I typically buy in just one state and am very comfortable doing so, but I have come across potential opportunities in other states as well...and unfortunately I always fail to pull the trigger on these possible deals because I am lacking confidence in things such as:
Is my normal purchase agreement permissible for that state's laws?
Can I find an attorney or title company quickly enough when it may be a completely foreign territory for me, and I have zero contacts in that area?
Are there any unknown pitfalls or regulations, due diligence items, and so on to be aware of in this area that I just don't have any idea about?
For those that are actively purchasing in multiple different states, would love to hear your input on how you were able to handle these questions?
@TaeCho, I understand the hesitance when you're starting to approach a new market, but my advice is to plow ahead just like you did originally in your home state. For me, what that's looked like is getting an offer accepted in the new state first, then once I have it under some type of contract, find a qualified local-enough title company that seems responsive, helpful and fairly priced. Send them my signed agreement and ask all the questions I can think of. If you really have a good feeling about a particular lead in a new state, you could even reach out to the title company before you put it under contract, if you're concerned about your agreement document, or better yet, to confirm what your closing costs will be in that location, so you can make sure your final offer reflects that. I say this because I've had local title companies offer to provide me with purchase & sale agreement templates before, and wouldn't hesitate to ask for one from a new title company that I was vetting. If they acted like that was a totally unreasonable request, maybe they wouldn't be the ideal title company for me at that stage.
@TaeCho Good morning. I can definitely understand how you feeling. Have you asked if the title company that you are currently using is in more than one state? I have come across a few title companies that cover more than one state. So potentially you could be using the same company.
And for the legality of it all. I have found that lawyers are pretty forthcoming if you ask them for a boilerplate closing agreement or if you ask them to review yours if you mention that you are hoping to form a relationship with them for future transactions.
Thanks guys for your responses. Both of your responses definitely addressed both the mental and logistical obstacles that I mentioned. For some reason I just haven't been able to get past these early barriers up to this point. I've bought houses in a few different states, but I was buying from investors who had all the paperwork and title companies in place, so it just seemed so much easier at that time to proceed in that way. Either way, this is definitely helpful advice, thank you both!
I also felt hesitant at first, but as mentioned by other posters, just plowed on.
First, your basic PA should work fine.
Next, once you have a signed PA, find your title company. If you plan to self close than you will need to do a little state specific research and get a state specific warranty deed. Most of what you need (ie some states require an afidavit of value signed and notarized) can be found out by called the county recorder.