Purchasing without viewing

Before visiting Woodridge and logan central, I was interested in it. After the recent trip, I changed my mind. There may be good deals, but I am willing to miss them for less hassle.

 

I have one under contract now that I have not seen. It doesn't really concern me. I did have my amazing agent @DiligentPM have a look and I have been training one of my sisters to view houses.

My last ppor in Sydney I only inspected once for less than 5 minutes and did not see the yard. The yard ended up being of of the highlights !

If the deal and location is right you can change almost anything about the house.

 

Naturally having a BA or friend/colleague is going to make a large difference to the outcome and everyone's level of comfort even here can vary. What looks good online however can be starkly different in reality. Also, gaging a neighbourhood's "vibe" is also highly individualistic and varies from person to person.

 

What changed your mind , may I ask?

 

The run down feeling is not very comfortable with me personally. If you have not been there and still interested in there, make sure pay a visit.

But in terms of investment, it should not matter as it has already been priced in. Among my investments in Sydney, the ones in so called cheaper end of town perform better than the so called better end.

 

On the negative side I also recently viewed a house that in theory looked great for numbers and location. When I got to the house the tenants had several dogs that really stunk up the house and chained smoked. They had been there for 6 years.

I didn't go ahead with that one.

Another house turned out to be pretty close to high voltage lines. I inspected the house and used google maps but still didn't pick it up. I find out I nly when the valuation come back. I pulled out of that one.

So my experience has been a mixture

 

well said..

Area like Logan/wood ridge in QLD and Elizabeth in SA and some other always comes up on list of property spruiker

Selling Points:

Low Price entry
Higher yield (For those who aren't aware of excessive ancillary expenses)


Fact:

Low CG
more Drama with Repairs and Tenants

Most resales to investors at next boom cycle
Major beneficiaries are state govt (Stamp duty x 2 etc ..$10K))..spruikers ($5-10K fees)..PM and Trades.


(p.s. No offence to ppl investing in area.. it may work out well in overall property investing journey!)

 

I buy all properties sight unseen however, is it really sight unseen?
Build and pest has a qualified builder look at it a property manager should view it and determine what needs to be done to maximise rent
Debriefing these people will give you a much better idea of what is wrong with the property than the generally untrained eyes of the investor.
Remember, its a rental property not our own home.

 

Very helpful, thanks Michael

 

So @Be Developer How does one ask Check above / under the ground ?
is it "Dial before you dig" kind of thing ?

 

@Tekoz

Dial before you dig can help.
Contract of sale and title will show any easement, Restrictions, covenent, etc.
solicitors can run some searches for you.

 

Was the trusted RE the listing agent? I'm asking because I'm planning on buying IP2 and contacted a RE I met during purchasing IP1 (put an offer on a place through him but vendor declined) to ask his opinion/advice. He was really helpful the first time round. Anyway, he has offered to drive me around when I visit shortly and is willing to check things out for me beforehand - even if with other agencies - and I'm wondering if he's expecting a fee as a buyers agent? Is something RE agents sometimes do?

I have to say I'm reluctant to buy sight unseen due to this. IP1 stunk due to a previous indoor pet. It was really bad. I believe that is why we got it for such a good price (new carpet and blinds fixed it). You just can't 'see' the smell in photos....

 

No not the listing agent but I promised them they can PM the property if I go ahead with purchase as they already do a good job on others I have. I always offer money but none have ever accepted. If it is a crap property they are not going to want to manage it. Good luck

 

Having recently been on the hunt and viewing 7 properties in person this last week, I would add to your list:

4. Feral neighbours (again, as it's just keeps cropping up). And NICE neighbours. These just give a good "feel" for the street / neighbourhood. I like to drive around the neighbourhood to get a feel for proximity to schools etc. since a busy road can cut easy access to a school and other facilities despite being geographically close.

5. Traffic noise. Some roads don't look so busy on google. And some highway barriers just don't do what they say on the tin.

6. Visual pollution. Yes it is elevated, but I hadn't realised that enable a great view of a train station. Or in another case, just how claustrophobic a nearby tower made the whole street feel.

 

I've bought a couple of houses sight-unseen, mainly due to the distance between me and the IPs. Haven't had an issue. My property manager goes through and independently lets me know of the condition and her opinion (with hundreds of photos), and I follow that up with my building and pest guy who lets me know of any problems (and what does and doesn't need to be fixed ASAP).

 

that was me 1 year ago. visited and gave it a miss some parts reminded me of eygpt

 

My last property was bought sight unseen but I had my parents inspect, as it was interstate, and they knew my tastes and preferences as we'd been inspecting for the past few months together. It worked out well.

However, I still think I'd prefer to view the property myself and will be sure to do this in the future. There are some things you can only pick up on, like the state of the street or if a living space is too small.

For the cost of a flight and a day of annual leave, it really is worth it...

 

My recent purchase that we are still waiting on settling was bought unseen. Had parents go through before we went to contract and conditional on B&P.

The first time we saw the property was after it went unconditional (didn't fly up for B&P but had father attend).

Although it would be nice to view the house prior my parents know what our taste are like and they have bought numerous properties before. Most of the issues I knew about before putting to contract but some minor stuff was picked up on B&P (trip hazards etc).

We did go to contract for a number of properties in our 6 month journey and only flew up once during the process. To fly up each weekend or once a month would add significant cost so I would prefer to have someone I trust inspect first and then go up either before submitting a contract or if you are comfortable after the offer is accepted. Flying up for B&P is a great way to inspect a property to keep costs minimal but we were busy during that period.

 

Echoing alot of opinions on here and other threads already but:

I will fly up and view where possible.

Put a contract on a place recently that was advertised as 4/2/2.
Flew up for the B&P (highly recommend this as I find the inspector will point things out to you in person and give you a much more realistic opinion than what they will on paper due to legality/litigation ramifications).
Also had my PM there which was useful as we took turns talking to the tenants and getting an honest opinion of what would required immediate and near future repair, e.g. dishwasher, air con, fans, etc.
Also figured out the house was able to fetch over market rent due to tenants having 7 kids, 4 cats, 2 dogs and ZERO chance of getting an approved rental application (it was self managed by vendor).
None of this info was disclosed by the agent.

So B&P goes generally well, but it was only after the fact that we realised the downstairs 'bathroom' was only a toilet in the laundry! (was so fixated with the backyard swing set presenting a safety issue, the 2nd bathroom totally slipped my mind ). Strongly recommend going for a coffee with PM to discuss/review the property afterwards.
Asked my lawyer if I could crash contract based on misleading advertising and answer was NO. Reason being there is no legal definition of a bathroom in QLD property law.
Plus.... the whole caveat emptor thing .

Long story short, I would fly up every chance I get. Time permitting, the positives far outweight the inconveniences:

* Time on the ground (for possible next purchase?)
* Can view other properties in the area for experience
* Face time with PM/agents
* Talk to tenants if available

Conclusion: the flight up saved me from making a purchase that would've made getting to my goals considerably longer.
Total trip cost: under $1k (flights, B&P, car) and my day off but thats peanuts compared to what I saved.

Hope this helps.

P.S. might be a bit hypocritical of me but I bought my next property sight unseen
It was an auction buy and only had PM to check it out prior to contract.