How can I buy it, if I can't see it?

[Jatika Manigault]

Do investors buy houses without seeing the inside?  Do they make an offer without doing an inspection? I am really confused.  The owner had a property but the tenant was so Covid19 paranoid, she wouldn't let me and my realtor in to see the property? How does it get sold if you can't see it??

[Will Fraser]

Hi @Jatika Manigault, thank God, or perhaps google and apple, there's no such thing as a "house you can't see" these days.  Have that fearful tenant hop on their smart phone and use their 5G or Fiber wi-fi connection to livestream you (and inspector if relevant) as they walk through the property and look at what you need them to look at.

[Bill B.]

I haven’t seen the inside of half the houses I own. If they won’t let an inspector in I wouldn’t want to inherit the tenant anyway. So I’d tell the seller my inspector will be ready the day after they move out and I’ll sign off within 2 days of that. 

Otherwise you’re going to inherit a tenant that is already calling the shots. Who knows if they’re paying, if they painted the entire inside black, or it has 2” of rabbit poop across all the floors. (This happens). What if it’s full of mold?

I don’t know if you could offer little enough to buy a house unseen inside with this tenant. 

[Kyle Reynolds]

It comes down to the numbers anyway in the beginning - you don't have to physically see the interior initially- would be best if there are photographs of the interior on real estate platform so you can gauge the interior condition and possible cost exposures once you take ownership - after you Offer and get the contingent contract you have your window for the Home Inspector to take a look - your entitled to that inspection so if the Owner/Seller isn't cooperating or instructing the Tenant to cooperate accordingly then probably best to move on to the next Deal