Purchasing property Unseen

[Uneeq Khan]

I went with a realtor to look at a 2 family home. Upon arrival we couldn't get in. The seller told my agent that the tenants were not being cooperative. So they suggested my options were to purchase it unseen or wait till the lease runs out (in a month) and then see it when they have the open house.

My concern is that if I make an offer unseen, I may not offer the right price, or during home inspection the house is in terrible condition and unwilling to go down on price and I would have wasted time and money on home inspection and any deposits. I'd have to estimate rehab cost quickly during home inspection.

If I wait till open house, then I'll end up competing with everyone else and not get a good price.

The house is currently listed price is $10k more than the 70% ARV. So not sure if I want to even go through the hassle cause the price is unreasonable to begin with. For the numbers to work for me, the owner would have to sell at $100k less than listing.

[Eric M.]

Originally posted by @Uneeq Khan:

@Eric Michaels

I'm finding more and more homes in NJ where I'm not able to see inside the property. And the listing price is what the ARV would be and they look to be in pretty bad conditions. Why is the seller trying to sell at an ARV price at such bad conditions? Should I even bother offering at 150-100k less than asking? Or walk away as the seller may be delusional?

Is there any way to get the deposit back if I decide to not go through with the purchase after home inspection?

Why are they trying to sell crap at ARV? Because they think they can. In the recent market, buyers and investors are stretching and overpaying.

It is hard to know whether an "investor" offer will do any good. All you can do is try. For many sellers, they won't even listen to a price where we can make money. The whole game is finding the motivated sellers who will listen. If you are not finding those sellers, you need to adjust your plan.

Stay disciplined. It is a numbers game and sometimes you get nothing. There will be a time when 3 offers get accepted at the same time. It evens out. 

And yes, with proper contingencies you can get your deposit back, but your question concerns me. That is a very very basic thing. If you don't know that, then you need to be working with a buyers broker who can teach you. Otherwise, you WILL get yourself into trouble.

Good Luck