Renting a property sight unseen can be a very stressful undertaking. Unfortunately, due to travel and showing restrictions during the current COVID environment, many renters are finding themselves doing just that.   

Fortunately, there is an abundance of technology services to help make the virtual rental hunt much more feasible.  Here are six steps to help you make the right choice….virtually.

When you have limited ability to navigate to your new rental area, Google Maps gives you the chance to realistically assess your commutes.

Determine what locations you will need to travel to on a regular basis and how much time you are willing to spend in the car.  Where do you need to be for work, school, or play?  You can then use Google Maps to determine your drive times to these locations during various times of the day.  This will help you determine a radius of where you would like to have your rental so that you are not spending all your free time in the car once you have moved into your new home. 

The safety of you and your family is likely your highest priority. Whether you are rental hunting virtually or not, understanding the safety of your future community is an important piece to the rental hunt.  Once you have determined the radius of where you would like to live, you should utilize free crime rate websites, such as SpotCrime, to check for crime rates in certain areas.  This will help you narrow down the actual areas that fit your goals and needs.  

Once you have determined your areas where you would like to live, next you can start to determine which neighborhoods you would like to be in.  As you select homes that may interest you, put the street address into Google and utilize the Google Street View tool to “walk or drive” the neighborhood.  This is a great tool to get an idea of what the neighbors homes are like and what type of environment you may be moving into when virtual rental hunting.

Once you have narrowed the list down to a few homes, it is beneficial to hire a Realtor. Technology is great but you need the human factor to make sure that your final decision is pleasing to all five senses, not just sight.  A Realtor can help you determine your best location and help you compile a list of potential homes, but your Realtor will also assist in ways you may not be considering.  Hiring a Realtor will help you establish “boots on the ground” and allow you to have a human perception of the property.  Ideally, your Realtor will help you narrow your list down to a couple of properties, then will do a video walk through of each property for you.  This will allow you to get a live perspective on the layout of the rental.  Your Realtor will be able to report back on all senses.  Smell, temperature, overall feel of the home are all important factors that video alone will not show. 

With regards to hiring a Realtor keep this in mind.  The Realtor that has the property listed is a representative of the Landlord and is therefore looking out for the Landlord’s best interest.  Their job is to get the property rented to a high quality tenant, so their opinion and feedback may not be totally objective or have your best interests in mind.  You may consider hiring a Realtor that will represent you alone.  Their fee is typically paid by the landlord and you will have confidence that your best interest is being considered.  In the virtual tour for example, the Landlord or Listing Realtor may not give you completely objective feedback on smells, feel of the property etc. whereas your Realtor will be able to represent your interests based on your criteria.

You have two options with your virtual tour.  You can have your Realtor walk through while you are on a live stream (FaceTime or WhatsApp) or you can have your Realtor do a video recorded walkthrough.  Each has advantages and disadvantages.  For example, in a live tour you can ask specific questions and have your Realtor focus in on areas of interests or concern.  On the other hand, a recorded video allows you to go back and review as many times as necessary to get familiar with the property.  This is our preferred method for our clients because inevitably there are questions about the property that can be answered by viewing the video repeatedly.  

If you chose to do a live FaceTime video tour, it is highly recommended that you pick a time when you can give 100% of your attention.  Picking a time during the time of day when the natural light is at its fullest will help you to determine how much natural light comes into the rental.  Make sure that you are in a quiet place where you can watch the tour and ask questions without distractions from kids, pets, phones, the doorbell, etc.  Also, be sure to allow enough time to tour the entire home without interruption.  Depending on the size of the home you may want to set aside a full hour or two for the tour.  It is better to have too much time than too little.  

Once you have chosen your rental, your Realtor will help you read through the lease and answer any questions you may have as well as help you negotiate any aspects of the lease that you may desire to modify.  Once you have agreed to the lease, all of the signing and deposits etc. can be done electronically so you can secure your new home without ever even having to step foot inside. 

These are very unique times that we are living in requiring ingenuity and creativity for the most basic of our daily activities.  Fortunately, technology offers multiple opportunities to successfully navigate the process of virtual rental hunting.  Utilizing the tools above will give you everything you need to find your rental.