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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you buy a house without viewing inside?

168 replies

Longjohn33 · 03/02/2021 20:34

Due to corona the vendors aren’t allowing people inside to view. Given the current housing market I believe it will sell regardless.

We have driven outside it and really like what we see. It’s a new build (not brand new) 5 years old. We have plenty of photos.

It is well within budget and really the first house we’ve seen in a year that I think has lots of potential and a good price.

We were priced out of any other house we’ve been remotely interested in due to the demand when the housing market opened and restrictions were lifted.

We need to move ASAP for schools and so time is ticking. We were due to move last March but it fell through when corona struck.

OP posts:
Travelledtheworld · 03/02/2021 20:48

Absolutely not.
Is the house currently occupied ?

1Morewineplease · 03/02/2021 20:48

Absolutely no way.

suggestionsplease1 · 03/02/2021 20:50

I have...but it was a flat with a sea view at auction that went for £14k! It was a gamble that worked out well, but not the same as risking megabucks.

I would be wary. I think you would definitely want a solid survey done.

CaraDuneRedux · 03/02/2021 20:51

No.

I looked round a new build a few years ago - looked great in the photos, floor plan looked okay, in fact when viewing it most of the rooms were lovely... except for the sitting room, which turned out to be L shaped and just felt really pokey and depressing when you were actually in it.

And since that's the room you spend most of your waking at home hours in...

Embarrasedaf · 03/02/2021 20:52

Rent perhaps, but not buy

SarahBellam · 03/02/2021 20:52

God, no. I wouldn’t buy a car without taking it for a test drive. I wouldn’t buy a wedding dress without trying it on. Nobody In their right mind would spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on something they hadn’t even seen the inside of.

GingerBiscuit21 · 03/02/2021 20:52

Assuming you need a mortgage to buy it, you need a surveyor to go round there. If they won't let anyone in, then no one needing a mortgage can buy.

GlitterInMySoul · 03/02/2021 20:53

No. You never know what there could be inside there!

GlitterInMySoul · 03/02/2021 20:54

@SarahBellam

God, no. I wouldn’t buy a car without taking it for a test drive. I wouldn’t buy a wedding dress without trying it on. Nobody In their right mind would spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on something they hadn’t even seen the inside of.
This
Giraffey1 · 03/02/2021 20:54

No.Would def want to see inside In the flesh. And where are you that you can’t do physical viewing? It’s allowed where I am.

Original poster
Longjohn33 · 03/02/2021 20:55

They’ve had a survey done already. The house is in Scotland so needs a home report.

I’m assuming they took the risk with the home report but not loads of viewers coming.

I might just put a note of interest on it and ask them to tell me when I can view. If it goes before then, then so be it.

Thanks all

OP posts:
rooarsome · 03/02/2021 20:55

Absolutely not. I fell in love with a house I saw online a couple of years ago, drove past it and liked the area. I honestly thought we had found the one. The viewing, however, threw up a multitude of issues and it was like a different house to the pics.

FamilyOfAliens · 03/02/2021 20:56

@GlitterInMySoul

No. You never know what there could be inside there!
That’s was absolutely true for us.

We bought the house based on my one viewing - the first time DH saw it we discovered a cellar you could stand up in that extended the full length and width of the house. Neither the EA nor the surveyor knew anything about it Grin

Graffitiqueen · 03/02/2021 20:56

Absolutely not! So many houses we viewed looked ideal on paper but just weren't for us when we viewed. you really can't get a good idea from photos and floor plans.

Caspah · 03/02/2021 20:56

I didn't even physically view the outside of the property I've lived in for 18 years, never mind the inside. We were living in a different county and wanted to move quickly. Had weekends to view but owners were very restrictive with viewing options - turned out to be a court case involved. We saw the estate agent's details, husband visited, and we put in an offer. I trusted his word - 'it's a lot of property/land for the money'. When I finally saw the inside (after we'd bought it) it was horrible. But we could change the interior, and we're in a city where property prices are extortionate (Yorkshire, not the South), and it's probably worth double what we paid.

caffeinebuzz · 03/02/2021 20:56

The only circumstance I would do this is if I were planning to knock down and rebuild. But maybe an offer "subject to viewing" so they know you're serious?

CharlotteRose90 · 03/02/2021 20:57

God no not a bloody chance. I’ve viewed inside and outside of 4 houses so far this year and it’s been fine.

AntiHop · 03/02/2021 20:58

Not in a million years. We're thinking of moving and have done house viewings.

ClarasZoo · 03/02/2021 21:00

No way- what if it really smells!

Housing101 · 03/02/2021 21:00

No

BackforGood · 03/02/2021 21:00

No, but when we sold our last house the buyer hadn't been inside.

They were buying it with a plan to rent it out, but even so.....

hibbledibble · 03/02/2021 21:00

Would you be getting a survey first?

Tread very carefully. I was looking at a property and the agents said they were looking to sell without viewings as the tenant wasn't allowing viewings. This didn't happen, and I viewed after the tenant left. Clearly the photos were very old, and the kitchen and bathroom had quite literally been smashed up since (completely unusable, it looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them). The whole place was disgusting.

LividLoving · 03/02/2021 21:02

Only if you had loads of money and didn’t care about wasting it.

I’m as Covid cautious as they come and still bought and sold this year.

It’s like online dating. You need to meet in person before you get attached.

You might have a good feeling from the photos, but what if it smells funny/is dark/poky in real life? Also, does it suggest the vendors will be slow in moving on themselves?

Maybe there’s mileage in making an offer but dependent on a viewing, to show you’re serious.

CarryOnPlainHunting · 03/02/2021 21:03

I bought our current house without dh seeing it. In hindsight that seems crazy.

LadyWhistledownthe1st · 03/02/2021 21:03

Absolutely not! Especially not a new build