5 Tips for Buying a Property in Spokane for Non-Resident Buyers

Have you decided you want to move your family to Spokane for better quality of life but feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of buying a house from afar in an unfamiliar place? 

In this blog post I’m going to give you 5 tips to help you navigate the buying process in Spokane while living somewhere else, so you can ditch the stress and get back to feeling excited about this new adventure. And be sure to stay until the end for the one tip that most people don’t think about when buying a house here.

If we haven’t met before, my name is Emily Silcock and I’m a Realtor that specializes in helping out-of-area buyers move their families to Spokane. On a personal note, we also moved to Spokane from Seattle, so I understand how stressful the whole process can be without the right guidance!

1. Know Your Timeline

Do you have a specific date you need to be in Spokane or are you flexible? Depending on what the real estate market is like when you’re planning to move, you may need more or less time to find a house in Spokane. 

Right now in early 2022, housing inventory is extremely low and houses are receiving multiple offers, so it may take a bit longer to find the house you want. 

I recommend getting connected with a Realtor 4-6 months in advance. It may not take that long to find a house but at least you won’t be down to the wire. 

You also have to remember that there will be about a month or more between the time you go under contract for a house and when you actually move in. 

The other benefit of starting early is that you’ll be able to learn about the market and what you can afford in your price range ahead of time.

2. Determine Your Area

Let’s first talk about getting around Spokane. Spokane generally does not have much traffic, especially compared to Seattle, Portland and likely most cities in California (except occasionally some slowing when heading East on I-90 in the evenings so I don’t want to say there’s no traffic!). 

But what’s important to note is that Spokane is actually more sprawling than people expect and, aside from the I-90 freeway, most of your driving will be on surface streets with stop lights. 

Spokane has been working on a north-south freeway since 2009, but it’s not projected to be finished until 2029, so right now there really is no fast way to travel from the North end to the South end of Spokane.

Even though traffic is not a major consideration, one of the first questions I typically ask my out-of-area buyers is where are you going to be working? I promise you will quickly adapt to Spokane travel time standards. So even if it used to take you an hour to commute 5 miles, once you’ve lived in Spokane for a few months, your standard of “far” and a “long” commute will change, and you’ll think 20 minutes is an eternity.

Right now we’re actually seeing a lot of people moving to Spokane who are able to work remotely, so commute isn’t as much of a factor. So if a work commute is not a factor, then you’ll probably want to think about where else you’ll want to go regularly. 

You may want to consider: is there a particular school district you want your kids in, or do you want to be near parks or walking distance to coffee shops and restaurants?

Do you want to be self-contained in one area that has just about everything you need or have quick access to downtown? 

Obviously, the best way to get a feel for the different neighborhoods is to come visit and tour in person, but I know that’s not always possible because let’s face it, life gets busy!

3. Get Connected with a Local Spokane Lender

This is very important. You want someone who is not only familiar with Spokane and the market but someone that future listing agents, the agents representing sellers, will feel comfortable working with. 

Listing agents want to know that the lender is reputable and that they can get a hold of them when they need to. Your Realtor can give you referrals for great local lenders they have worked with in the past. And most importantly on this topic – do NOT use an online lender – you’ve been warned!

4. Find Your Home

Because you’re buying from afar and it isn’t practical to fly or drive in for every house tour, most showings will be done via video call. 

I have had a number of out-of-area buyers and investors who have purchased homes this way and were able to snag great places doing the majority of the work remotely.

We typically either video call or I take a number of videos for them and then I make sure to mention anything that they wouldn’t be able to pick up– like if it smells like 5 cats lived in the house, or the neighbor across the street has a bunch of junk in his front yard, or that there are cracks in the foundation or ceiling. 

Basically, you need someone to be your boots on the ground to give you the most comprehensive view of what you’d be getting before you see it in person. 

Keep in mind that if the Spokane market is still competitive when you’re planning to move, you’ll have to act quickly if you find a home you like and likely could offer on a house without seeing it in person first. 

The benefit of doing this is you can get the house under contract with an inspection contingency, and then come visit for the inspection to make sure it checks all of your boxes. Obviously, you don’t want to do this willy nilly on just any house out of respect for a seller, but it does give you an “out” if something just doesn’t make sense in person.

5. Consider the Weather

The weather in Spokane is something that not enough buyers take into consideration when buying a home here. 

Spokane has four distinct seasons, which is one of the things I love about living here, but Spokane winters can have a LOT of snow and cold temperatures. 

When looking at properties, be sure to factor in how that will affect your life. Does the house have a steep driveway that will be treacherous when it’s icy. Does it have a huge driveway that will need to be shoveled or snow blown for days on end? 

Summer is also something to consider. Spokane summers are typically hot and dry and people in Spokane tend to water their lawns to keep them green (which was such a change for me coming from Seattle where everyone lets them go brown). So does the home have a sprinkler system or will you need to have one installed or water by hand?

Finally on this topic, Spokane has pretty great weather in general in the Spring, summer and fall, so you will want some outdoor space to be able to enjoy it!