Buying in BrisVegas sight unseen

things you can't tell on the Internet:
That really bad smell (Holmview, north Beenleigh Dinmore... Love the smell of meat works in the morning. Not to mention the Q Fever)

The neighbour with 6 cars on blocks and 7 feral dogs

A friend from this forum could maybe drive past for you at the very least

 

And lot sizes can seem huge on the web with a wide angle camera but in reality, tiny. And of course, they only tend to show the better aspects of the property on the web.... at least get someone you trust to look at it before it goes unconditional.

 

All my purchases in Brisbane have been sight unseen. Have to just get a process of dd in place that you're happy with and get your psyche comfortable with the idea.

Will depend on the type of properties though. Mine are essentially just buy and hold with cosmetic renos down the track. If you're looking at development then should definitely go have a look.

 

do you use a particular inspector or any extra trades or people to inpect on your behalf?

 

I always do a B&P for any house I have on contract. I'll also ask the PM to have a look as well and give their opinion, some PMs are much more accommodating with this than others. Lu Bracher for example is fantastic and will be getting all my business going forward.

 

There is a difference between buying "sight unseen" and not seeking professional advice though, isn't there? The opinion of family may not necessarily be considered "expert".

Even if you visit, how long do you actually spend looking at the place? While we did a lot of research in the area, I think I have spent all of 30 minutes inside our rental property, and none since settlement. We got a building inspection done by a reputable firm, consulted local RE agents on various aspects... The actual physical looking at the property was a minor aspect.

quick poll - how much time do you actually spend inside a property before buying?

inertia

 

good point @inertia
that 30min like you said wont pick up many issues other than the blatantly obvious or cosmetic

 

I was also talking about exploring the area also. Everyone's different on what they do and if it works for you, thats the way to go.

 

Building & pest reports play a very important role if you buy unseen.
Don't 100% believe what selling agent is telling you.

Words from selling agent - don't believe 100%, they are hired by the vendor
Words from building & pest inspector - believe 99%+, they are hired by you

 

Agree htopg with the caveat that you need to read between the line with what is in the report. To avoid liability inspectors will often list everything under the sun so a lot of time what is in the report is a worst case scenario. I find it much more useful to also have a follow up chat with the inspector to go through the report.

 

I feel the same about building inspector's "worst case scenario".
One of my building report said that the roof was in a very bad condition and they suggested to replace the roof for around $50k or it would leak when it rained.
Three years passed, the roof has not collapsed yet and I only needed to replace one roof tile to fix the leak.

 

If Lu is looking at properties for you then you are in safe hands

Some of her inspection photos are better than B&P reports!

Cheers,
Michael

 

Well, everyone is different.

I would think, if you have bought it and it is habitable and easily rented, then there would be no need to set eyes on it at all at that stage if you have it managed.

 

I rented for nearly 10 years before I bought my first PPOR (16-25) and only ever had 1 landlord / agent come and inspect a property (I lived in at least 6 different houses). I would have been pretty annoyed if they turned up all the time to look at the place. The one landlord who did turn up I couldn't get rid of, he would stay for hours at a time talking ! even after I moved out he would drop into my new place.

Looking back now I am a bit surprised I never had agent inspections, I guess I was a model tenant never asking for anything and paying the rent in advance.

 

Lazy PMs. I know an aunty (not related) had a home they rented out when they moved to HK for work many years back. Their house was apparently trashed, holes in the walls type of stuff. It was Dundas Valley - not the best part of Sydney back then.

They had 2 young daughters and the older one was so upset to find out about it.
I think how the tenants can do that is mind boggling. I guess they werent screened very well.

And maybe this is another part of why my parents are so fearful of investing. Yes I have insurance, though when your house is unrentable and you have to wait a long time for insurance payouts to come through, you can be out of pocket for a while, causing cashflow problems.