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AIBU?

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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:
LegendDairy · 03/02/2021 21:33

Rent yes. Buy no way.

Lookingforwardto2021 · 03/02/2021 21:34

I like to feel a house and stand in the rooms and see how the light comes in. I wouldn’t buy without viewing unless there was a compelling reason.

These are strange times, and I guess the owners are shielding. So difficult all around!

MustardMitt · 03/02/2021 21:35

I definitely wouldn't as you're in Scotland. You can't back out if you do get to go in and it stinks of piss, or there's tar leaching out the walls from all the fags, or the walls are mostly water.

I wouldn't only consider it if it was massively under budget and I could afford to suck up the loss if needs be.

emmathedilemma · 03/02/2021 21:35

No chance

Mumbum2011 · 03/02/2021 21:35

I probably would consider it if I knew the area/ estate etc and as it's only 5 years old with a survey already carried out. You may be able to get it for a good price as I doubt they will get many people who would be willing to buy.

hangaround · 03/02/2021 21:36

Absolutely not. I've viewed too many houses that looked great in photos that were shocking in person. Houses that looked nice but smelled terribly of damp. Houses that were much smaller in person than in photos, or had bad things omitted from the pictures.
Photos don't tend to show damage or bodged DIY, things that would reduce price or offers.

We even viewed one house several years ago that had a detached 2 floor studio in the photos, only for us to view in person and the roof to have caved in on the studio and for it to have been flooded out. No mention of this in the listing, from the agent etc.

It's just not worth the risk for a big purchase IMO.

For what it's worth, unless it was a cash offer guaranteeing completing within a couple of weeks i'd also never accept an offer from someone who hadn't viewed in person. The chances of them changing their mind further down the line wouldn't be worth the risk.

If they don't want viewings, it shouldn't be on the market.

Sandmurray · 03/02/2021 21:39

I have been an estate agent manager for 20 year. The answer is would I let anyone in my family buy a house without seeing it. NO

Vergingontheridiculous · 03/02/2021 21:40

Nope

MaggieFS · 03/02/2021 21:41

No. And I wouldn't even settle for a survey, looking through windows or a video tour.

The house I currently live in was newly refurbished so we did the usual two viewings and thought it looked lovely. It is lovely, but the floorboards creak, the doors scrape the carpets, the heating is noisy and there are some random light switches which don't seem to do anything.

Next time I move, I will be pressing every bloody button and opening and closing every door. And window.

Trenisenne · 03/02/2021 21:41

Well we did, but it was off plan with guarantees in place. That was risky enough.

I'd probably be most worried about the 'feeling' of the house. Which sounds ridiculous, I know.

Piglet89 · 03/02/2021 21:46

Absolutely no way. Really, really silly.

TheFlis12345 · 03/02/2021 21:46

Not a chance. When we were looking, I hated what had been my favourite house of them all on Rightmove when we looked around it, and we are in the process of buying what was my least favourite on paper, but I fell in love with as soon as we walked in the door.

weegiemum · 03/02/2021 21:48

We bought the house we live in now without m3 seeing upstairs. I'd just got out of hospital with a new disability and at that point couldn't climb stairs. Do and kids looked up.

First time I saw upstairs was the day we moved. It's great.

Mus1cMan1a · 03/02/2021 21:56

Have done this
Luckily it worked out ok
A doer upper project in progress

GreySkyClouds · 03/02/2021 21:57

There will be a reason why you’re not priced out of this house, and you have been priced out of the others.

Vendors ARE letting people view. I wonder what they’re hiding!

UrAWizHarry · 03/02/2021 22:01

I bought my first flat off plan (so before it was built) so technically I hadn't seen it. The difference being of course was that if there were problems we could get them fixed by the developer and at the time it was the only way we could afford what was a nice flat in a time of insane price inflation in Scotland.

Would never, ever buy a house without inspecting it completely now. Surveys and home reports are not worth the paper they are written on.

DoubleTweenQueen · 03/02/2021 22:02

You won't get a decent feel for room sizes without experiencing in person? I wouldn't do it.

cupofteaplease1 · 03/02/2021 22:04

No, we moved during lockdown so have friends. House viewings are
Going ahead. Don't know why sellers think they can get away with selling without letting people view just mask up, disenfectant down,
Gloves, shoe covers etc and get on with it if they're serious about selling.

cupofteaplease1 · 03/02/2021 22:06

Add
To add you won't get a feel for the house, size
Of the rooms, the garden, views from the windows not looking onto a brick walll etc.
How overlooked it is, where the sun hits- all things I look for so definitely not.

TitusPullo · 03/02/2021 22:08

When looking at houses we were forever amazed at how much pictures can disguise what condition a house is actually in. Also I am not at all woo but I need a house to feel right when you walk in.

TheRebelle · 03/02/2021 22:09

It depends, if it’s a great area, the rooms are the sizes you’re after and it’s the only house in your price range and you’re getting a thorough survey then I would because I’d always redecorate and recarpet anyway.

We only viewed our current house once before buying it because it was the only house in the area we could afford that didn’t need a complete refurb, when we moved in there was loads of dodgy DIY so we spent a few thousand on getting tradesmen in to put things right but it’s not a lot in the scheme of things and for us being in this location was more important than having the perfect house.

Newnamefor2021 · 03/02/2021 22:09

Our first house we did that. 😆 I wasn't living in the same country and we had a good idea as family loved near by in a similar property. We entered a bidding war without seeing it and saw it afterwards. No regrets.

I wouldn't advise it tonight, we were young a naive.

Oblomov21 · 03/02/2021 22:19

No. Never. Madness.

WhatKatyDidNxt · 03/02/2021 22:19

No. We were trying to move last year and there were a few properties where the owners wouldn’t let you view. They had no surveys done either and lm guessing they wouldn’t be allowed either. Needless to say they never sold.

CakeRequired · 03/02/2021 22:22

@CarryOnPlainHunting

I bought our current house without dh seeing it. In hindsight that seems crazy.
I can imagine my partner and I would do this. I like viewing houses, whereas he doesn't give a damn or really cares where he lives. He knows I wouldn't choose something stupid and would most likely notice things he wouldn't, so he would trust me to choose somewhere good. Not sure I would trust him though, he wouldn't think about things in the same way as me. I doubt there would be anything structurally wrong with anywhere he chose, but he probably wouldn't notice a bad layout of a home for example.