Have you ever bought something online, and when you got it, it didn't look how you expected? In this day and age, a lot of people are shopping online for any and everything, even real estate. With how the real estate market is right now, buyers are waiving all kinds of contingencies and paying over market just to get in the game.
This week we were close to getting a deal under contract. The numbers looked like they would make sense, and the pictures the broker sent looked like it was in a good state. It was about 80% renovated, and just needed to do some minor cosmetic and electrical finishes. When we went to tour the building, we discovered that this was not the case at all.
Someone had broke into the building, stolen all 8 brand new furnaces, water heaters, and cabinets that the seller had just finished installing! Luckily we discovered this before we had a signed purchase agreement. Allowing us to walk away from this deal before we might have suffered the same fate. If this had happened after we moved forward with the deal, we might have been on the hook for it, or lost money by backing out of the deal.
This is why having someone in the area to be able to go look at the property is so important. Being familiar with the area these buildings are in, and see how it's improving, or if it's not. Having someone on your team that can fulfill these duties could be the deciding factor in determining if a deal is going to be a good long term hold or be a major headache down the road.
So, next time you think about buying something online without seeing it in person, make sure you are willing to take the risk, or you have someone that can take a look at it for you, especially real estate. Otherwise, you may get something you weren't expecting!
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