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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:
speakout · 03/02/2021 22:34

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.

I agree.

I went to the viewing alone and loved the house. OH was too busy and competition meant we had to act fast.
He isn;t too fussed about houses generally, and knew that iif I loved it he would be happy.
The first time he saw inside the house was the day we moved in the sale complete.

He does love the house!

ChampionOfTheSun · 03/02/2021 22:38

No, I viewed roughly 12 houses when we bought our home and a couple of them, the photos were NOTHING like what it looked like. One of them, I went in and the smell was horrific, they had so many animals and it wasn't very spacious, was very cluttered with various cages and tanks as well as cat trays. It was a girl of around 16 who showed me round, they had a teenager in bed in one of the rooms and I wasn't able to view the garden because it was full of dog shit, as the girl so eloquently described it. It was damp, yellowed walls from cigarette smoke. Absolutely filthy everywhere. None of this was visible in the photos, I wouldn't have viewed it if the photos had been honest. I genuinely do not know when the photos were taken because it didn't look anything like them. The other house that I viewed where the ad was deceptive had rising damp, cracks in all the plaster, floor uneven where parts were rotting, etc. We bought a house that we viewed 4 times in total!

Porridgeoat · 03/02/2021 22:45

I like your idea of asking them to let you know when you can view

toocold54 · 03/02/2021 22:46

No way.
I nearly did this a couple of years ago but through renting. It was lovely and looked huge from the pictures and I drove past several times. And it was only because the estate agent needed a utility bill or something and he suggested we meet there as it was around the corner from my work but it was tiny! - it was a 2 up 2 down and you couldn’t fit a fridge or washing machine in the kitchen and if you put it in the front room there’d be no room for even a small sofa. The estate agents suggestion was to put them in the bedroom upstairs which was tiny in itself!
I’ll never do that again!

toocold54 · 03/02/2021 22:47

We bought a house that we viewed 4 times in total!

I have heard of many home owners who view the property several times - you need to be 100% sure as it’s a massive commitment!

Grasses · 03/02/2021 22:50

Yes and no survey either. I really really wanted it and estate agent was useless. It was a tiny modern ish terrace with nothing to go wrong. Turned out great, but probably not a recommended method.

Blacknosugarplease · 03/02/2021 22:53

I did - no regrets 😊 good luck whatever you decide!

longtompot · 03/02/2021 22:57

No, if we had with one house we viewed and I'd pretty much bought just from viewing the photos and room layout online, we would have been very squashed indeed. It was tiny but they made it look much bigger.

Mumbum2011 · 03/02/2021 22:59

I bought our current house without dh seeing it, we relocated also so he didn't even get to do a drive by and he didn't know the area. First he saw it was the day we got the keys. He loves it though so all good. No way would I trust him to pick us a house though.

TitusPullo · 03/02/2021 23:08

I’ve just been reminded of the house we viewed that was not the same house shown in the photos! The outside was a picture of the house we viewed but it turns out the interior shots were of another house the vendor owned (landlord selling). The house we viewed was rented by 2 guys and the smell was nauseating, it was filthy, there was rubbish and pets everywhere. The floor plan wasn’t even correct. When I pulled the estate agent up on it I got a long rambling email about how the photos showed what the house could potentially look like and we’re just to illustrate the interior. I was too stressed house buying/selling at the time to take the misrepresentation further so just avoided that agent.

Lampan · 03/02/2021 23:11

Haha @ClarasZoo has beat me to it, I would be worried what it might smell like.
But no, I wouldn’t buy without viewing. There is no substitute for feeling the ‘vibe’ of a house, sometimes it’s an instant yes or no as soon as you step inside.
Would they allow you to peer in through the windows (I’m only half-joking 😄)

MsJaneAusten · 03/02/2021 23:12

I’ve rented without viewing as the rental market where I live moves so quickly. I’d never buy without viewing. Houses never look quite how you expect them to from photos.

ChippyDucks150 · 03/02/2021 23:16

Yes, I did with the house I'm now sitting in. Autumn of last year we purchased, also in Scotland. I asked for a viewing just before completion though, and the seller obliged.
We were in the same boat, kept just missing out on houses so I put an offer in within half an hour of it going up for sale.

LeaveMyDamnJam · 03/02/2021 23:16

Would you buy shoes without trying them on? I doubt it, so why would you buy something that is going to cost possibly hundreds of thousands of £ without seeing it?

Moooooooooooooooooo · 03/02/2021 23:21

Nope, no way would I buy without viewing - ever.

Currently looking for a new house, it’s very surprising the number of people who won’t allow viewings now, their houses aren’t really for sale then are they.

One we did get to view this week was really, really lovely apart from the motorway traffic noise which he tried to claim was the farm tractors and the teeny tiny bathrooms and en-suites which had the most ridiculously small showers squeezed into them. It was only after viewing we could understand why the bathrooms had been photographed as they were.

Heyahun · 03/02/2021 23:21

Nope! I’ve been viewing houses the lat 6months - there’s been heaps I’ve been so sure about from online listing/photos
There’s always something - last one I saw - the kitchen photos are misleading and you go there and it’s much smaller than it looked and a terrible layout - knew from floor plan that the bathroom was beside the kitchen - but seeing it in real life and just how much it was nearly in the kitchen was horrible (thought it would be manageable)

The garden was not as pictured - the photo must have been from a few years ago!

Once inside the house I hated it !

There’s been loads the last few months that you are excited about then go to viewing and it’s just not what you expect

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 03/02/2021 23:24

It is a golden rule on Homes Under the Hammer - never buy without viewing!

LemonadeFromLemons · 03/02/2021 23:25

Is it detached or attached? What if there are nightmare neighbours you can hear through the wall and that’s what they are covering up?

Itsokthanks · 03/02/2021 23:26

No chance. They're being ridiculous.

MixedUpFiles · 03/02/2021 23:28

Will you be able to do a survey and pull out if it reveals things that you don’t like?

Then maybe. And I only say that because my neighborhood is such a sellers market that most houses aren’t even making it to list. People are finding homes about to go to market by word of mouth and making generous offers because houses hardly ever come up for sale and Covid has made it much worse.

yvanka · 03/02/2021 23:44

I would insist on viewing but phrase it as a 'final viewing' in your note, not just speculative, and make it clear that you are in a position to offer.

Figmentofimagination · 04/02/2021 00:10

Never. I want to get a feel for a house, are the rooms to small, is there enough natural light, is there smells that wouldn't come out (like smoking).

My house is currently up for sale. I turn all the lights on and open all the doors inside (and the back door if the weather is nice) Viewers will wear masks and either wear gloves or use anti bac gel before entering. I wait outside in my car whilst the EA shows them around to reduce the number of people inside.

When the viewers have left I open the windows, and wipe down door handles, sides, light switches and the stair banister. One the other week I even had to wipe down the child locks on the meter cupboard and under the stairs cupboard (even though they aren't supposed to touch).

Ontheboardwalk · 04/02/2021 00:15

Nope

I do believe it’s about the feeling you get from a house and the obvious things like smells, dodgy fixes etc

Before I bought my first and current house I only viewed 3 properties. Despite its faults I knew it was the house for me. I still visited it a second time before putting in my offer

CayrolBaaaskin · 04/02/2021 00:20

Yes, I have done this more than once.

Kokosrieksts · 04/02/2021 08:27

We’ve bought a holiday home that we asked my friends to view for us in a different country.

But I would not do this for the house I would want to live in and especially not if it is the seller that is not allowing viewings.

Op, have you done many house viewings before? Have you never seen a house in pictures that looks amazing and then when you go to see it something just doesn’t feel right.