WA Buying based on reports and buyers agents

Hi guys,

Has anyone bought houses without going to the open and having a look for yourself ? If so how does it work ?

Specifically:

1. If I get a building inspection report - would it come with a reliable guarantee in terms of the house condition and their inputs what work may be required ?

2. Would using a buyers agent help if it is not possible for the purchaser to visit the property ? Would their services come with guarantee ?

Ultimately, with not being an expert in property, would have rely on inspection reports. So is it correct to understand that the actual property visit is purely for understanding the aesthetic aspect of the property and not the actual quality of the property ? And could the aesthetic aspects and location etc. be determined using the internet ?

Edited:

to add: To buy without going to the property and looking at it, what are the necessary steps in addition that could help ensure quality ?

Thank you

 

Are you talking about buying interstate? Then what choice would you have?

 

yes Interstate (SA, WA)

 

In past for investments I would not mind for others to be my eyes on the ground if buying interstates.

In case of PPOR, I would always prefer to inspect the property myself.

With border restrictions, there are anyway less options available to inspect property yourself if looking interstates.

 

I know literally 100s of ppl that have bought without actually going to see the house. I myself have done that and got the agent to send me detailed video walkthrough of the house + building inspection + a good friend to go look at it for me.

It has worked out extremely well.

 

I don't know about "necessary", but it seems obvious that its better to get as much help as you can with getting information and eyes on the ground.

Whether that's a buyer's agent, someone you know locally, or just getting inspection reports done - it's all useful isn't it?

 

The 3 golden rules of buying

Interesting the examples mentioned in there ? Would getting a building and pest inspection and buyers agent help with these examples ?

Also, do these services come with a guarantee - i.e. building and pest inspections ?

 

We've bought several properties without physically inspecting them, and without a building & pest report.....

I suppose it depends on what your concerns are? Take building and pest reports for instance, there are plenty of things that they don't cover and in my experience for the most part there is no warranty supplied if there is something they have not identified... and all buildings/properties ultimately have some forms of imperfections so at what point do you draw the line?

 

I have bought sight unseen and it worked out ok. I would try not to do it again but I don't have a major problem with it if there are a few middle-men involved.
I would never go without a Building Report. I'm not a builder and nor is the REA, the conveyancer, the valuer or my potential property manager.
A building report helps me feel good about my buy by providing me with a reality check. Athough they say that they can't be responsible for noticing every little defect, I've never known them to leave out anything of value. You might need to know the difference between the cornices coming loose vs the ceiling about to fall down and needing to be fixed before any self-respecting PM will put a tenant in it.
You might be relieved to be advised that there is very likely asbestos in the eaves but non is evident in the insulation.etc.
But I wish everyone would just relax a bit right now.

 

In 2015 I bought a house sight unseen. In fact, I have not even seen it inside and I've owned it for six years. I've seen pictures of two of the three bedrooms, none of the interior of a garage or even of a shed.

I did get a Building/Pest Report done at purchase and there were a few photos there of certain things - but they were quite blurry.

I've driven past the house 2-3 times when I've been interstate over the years. It has had a tenant in there for coming up to eight years now and I plan on renovating it once they leave.

As part of the negotiating process, I got someone on Airtasker to tell me to go to the open and report back the number of parties that attended the two opens (across two Saturdays).

Both times, my contact was the only person who was there at each open. Then I knew the negotiations were definitely in my favour and there wasn't another buyer. Knocked 12% off the asking price ... happy with it.

 

A real estate agent gets paid by the vendor to sell a property for the most money they can get.
It's not in their interest to help the buyer buy the right property at the right price.

has a real estate agent ever said, don't buy this property, it's not very good ? or it's overpriced ?

 

As very few things come with guarantees my steps would be
1. find a recommended buiilding inspector who actually holds a building license - building inspections in some states is unregulated and anyone can call themselves a building inspector so you want someone who knows what they are doing. However do understand that there may be parts of the house that they can't inspect due to access so there may be unknowns
2. Buyers Agents do not come with guarantees however they do work for you not for the seller so are likely to give an honest opinion as to the location, demographics, cosmetic appearance of the house, value, possible motivation of seller etc
3. Get a local property manager (not same agency as REA) to visit and do a rental appraisal - also get their opinion on the house as to anything they feel would be necessary to fix/change to rent it out
4. My own due diligence - satellite maps, streetview, council mapping, census data, building permits etc to get a feel for the area

 

I bought one without seen using a buyers agent about 6 years ago. B&P reports are useful but if you look at those reports they have one page of disclaimers but it is a peace of mind on an expensive purchase. Use your own inspector independent of agent.
Use of reputed trustworthy buying agent in a rising competitive market is useful if you are time poor or can’t physically be there. In my case, in retrospect I felt the agent (who is by the way not a member of PC ) didn’t pursue with my best interest. Looking back if I just went ahead and bought anything in that area would have now appreciated more because every property risen in value. You never know whether your agent has vested interest or personal connections to the selling agents office to make quick bucks without hard work.

 

Agreed.. need to be careful choosing the buyer's agent. I've not had great experience.

 

I’ve bought two properties without viewing myself, I got my parents to view but did keep in mind they weren’t investors and didn’t pay attention to detail. When I viewed the properties they were very similar to what I imagined. Talk to lots of agents and study maps, Google! There were places in Melbourne, Perth, North Queensland and Adelaide I’m glad I didn’t buy!

 

I've done this twice:

1. PPOR (apartment) - I knew the area and market extremely well, and the property was inspected by my gf and parents. I had been looking at similar properties for 6 months, and purchased sight unseen, and it worked out very well.

2. Investment property (house) - In this case, I knew the market but had never visited the area. It's worked out well so far.

 

I started buying property in Brisbane in 2014 using a buyers agent. The only time I've been to QLD since was once for a confrence on the Gold Coast. I didn't have enough time to visit Brisbane.

I'm quite happy with the result.

 

I'm wondering how do you all line up your building report when houses go under contract on first inspection within a week? Also, I have seen some contracts with special condition stating you must have loan approval prior to bidding at the auction etc. Is the second normal for SA?