Making offer when you can't get inside house?

Question

(if for one reason or another you can't get in--lock broken, etc)
          I was wondering if people here ever do this based on just looking in the windows, if it looks okay?

Jon Holdman · Answer

I've bought a house without seeing the inside.  Just peeked through the windows and looked at the outside.  No basement, so that wasn't a concern.  No foundation problems obvious on the outside, and they're not common in the neighborhood.  I could tell the furnace was older and the kitchen was a mess.  I assumed the bath was a mess, too.  There was also an inspection contingency, so had something turned up once I got inside I had an out.

Christopher Davis · Answer

The biggest concern for me in my area are the basements. You can't always tell from the outside if there are any issues.This can be a MAJOR expense with cracks, heaving, settling, etc. Forget any other reasons I may have - for this reason alone I won't offer on a house I cannot access.
 I realize you are in a different part of the country but that's my .02 worth
 Happy Hunting
  Chris

Steve Babiak · Answer

Ever been to the "sheriff sale" or "trustee sale"?  There are buyers there who buy without seeing the interior.

Will Barnard · Answer

After doing this so many times, I am able to peek through windows and get a good understanding of the condition of an interior and how much it will need. of course I can't nail it down to the dollar as compared to when I have interior access, but as Rich mentioned, if you provide yourself a buffer (I call it a contingency expense), you should be covered for items you did not expect or see.

Many trustee sales do not provide you the ability to see inside for many factors, yet buyers take these down every single day and they do so, because they know how to "estimate" the probability expense of a rehab of the interior without seeing it. ALWAYS use a contingency expense in your budget, even if you do get inside.

Mike McKinzie · Answer

I've bought homes and never even been to the city.  Who cares?  If you have a team on the ground you can trust, and the numbers look good, buy it.

Rich Weese · Answer

I've bought many homes without seeing the inside. On foreclosures, you don't get a chance to see inside most of the time. Locked up, tenant/owner occupied etc.You also don't get a chance on inspection option AFTER the sale.
     I won't buy that way here in FL if home is less than 7 years old. One chinese drywall purchase will take all your future prfits for a long time.
      I always made sure I I had enough buffer to fix unknown problems. It worked out fine. Rich

Mike McKinzie · Answer

Oh, one small detail.  Three of my children live in that house.  It is a win-win since I told them how they treat it is how they will inherit it.  I also told them that if they don't pay the rent, then mom and I can't make the payment and they will have to move (a little white lie).  Where else can college kids rent, in Orange County, California, for $425.00 a month per person?

Champak Shah · Answer

yes--I did not like $2000 rent on $400,000 house-good to refinance every five or seven years to max cash out -- but if negative cash flow --time to sell --
                    being an accountant should check IRR --Internal Rate of Return or ROE --Return on Equity -- better use the cash to buy REOs or Mortgage Notes -- 
                    
                    Yes --many invetsors make multiple offers --but they buy --also -- know an investor in Atlanta who bought 18 houses in one month -- from a bank --REO - all in one subdivision -- at $15,000 each Bulk.
                    
                    champak shah --  [EMAIL REMOVED]

Jay Orlauski · Answer

That being said ... I have been having trouble getting an offer accepted recently - however, I believe that I am being out bid by all cash investors who are swooping  up all the best cash flow properties. I will be posting that up in another thread addressing this issue and posing questions.

However, even if you have seen the property it and walked around in it , it is still a good idea to include some protection for yourself, because the actual home inspection may reveal things you never realized or noticed on the walk through.

Will Barnard · Answer

On the trustee sale side, Rich and others are right. You, at times, are not able to ever see the interior due to occupancy, etc and thus, must allow for a lager contingency expense in your budget when calculating your max offer.

Making offer when you can't get inside house?

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