sale, and you COULD be missing out on a great deal. The same is true of a foreclosure. The primary difference is that in a foreclosure the seller is the bank

But there are some things to be aware of:

• A short sale will be subject to lender approval, which can take time - if the lender does not approve the deal, even though the seller is agreeable, the transaction may fall apart. In a foreclosure the offer will be reviewed directly by the bank (the seller)
• You may need to acquire the house "as is" - while you should still do a home inspection, you may not be able to negotiate any repairs. This may be more likely in the case of a foreclosure.
• There may be competiton, since the home will likely be priced favorably in order to sell
• There may be other specialized requirements depending on the lender. A bank, with a foreclosure, may have an extensive addendum for you to review and sign, in addition to the standard paperwork.
• The lender, especially in a foreclosure, may have a stipulation that if the buyer does not close by the agreed-upon date, that there may be a daily late charge for every day beyond the original date - so be cautious is setting your closing date and be sure you can meet it - perhaps making it longer than you really think necessary.
• While motivation is high for both foreclosures and short sales, do not assume that these are the deal of the century. The bank, in both cases, is still going to want a reasonable market price, so you may not save as much as you think you would. This, of course, will depend on the particular lender, your market, the loan, and other factors.

In this market, it is likely you will come across either of these hardship situations. Make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. And have your agent check with the listing agent, who will know what the bank requires. If I can provide any assistance, please ask.

As you are getting going in your house hunting in your new location, you may run across one or more properties known as a short sale (Southern California, for example, and other markets where the market has slowed following fairly dramatic appreciation in the last few years).

So what is a short sale property? Is this something to be avoided or not? Read about it on my First Time Buyers blog.

As you are preparing to make a trip to your new location in order to search for the home you want to buy, in my experience there are some important things to consider (I alluded to some of this in a previous post).

Mentally, you really need to be ready to make an offer on a house and buy, unless you know, going in, that you have time and do not need to buy right away, or because you will be making a second trip to look. Making the decision to buy is often pretty stressful, even when buying in an area you know. But then you generally have plenty of time to look and can make the decision to put in an offer when you are ready. But when you are relocating you often don't have the luxury of time. So prepare yourself you make that offer and know that is the goal you are to accomplish on your trip.

People often ask, how many houses should I see? That's a tough question, and there is no real right or wrong answer - it depends on you and how you buy, but also on the available inventory (there may only be a few homes in your price range, or hundreds). Some people can see 5 or 6 homes and know they have found the right thing and can make the decision. Others need to see more homes before they can decide. One thing to be aware, and cautious of, if the "kid in the candy store" approach. This is especially common in the current market, at least here in California because there are so many homes on the market. Some buyers are taking the approach that they want to see everything before they decide. This can take forever, and you can risk losing a house you really like while you are out looking at everything else. PLus if your house hunting trip has a time limit, you simly will NOT be able to see everything. I know of people who have looked at 50 or more houses in 3 days, trying to decide. Personally I think this is overkill - after a while they will all start to seem alike, and how can you really decide among that many homes? But if this is what you feel you need to do, then you should do it. I would, however, talk about this with the Realtor in advance so everyone is on the same page.

I mentioned using a digital camera to help keep track of homes. You might also want to take your  video camera if your enjoy that. The nice thing about a digital camera is you can easily delete pictures as you go along, eliminating houses as you do. But either will work well and help you keep track of what you have seen.  This an be especially helpful if you return home to ponder the decision, then make you offer from a distance.

If you know you need to make an offer while away, make sure you take a checkbook  to pay for the downpayment with your offer (and verify that you have sufficient funds to cover the check that you write). Take a copy of your pre-approval letter and make sure you put your mortgage officer on alert that you may need to reach him/her while traveling with any questions or to modify the pre-approval letter (check that you have all the ncessary contact information with you).

You will likely make at least one trip to your new location before you actually move in order to look at, and hopefully buy, your new home.  Time will probably be limited, so make the most of this time by doing the following.

1. Thoroughly research the housing on-line in advance so you know what is available, pricing, etc. I don't advise going on this trip blind since you'll waste time. Research the towns and communities that interest you, along with schools if applicable.

2. Develop a list of the properties you want to see. Unless you have definite ideas, I suggest a fairly broad list so you can see the range of choices available to you in the new city, and be OPEN MINDED. You can eliminate things as you go, or your Realtor may tell you that some homes are no longer available or that you will not like them based on the criteria you have shared.

3. Ask your Realtor to arrange for you to see the homes on your list, and others that s/he might think are appropriate given the criteria you have discussed. Provide this list several days in advance to give your agent time to arrange the tour. You can always add new properties that just came on the market at the last moment.

4. Since you will likely have only a few days, be prepared to spend the entire day looking at houses and see as many as you can (depending on your list). You can always stop looking if you feel you have seen enough, or find the perfect house. 10 or more houses in a day is not unreasonable on this type of house hunting trip. As you tour homes, if you are in an area you don't like (for whatever reason), let your agent know so you don't waste time going to other homes that are on the list in that area - your Realtor can all ahead and cancel the visit as a courtesy.

5. Take lots of notes and make sure you have a copy of the MLS printout for each house you are seeing so you have all the information. You can take your own printouts but you can ask your agent to provide them to you as well. Also ask for comparison information on homes that have sold in the area (price, etc.). If you do not get motion sickness and don't need to drive (unlike ME), your Realtor can squire you around so you can look more effectively. You can always drive yourself around later to get your own lay of the land.

6. Take a digital camera (and make sure you have the battery charger). Seeing lots of homes in a short period can be confusing, and you will find it hard to remember what you saw (which house had the ugly bathroom, where was that home with the terrific kitchen, which house had the great ocean view but lots of noise from the freeway) without photos and your notes. You can delete photos as you go when you eliminate houses from your list and make room on your camera for more pictures.

7. Try to rank order homes as you go (i.e., compare the one you just saw with the one you are touring). That way you can eliminate those that are low on the list. This will also help you further define what you really like, and you will have a list of homes ranging from your favorite on down.

 8. When touring, don't take too much time at each home so you keep moving along and see everything that you want. Keep a list of the homes you would like to revisit before making a final decision.

9. Depending on your situation, prepare yourself mentally to make a buying decision when you find the right house. If you have done your homework, and with a good agent, you will likely find the home you want during your trip, so you need to be prepared to move ahead quickly. Since you may have to travel back home you will want to be able to make an offer and hopefully get it accepted before leaving.

10. Take your checkbook for a deposit check, and make sure you have your pre-approval letter (or call your lender to fax or email it to you at your hotel). You will need these for any offer you make.

Here are some suggestions on finding the right REALTOR to help you with your relocation to your NEW HOME. I'll talk about selling your current home in a later post.

Since you are leaving an area you know and moving to an area you probably don't, having a REALTOR you can trust to help you find your new home is critical. You will have lots to worry about and coordinate with your move, and working with an agent who does not understand your issues, nor care, is NOT going to be helpful.

1. I recommend working with an agent who is also a REALTOR, not someone who is not. A REALTOR is a real estate professional who is a member in good standing of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) and, thereby, adheres to a Code of Ethics. Not ALL agents are REALTORS,although many people use the terms interchangeably.

2. If you can, use someone who has been referred to you by someone you know and trust.  If you don't have a referral, I recommend first checking the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) database for someone in the area you are moving to. Why? Well, REALTORS with the CRS designation (only about 4% of ALL REALTORS in the US have this certification) have to take a series of advanced courses (most are 2-day) on a range of topics relevant to the real estate profession (e.g., seller and buyer strategies, technology, working with referrals, financial issues, marketing, etc.) AND they must meet fairly rigorous production requirements during a given period in order to be certified. So not only do you know they have significant education but they have experience in handling a number of transactions. Individuals with the GRI designation are also strong professionals. Do not make your decision, however, based only on the certification...nor on the name of the brokerage the REALTOR works for.

3. If you do not have a recommendation or referral (probably true in most cases), do some research on the REALTOR you are interested in to find out what you can about them - look at their website, find out what professional certifications they have, what services they can offer you, do they work in the area you are moving to (or interested in), then...

4. Phone interview the person you are interested in (NOTE: If you leave a voice mail about why you are calling and it takes a long time for the agent to return the call, i.e., the next day or worse, I'd be VERY concerned about their responsiveness - not a good sign for the future). Ask them to tell you what relocation experience they have, either personally and/or in handling buyers moving to their area. If they haven't moved some distance themselves, at least they should have had experience with relocating buyers. If not, it may be difficult for them to understand your issues and effectively work with and assist you.

5. It is important to feel a level of comfort in speaking with the person you are interviewing, and a personal chemistry, but that's not all. Do you feel that they are truly interested in helping you? How do you know? What are the specific services they provide relocating buyers? How well do they know the community (ies) you are interested in? What can they tell you about the community as well as the state of the market there - is it a buyer's or a seller's market? Do they offer a customized relocation package? Are they willing to screen properties for you, based on YOUR criteria, not just set you up on a website  (while it is important that you have access to on-line properties in the area you are moving to, YOU don't know the area and the REALTOR should help you screen properties as s/he learns more about what you want and need). Can the REALTOR provide you with resources for you to do your OWN research (e.g., schools, crime).

6. Understand their responsiveness (see note above in #4) and their ability and willingness to help you late at night, on the weekend, etc. Since you aren't local and may be in a different time zone, much of the communication will be by telephone, email and fax. Questions will arise that need quick answers, and problems will occur, so you MUST be able to get in touch with your REALTOR quickly, and they need to respond fast. Do they get emails forwarded to their cell phone? Can they provide you with all the numbers to reach them quickly if you need to (believe it or not, some agents do not give out their cell phone numbers and expect you to leave voice mail in their office - how often do they check?). What about email - just because they HAVE an address does NOT mean they use it, and I know this from personal experience. You both need to agree on the most effective means to communicate and what works best for you.

7. You will be making a house hunting trip, in all likelihood, in advance of your actual move. Find out how your REALTOR will handle that. Will they set up an effective and substantial tour of homes and neighborhoods for you to see before you arrive? Will they show you properties YOU want to see (as well as those that they feel, based on their knowledge, are important for you to see as well)? Do they provide an itinerary in advance? Do they keep you posted on any changes (e..g, the home you fell in love with on-line and planned to see now has an accepted offer)? Are they comfortable and willing to make last minute changes based on your schedule, change in the housing that is available, ruling out areas you find youdon't like, etc. so you don't waste time?

These are just a few things to consider, and I will share more in future posts about effective ways to work with your REALTOR from a distance, and services you might want as a relocating buyer that will ease the transition. For more information, visit Relocation Services on my website. And if you have any experiences to share or other suggestions, by all means please share them so that others can learn too!