Hi there,
If you were to buy sight unseen who would you get to look at the property?
Independednt valuer, builder, real estate agent(not the selling agent obviously).
Is there anyone else?
Would the bank's valuer give you an accurate picture of its worth or would it be better to pay someone to do it?Cheers,
EmmaYou may want to look at using a buyers advocate if you do not have the time to look at properties and do the ground work.
Their aim is to try to get the best price and match the type of house you are after.
It is important to measure the property dimensions and check that a motor cycle gang is not living next door or as I saw on ACA the high voltage power lines that were airbrushed out of the photo that were an eye sore or the train line behind the property, ectWhy pay someone else when you can fly down (even on a weekend or take a day off)? This cost will form part of your asset base anyway.
Big risk considering all of the unknowns. As highlighted above – what don't you see in the pictures? A site visit by yourself or partner who knows your criteria will be well worth it.
I went to a Property Seminar recently where Margaret Lomas was a guest speaker. Margaret has 38 properties scattered throughout Australia and is the author of a number of property investment books. She mentioned that she now buys all her properties unseen. I think that she uses trusted agents or buyers agents. I have done a google search on Margaret and am very impressed with her investment strategy. I intend to buy some of her books to see how she does it.
Bank valuers are usually pretty conservative so expect a figure which is at the contract price or below. However there is a boom going on in Brisbane at the moment and the valuers are all over the place. I've just had all my properties revalued, Some are way below what I consider to be a fair valuation while others are above what I thought to be the market value.
hleung – what is the basis of the valuations? Mortgage purposes or sale? Two different objectives considering who is paying for the val to be undertaken.
There is no difference between the bank's valuer and your own, only the purpose of the valuation. They will rely on the same data and undertake the same process however the bank's valuer may not even do a 'drive-by' if they are using RP Data for their information as it comes with a snapshot of the building facade or an overhead shot.
Scott No Mates wrote:hleung – what is the basis of the valuations? Mortgage purposes or sale? Two different objectives considering who is paying for the val to be undertaken.There is no difference between the bank's valuer and your own, only the purpose of the valuation. They will rely on the same data and undertake the same process however the bank's valuer may not even do a 'drive-by' if they are using RP Data for their information as it comes with a snapshot of the building facade or an overhead shot.
The valuer physically examined the properties, meaured out the size of the house, asked questions about the area and I assume used RP Data to work out the value. It was certainly no drive-by.
The purpose of the valuation was for refinancing. All my properties are cross collatirised so I am getting out of ANZ and using a range of banks. All of the properties will be stand alone – anyway that's another topic.
I'm paying quite a bit of money to get the valuations done. The valuer seemed to know what he was taliking about. These valuations are going to be critical if I want to continue investing in a big way. My opinion counts for nothing, it's the bank's opinion if I want to continue investing.
Mate ,i would be very careful buying a property sight unseen.
I have done it before and regretted it.
There is always little things that you miss,which you would have seen if you were there physically.
Make the investment ,travel and go look at the property yrself,you wont regret it!!Of course get building inspectors etc etc to look at it but how well do you know them? Can you fully trust their work?
Get many different opinions.
also how well do you know the area? values etc?
These are things you need to consider when spending yr hard earned , and the banks money .Luke Taylor | Hope Property Investing
http://hopepropertyinvesting.com
Email MeProperty Support,Strategist and Buyers Agent
Well its in NZ and I'm in Australia, I might pay for my Dad's flight from Christchurch and he can look at it for me.
Dad always knows best!!Well at least he will have your interests at heart.
That would be a great idea Emma !
I would ask him to take a pen and paper and write everything down he sees. Including any visible issues with the house,
tenants, surrounding properties,etc etc.Look hard for reasons you wouldnt buy the house.,incl any possible issues that may arise down the track. Have yr buiding inspections,valuations,market opinions and RE agents done while hes there if possible.
give him a list of questions to ask all yr inspectors .Also get him to go local and talk to the locals .Maybe evn place an ad in the local paper telling people you are a lady looking for a house.You never know he might end up finding a beeter deal while being there on the ground .Things always look very different when yr there physically.
All the best with it !
Luke Taylor | Hope Property Investing
http://hopepropertyinvesting.com
Email MeProperty Support,Strategist and Buyers Agent
Definitely worth having a look at the place if you can.
I might be a bit biased because i have signed ( and pulled out during the cooling off period ) on 2 properties unseen in the last few months. Once I got the building inspection done, boy was I in for a nasty surprise each time… And this was after requesting more photos of the property, asking the agent ( a few times ) about the condition of the place, as well as getting a rental appraisal for the property before making my offer.
One building report mention that "demolition is optional" and it had the phase "major rework is required" appeared through out the whole report. Another place the agent told me that the previous owner has just finished the treatment of termites on the property and they have a certificate to show for it. After the building inspection, the builder called me up and said – he’s been in this business for over 15 yrs now and it’s one of the worse termite damage places he has seen and there were still live termites roaming around.
Don’t get me wrong I’m a big fan of Margaret Lomas. But she might be using agents and inspectors which she trusts. I can understand her reasoning in a way because the cost of a building and pest inspection is pretty much the same your flight and accommodation. And I’m pretty sure a building and pest inspector guy would have a better idea of what wrong with a place than me. The only benefit I see of flying up there is that you can check out a few different properties during that one trip and decide on one before sending in the building and pest inspectors.
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