Hi All,
Just want to ask.. has anyone ever bought the IP unseen (i.e. not physically seen the property)?
If yes, what is/are the hiccups/pitfall/problems that need to watch/avoid?
Could you please share your experience?Thank you
i have previously bought about 10 unseen. But now I probably woudn't do so again. You need to get a feel for the area and see the surrounding houses and parks and whatever else is there. Otherwise who knows what you could be getting yourself into. Getting a mate or a building inspector etc to look at the place won't really tell you this info.
I think I was just lucky that I had no major problems
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Anyone who’s read any of Margaret Lomas’ books will know she is a huge advocate of buying a property site unseen. She believes it stops you from making an investment based on emotions rather than research.
Not sure if i could do it myself, but then how do you buy in different states? Go on ip junkets around the country?
Anyone else with good/bad stories?
No matter how remote the location, I find that it is always best to do the inspection personally for all the reasons outlined by Terry. There are things which are discoverable by your own due diligence (demographics, distance to schools, shops, parks, hospitals, universities, transport etc) however other things ie intangibles are often only uncovered by personal inspection and some meetings with locals eg a couple of tradies, property managers, council, community elder etc – yes it may mean some personal attachment ie the place has a good feel to it however it is then up to you to confirm that the numbers that you have worked on really fly.
Terry,
How do secure the regional property deal? I am talking about population more than 20,000.
Scott,
You can always look at from the google earth and streetview. I am trying to secure a property in the regional city.
I am not sure whether I should fly to see the property or not. It will cost me at least 400 dollars fly in/out.
The rental return is about 10% which is okay and not far away from the base hospitalCheers
God
Never buy rural!
unless you want a farm.
if you really want one, then you should inspect it because of the extra risks involved.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Terry, how can you find the cashflow positive in the big cities?
What is you definition of rural? I am talking about regional cities…I classify anything not in the major capitals regional (if it is in a city), rural if it is in a town or less (village/hamlet).
As for spending $400 on flights, how does that compare to the rest of the cost of purchasing & the risk of not spending $400 to find out?
Ok heres a view from the opposite end of the scale….
I have been interested in Emerald ,Black water and Rockhampton for some time
so i got a job out here , moved my family etc
and had a good look around
and after 9 months we are about to move back to the coast
having kept my hands in my pockets !i know its the LAND that goes up in value but it its the house that rents out and pays the mortgage
i like to walk around the neighborhood and check out bothAND I wont negotiate unless i can see the other party s eyes
how else do you know you are getting the best deal ( or is that not important ? )If you are an investor $400 and a hotel room will be nothing in the long run
if you are a gambler cut out the middle man and slap it on black or redgood luck either way !
cheers !ps you might find its such a good deal you want to buy two….
then how would you feel having only lined up finance for one ?cheers !
Hi GOM – I have, but must admit would not if I did not know the area a bit (Had an idea of the general lay of the land when we bought one property sight unseen) and always got a building inspection (and pest too – although not needed in Tassie!)
We did put in an offer a couple of years back on a place sight unseen, and got a building report which came up with too many issues for our liking. ….it was tempting to think 'if we dont buy we've wasted $400……but as pointed out in the above posts, a small price compared to buying a dog and regreting it long after the pain of losing a few $100 bucks has gone.Cheers
Thanks for all the inputs…
What I mean is… each inspection will cost about 400-500 dollars… I guess that if it is only one inspection.. then that is ok..
How about 3-4 inspections… in the regional city ( don't like to buy in small town).. it will cost a fortune.. plus time consuming as well.I am too scared to buy unseen.. despite the figure/google earth/rpdata etc……
if it was easy ,cheap and simple everyone would do it
can you not go there for a weekend ( on frequent flyer points )
and look at a bunch ?then send the inspector around to the best couple having done a " two for a discount " deal ?
or make your offer subject to an inspection being favourable and book it afteri asked a guy for a deal once based on the fact he lived in the suburb and would not have to travel far
he was surprisingly receptive to the ideacheers !
Well.. I am thinking about flying to Albury to see some of the properties before making the commitment..
I went to see a property (main house with 2 bed granny flat) with good return but short of expectation after inspection.
Lesson learned.
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