The Remote Tour: How You See a Home on Your Own Schedule

Most people expect a home tour to work like this: call, wait for a callback, find a time that fits someone else’s calendar, then walk through with a stranger watching the clock. We do it differently. At Oak Homes you tour the home yourself, on your own schedule. We call it the remote tour, and this is how it works from the first message to the front door.

Step 1: Tell us which home

Message us with HOME and the address, or text (217) 269-0003. We send you the three numbers for that house (down payment, monthly payment, total price), the photos, and what we know about its condition. If the numbers work for you, the next step is the tour.

Step 2: A quick ID check

Before any tour we ask for a photo of a valid ID. It takes a couple of minutes from your phone.

We ask every single person, every single time. The reason is simple: the home is empty, and we are about to let someone walk in without us standing there. Knowing who is inside protects the house. It protects you too, because it means the people who toured before you were checked the same way.

Your ID is used to confirm who you are for the showing. That is all.

Step 3: Pick your time

Tell us the day and time you plan to go. After work, on a Saturday morning, on your lunch break: for most homes, any reasonable daylight hour works. There is no agent’s calendar to fit into.

A few homes have set showing times, or need a few hours’ notice so the seller can get the house ready. If the home you picked is one of them, we tell you before you make the drive.

Step 4: Let yourself in

Each home has a lockbox at the door with the key inside. When you are at the house, we send you the code. You open the lockbox, take the key, and let yourself in.

We only give the code out at the time of your showing, and only to the person whose ID we checked. That is why you will never see a code in a listing, a post or a comment, and why we will not send one to someone who has not completed step 2.

Step 5: Take your time

This is the part people like most. Nobody is following you from room to room. Bring a flashlight and a phone charger. Run the water, find the furnace and the water heater, look at the ceilings, test the outlets, walk around the outside. Open every door. Take your own photos and video so you can look again at home.

Bring someone whose opinion you trust. Stay as long as you need to. Every home is sold as-is, so what you see on the tour is what you are buying, and a slow, careful look is the whole point.

Step 6: Lock up and tell us what you think

When you are done, lock the door, put the key back in the lockbox and close it. Then text us. If you have questions about the house, ask them now. If something worried you, say so. If you want to go back for a second look, you can.

What happens after the tour

If you want the home, we go over your income and your down payment with you. Each buyer is reviewed individually for both. Homes are first come, first served, and the down payment is what reserves a home, so a tour by itself does not hold it.

What the law requires depends on the state the home is in. For a home in Illinois, you receive the required disclosures before signing, and the contract is recorded within 10 business days. We advertise homes in other states too, so ask us what applies to the home you are looking at.

Why we do it this way

You see the house when it suits you, not when it suits us. You look at your own pace, with no one steering you past the parts that need work. And the ID check and the lockbox keep the house secure between tours, for the buyer who ends up owning it. That may be you.

Ready to see one? Message us with HOME and the address, or text (217) 269-0003.

Owner financing offered on a contract for deed, sold as-is. Terms and approval vary by home. Each buyer is reviewed individually for income and down payment. Equal Housing Opportunity.