Making offers without inspecting properties

[Joe Melvin]

I've recently started marketing for properties and received a good response. However the sellers aren't interested in setting up a time for me to inspect the property. They just want an offer. I did do a drive by on a few but this says more about neighborhoods than specific houses and their rehab needs. I have sent some LOI's to sellers based on the drive by and a worst case scenario estimate for rehab. This obviously resulted in very low offers that were not well received.

So my questions are. What am I missing? Should offers be based on best case and then adjusted down? Are these leads not the type of leads needed for the buyers I currently have? 

Thanks, Joe

[Dev Horn]

I'm in a different camp on this.  I would NEVER EVER make an offer on a property I have not walked thru physically.  And I do NOT make blind offers on the phone.  That's "shotgunning".  Last point, in my market and many other major markets we work in, if you are asking for an inspection period on your contract, you're DEAD because the competition here (specifically HVA) is warning sellers that that's the way guys (with no real money) bail out of contracts. 

If you guys have figured out how to make a living at this by buying properties sight unseen, more power to you.   When I make an offer, it's a serious offer with no contingencies - I have no idea how you do that without SEEING the property.