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I've purchased 3 homes online and site unseen. The first for 35k in 2011 in Oregon. It was worth exactly that and not a penny more. Land+metal roof+cedar siding......but the rest needs gutted and replaced. That was ok with me, I enjoy rehab projects, but fiscally it was a poorer choice than buying a finished home at $150 with a mortgage and renting it out immediately. The take away is, if the pictures suggest it needs gutting, don't underestimate them and don't overbid in the heat of auction battle. Also learned, when buying at auction you typically have 5 day inspection period to examine the property, but they will try to talk you out of doing so saying 'the bank hasn't yet accepted your offer' (which they technically hadn't, they can decline final auction price. All bullshit though, go check the property. 2nd house was less dicy. It was a proper house with a $360k price in Vegas being sold on the open market (not auction). I was very familiar with the area after visiting and looking at properties in person. The inspector was my final eyes and ears. His summary impression was 'its a fine sturdy house', and I got exactly what I paid for. When you call around for inspectors, try to guage if you find them friendly and straight u with you, they will give you the best advice from anyone. Third property was last week for 110k. It's underpriced for the area, but the work required inside reflects that. I had pretty much decided I wanted the property before seeing it, but since it was only 2 hours away I checked it out in person and made the same final decision. The neighborhood is poor and 50/50 unkept houses, most folks wouldn't want to live there, on the other hand it didn't seem a 'bad' neighborhood with crazy crime. The takeaway here is not to only examine the property itself,but be sure to zoom out and walk around the neighborhood in Google maps too. What kind of cars do neighbors drive? How do they upkeep their property? What's street parking like? Imho, it's ok to buy online sight unseen, just make sure to know your outs and don't be shy to take full advantage of them. If you can, see it in person after bidding, but before the final final decision. Good luck! |