Buying Houses Online - Should You Do It?

Question

I read a disturbing article in the New York Times about people buying properties from online auction sites in areas that they know nothing about without doing any homework.  This article is very important for anyone to read that may be considering buying a property from an online auction site.  The article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/technology/11ebay.html?_r=1

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This article bothered me quite a bit and I decided to RANT about it on my website.  Here is my conclusion:

The bottom line here is that there is no one to blame but yourself for any bad deals that you get into. Don

Joshua D. · Answer

I read the article . . . I read the rant . . .

Interesting.  I have to agree with you on most of your points, Prohabber, and I will emphasize your main point:

It is your duty as an investor to do your homework!

What most of the books and gurus emphasize is how easy it is.  What many of them leave out is that YOU MUST DO YOUR DD (due diligence) BEFORE GETTING INTO ANY PROJECT!

You're not going to go to some slick used car salesman and trust what he tells you regarding the car you're looking at, are you?  NO!  You're going to beware, and hopefully bring your friend the mechanic with you to look at that jalopy.

I've invested in some shady neighborhoods, but I would have never done so without seeing the properties.  I've seen a ton of properties that looked great on paper/online, but after investigating the neighborhood/condition, decided to move on.

Caveat emptor - BUYER BEWARE

I feel bad that people have gotten taken by "unscrupulous sellers," but one man's mansion is another's shack.  The first lesson that "investors" MUST LEARN is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

I just wish that all the the potential investors out there would just come and read this post before getting all googly eyed about the promise of profits flipping.  I wish the Gurus would just be straight forward with people and start with this lesson.

Class is in session people!  Learn how to invest before "jumping in"!
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THE FIRST RULE OF REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK![/size]

BTW - We've extended this fine rant in our blog