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I have had several over 16 years of selling new homes. I think its nuts, but people do it. They go by pictures and their realtor helping when they live across the country.
I would line up a walk through with a local inspector. When people are moving from part X of the country to part Y - there may be lots of local issues you wouldn't think of/don't know about. Everything from appropriate design to utilities issues. I know how to design/build/look for a good house in Florida. Wouldn't have a clue in California (earthquakes) or Massachusetts (snow). Robyn
P.S. There are all kinds of things you won't see in pictures. Like stains which are often evidence of roof or window leaks.
We are relocating to the other side of the country and in the area we are looking, desirable homes sell very quickly. We have a very good idea of what we want, and there is a house on the market that meets all our stringent criteria. It just had its second price drop (market time 40 days) and is a perfect price for us. Sellers are eager b/c they've purchased a new home on the other side of the country and move next month.
We trust our realtor (and have seen other homes with her in person, so she knows what we are looking for) and have family in the area. We have seen the house on FaceTime and my father will see it in person tomorrow. We don't move there for another 2 weeks (we have a rental lined up already).
Is it completely insane to buy a million dollar house without actually setting foot in it? We are hesitant to risk waiting the 2 weeks until we are physically in the city because sellers are eager and we don't think the house will last that long.
Advice, please! Thank you!
I would say certifiable.
I have seen pics of houses and thought it was THE ONE. Went to see it well...seeing it in person is everything. There is no way on earth I would sign a million dollar not on a house I never even saw in person. If you want it that bad you can get a next day flight.
When we were looking to buy our home I had looked online at lots of area homes. Our realtor showed us homes. I kept seeing this one home that to me looked like a no go. It was advertised with a lot 1,200 square feet smaller than the other 6,000 square foot lots. Nothing on this home I liked from the pictures or when we read about it.
One day the realtor takes us out to look at three homes. The third home turned out to be the house I hated on line. The pictures were the worse. Also I noticed that the lot was the standard 60' wide X 100' deep that are normal to the area. Found out a few things:
One was that the lot was split because of a zone issue. The two homes west of us and 1,200 square feet of our lot happen to sit in a commercial zone. four blocks north and 10 blocks south of us were commercial property, a shopping center and a strip mall. The real deal is that our home sat on the line.
The pictures included a half dozen palm trees that were in bad shape. We rescued the palms and they are beautiful again.
They had a shed that was so large it slit up the back yard. It was too big for the back yard.
After we saw the home we fell in love with it. Imagine if we had fallen in love with it after seeing the online pictures, bought it, and then went to see what it looked like. What if we had hated it? Imagine you doing the same thing.
If someone I trusted had eyes on it I would probably be ok doing this. I barely saw my first house before we bought it (my parents found it first) and a friend of mine put a bid on a house in a hot neighborhood she's been trying to get into before getting inside just based on her trust in the realtor. It worked out both times but the funniest part about my friends story is that there were two different floor plans in the neighborhood that looked very similar from the outside. She had been in the other model and didn't realize this one was different it until after the fact. She got, IMO, the better floor plan and was a happy camper.
Both offers were contingent on inspections so there was that.
Thanks! Cuz we did! Well, we made an offer contingent upon inspection. My guy is a contractor and he got the price down after the walkthrough. We knew what we were in for and expected to renovate. The elderly lady had been here since she and her husband built it in '63 and raised 3 kids there. He passed away some years ago and she was in her 80's. There was a lot to do but we absolutely LOVE the location and the house is coming around!
It's not crazy. It depends on the personal situation of the buyers. Military personnel, transient employees, and expats often buy houses sight unseen. My father, a petroleum engineer, has bought three homes without seeing them first; one in California, one in Texas, and one in Alaska. He relocated frequently in his job and sometimes lived overseas when he was house hunting. He simply made extensive arrangements with realtors to help him find what he wanted and hoped for the best. And this was before the internet even existed. He reasoned that even if he didn't like the house, he was going to move out and sell it in a few years anyway, so he could certainly tolerate it that long.
We are relocating to the other side of the country and in the area we are looking, desirable homes sell very quickly. We have a very good idea of what we want, and there is a house on the market that meets all our stringent criteria. It just had its second price drop (market time 40 days) and is a perfect price for us. Sellers are eager b/c they've purchased a new home on the other side of the country and move next month.
We trust our realtor (and have seen other homes with her in person, so she knows what we are looking for) and have family in the area. We have seen the house on FaceTime and my father will see it in person tomorrow. We don't move there for another 2 weeks (we have a rental lined up already).
Is it completely insane to buy a million dollar house without actually setting foot in it? We are hesitant to risk waiting the 2 weeks until we are physically in the city because sellers are eager and we don't think the house will last that long.
Advice, please! Thank you!
You've got a good plan and people you know will walk through. You'll do OK.
When you have a good deal, CLOSE IT! Don't fiddle around. Exactly what do you think you are going to see that your father didn't see?
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