To buy a house out of state, you assemble a licensed local team to be your eyes and hands, evaluate the property through video and professional inspections instead of in-person visits, and close remotely using online notarization or a power of attorney. The distance doesn’t change the legal structure of the purchase, but it changes what can go wrong, and most of the extra work is about catching those problems before they catch you.
Expect to put down at least 3% to 5% on a conventional loan, with another 2% to 5% of the purchase price going to closing costs.1Fannie Mae. What You Need To Know About Down Payments Add the moving bill on top of that, and the cash commitment adds up quickly.
Line Up Financing Before You Start Looking
Lenders evaluate your income against the cost of living in the area where you plan to buy. If you’re relocating for a job, your lender will typically want a transfer letter from the employer confirming your new salary and position. Plan on providing two years of federal tax returns and recent bank statements regardless of why you’re moving.
Conventional mortgages generally require 3% to 5% down. FHA loans go as low as 3.5% with a credit score of at least 580, and VA and USDA loans can require nothing down.1Fannie Mae. What You Need To Know About Down Payments2U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Loans Twenty percent down eliminates private mortgage insurance, but many buyers funding a cross-country move accept the PMI premium and keep the cash.
Choose a Rate Lock That Fits a Longer Timeline
Out-of-state deals close more slowly than local ones. Rate locks typically run 30, 45, or 60 days, and extending a lock mid-transaction usually costs extra.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Whats a Lock-In or a Rate Lock on a Mortgage Ask your lender upfront what a 60-day lock would cost compared to a 30-day lock plus a probable extension. Paying a small premium at the start is often cheaper than scrambling at the end.
Account for Property Taxes and Local Exemptions
Property tax structures vary dramatically across jurisdictions. Some areas assess at full market value, others use a fractional rate that lowers the taxable amount. Many states offer homestead exemptions that reduce the taxable value of a primary residence, with common reductions running from $25,000 to $50,000 or more depending on the state and the owner’s age or disability status. If you’re buying a second home or investment property, those exemptions generally don’t apply, and the annual bill will be higher than a primary-residence owner next door pays.
Some states and counties also charge transfer taxes or documentary stamp fees when property changes hands, ranging from nothing to roughly 1% or more. The purchase agreement specifies whether the buyer or seller pays, and the custom differs by region.
If You’re Selling Your Current Home
Single filers can exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of a principal residence, and married couples filing jointly can exclude up to $500,000, provided you owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before the sale.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence You also can’t have claimed the exclusion on another home sale in the prior two years.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 523 – Selling Your Home For a married couple, only one spouse needs to meet the ownership test, but both must independently meet the two-year residency requirement to claim the full joint exclusion.
Build a Local Team You Can Trust
Pick an Agent Licensed in the Target State
Your agent must hold a valid license in the state where the property sits. Verify it through that state’s licensing board and check for disciplinary history. Ask for recent transaction history and references from past remote buyers, because handling long-distance deals is a different skill than running local ones.
A licensed agent owes you loyalty, confidentiality, and full disclosure of material facts about the property and transaction. Give them a detailed written list of what matters to you: budget, neighborhoods, school districts, commute, zoning concerns. That filter is what makes the relationship work when you can’t drive by a listing yourself.
Know When You Need a Closing Attorney
Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia are among the states that require or customarily involve a real estate attorney at closing. In those states, a non-attorney running the closing may be practicing law without a license. Even where an attorney isn’t required, hiring one can be worth it for a remote buyer: they review the title commitment for liens, prepare the deed, and confirm the transaction complies with local law.
Consider a Power of Attorney as a Backup
If you can’t attend closing in person and remote online notarization isn’t available, you can designate someone to sign on your behalf through a power of attorney. The document should be specific to this real estate transaction rather than a broad general POA. It must be notarized, and where the security instrument is recorded, the POA typically must be recorded with it.6Fannie Mae. Requirements for Use of a Power of Attorney Your lender needs to review it in advance, so raise this early. Lenders restrict who can serve as your agent: employees of the lender, loan originator, or title company generally cannot act in that role.
Evaluate the Property Without Being There
Push for Thorough Video and Map Research
Ask your agent for unedited video walkthroughs of every room, every closet, and every major system: HVAC, water heater, electrical panel. Drone footage helps you see the roof and judge how close the house actually sits to a highway or commercial lot.
Public Geographic Information System maps on county websites show zoning, lot boundaries, and whether the parcel falls inside a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area. Federal law requires your lender to notify you in writing if the property is in one of those zones, and flood insurance will be a condition of the loan.7Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Flood Disaster Protection Act – Interagency Examination Procedures Check GIS data yourself early, before you’re emotionally committed, because flood premiums can add thousands to your annual carrying cost.
Order the Right Inspections
A professional home inspection is non-negotiable when you can’t walk the property yourself. The inspector should deliver a photo-heavy report covering foundation, electrical, plumbing, roof, and structure. Depending on the region, add specialty inspections:
- Wood-destroying organisms, especially termites, in warmer climates
- Radon in geological areas where it accumulates
- Mold and lead-based paint in older homes or humid regions
- Sewer or septic systems, particularly for rural properties off municipal lines
Pull the Property’s Claims History
A Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report shows up to seven years of insurance claims filed on the property, covering water damage, fire, and liability claims.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. LexisNexis C.L.U.E. and Telematics OnDemand Repeated water claims can point to an unresolved structural problem and may make future insurance harder or costlier to get. Request the report from LexisNexis or ask the seller to provide one.
Don’t Rely on Seller Disclosures Alone
Most states require sellers to complete a property condition disclosure identifying known defects, past flooding, and environmental hazards. Requirements vary: roughly 20 states have no specific statutory obligation to disclose flood vulnerability, and some states exempt foreclosures or estate sales from disclosure entirely. Cross-reference whatever the seller tells you against your inspection, the CLUE report, and FEMA maps. Any single source can miss something; three together rarely do.
Write a Purchase Agreement That Protects a Remote Buyer
The purchase agreement is the binding contract. It must include the legal description of the property (pulled from the current deed or tax records), the price, the closing date, and the earnest money amount.
Earnest Money
Earnest money deposits typically run 1% to 10% of the purchase price depending on local custom and market heat. In competitive markets, sellers often expect 3% or more; in buyer-friendly markets, 1% to 2% is common. The contract specifies who holds the funds (usually a title company or the seller’s attorney) and the conditions under which the deposit is refundable.
Contingencies and Their Timelines
Contingencies let you walk away without losing earnest money if specific conditions aren’t met. The standard set:
- Inspection contingency, letting you cancel or renegotiate if the inspection turns up significant problems
- Appraisal contingency, protecting you if the property appraises below the offer price
- Financing contingency, giving you an exit if you can’t secure acceptable loan terms
Watch the inspection contingency clock closely. Many contracts allow only 7 to 14 days, and coordinating specialty inspections like radon or sewer scoping from out of state can eat that window fast. Negotiate a timeline that gives you room to schedule, receive, and review every inspection before the deadline passes. If your contract uses the state association’s standard forms, have your attorney flag anything that differs from what you’re used to.
Guard Against Wire Fraud
Wire fraud is the single biggest financial risk a remote buyer faces. Criminals intercept email between buyers, agents, and title companies, then send fraudulent wiring instructions that reroute the down payment to an account they control. Once a wire goes out, recovering the money is extremely difficult.
- Verify wiring instructions by phone, using a number you obtained independently and not one pulled from the email containing the instructions
- Treat any last-minute change to wiring instructions as a red flag; established processes don’t change suddenly
- Use the title company’s secure portal when one is offered, since encrypted platforms are safer than email
- Check the sender’s email address character by character; fraudulent addresses often change a single letter
If you believe funds went to a fraudulent account, call your bank immediately to attempt a recall and file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Close the Deal Remotely
Remote Online Notarization or a Mail-Away Closing
As of early 2026, at least 46 states and the District of Columbia have authorized Remote Online Notarization, which lets you sign closing documents on a secure video call with a licensed notary who verifies your ID through credential analysis. Digital signatures and seals are applied electronically. When your state and the property’s state both allow RON and your lender accepts it, this is usually the fastest route.
If RON isn’t available, the title company arranges a mail-away closing: documents are overnighted to you, you sign them before a local notary, and you return the package the same day. Traditional notary fees are modest, generally $2 to $25 per signature depending on the state, while RON platforms charge more for the technology.
Have Someone Do the Final Walkthrough
Your agent or another designated proxy should walk the property on a live video call before closing and confirm that:
- Agreed-upon repairs are complete
- All appliances, fixtures, and included items are still there and working
- Nothing unexpected has changed since the inspection
- The seller’s belongings and debris are gone
- Heating, cooling, and hot water run
Ask the proxy to collect garage door openers, remotes, manuals, and warranty documents so they’re waiting for you when you arrive.
Recording the Deed
Once the title company has your signed documents and funds, it submits the deed to the county recorder. Recording transfers ownership officially and usually appears in public records within 24 to 48 hours. Your lender provides the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing, giving you time to review final numbers and flag anything off. After recording is confirmed, keys are released to your agent or secured at the property.
Plan the Interstate Move
Interstate household moves are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Before the move, your mover must provide a written estimate, a bill of lading issued at least three days before pickup, and a copy of the FMCSA booklet explaining your rights and responsibilities.9eCFR. 49 CFR Part 375 – Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce
The type of estimate matters:
- A binding estimate guarantees the price as long as you ship only the inventoried items; the final cost matches the estimate
- A non-binding estimate is the mover’s best guess; at delivery you can be required to pay no more than 110% of it, with any remaining balance billed later
- A binding not-to-exceed estimate works like a binding estimate, but you pay less if the shipment weighs less than projected
Federal law also requires interstate movers to accept liability of at least 60 cents per pound per item at no extra charge. That minimum coverage pays almost nothing on valuables: a 10-pound laptop worth $2,000 would be covered for $6. Full-value protection from the mover or a separate insurance policy is worth considering when your belongings will be in transit for several days.