When a person puts in an offer on a house they have not yet visited or walked through, it means that the person is buying a house sight-unseen. While this may seem crazy to some people, it actually happens quite often, and there are reasons for it. If you are thinking about doing this, you should fully understand the pros and cons of placing an offer on residential real estate sight-unseen.
The pros
There are two main reasons that people will put offers on houses without first seeing them in person. The first reason is to buy a house in a different area. If you have to buy a house in a different state and cannot simply travel there to see the homes that are for sale, you might put in an offer without seeing it, simply to lock in the deal. Before going through with the sale, you would probably want to visit the home, though. The second reason occurs when the market is hot and houses are selling right away. If you do not have a chance to see a house that was just listed but believe it is the right house, you could put in an offer simply to have the chance to buy it. As you can see, there are benefits in these situations of putting in an offer on a house before you visit it, and the main benefit is to lock in the deal.
The cons
In addition to the benefits, there is one main drawback of doing this. This drawback is that you are offering to buy a house that you have not seen, and this puts you in a highly risky position. The house might look wonderful on the pictures you viewed, but it might look a lot different in person. Another risk you take is that the house might not be in a good area, and this is a big risk if you are moving to a new city.
There are precautions you can take if you are in a situation where you are going to put in an offer sight-unseen, and your real estate agent will help you protect yourself.
If you are trying to buy a house during a seller's market, you might want to consider putting an offer on a house before you see it. You can learn more about doing this by consulting with a real estate agent.
