Buying or Selling Sight Unseen

Hi, I’m Sophia Sanchez, Tampa Real Estate Broker. I wanted to share with you a little bit about how to buy or sell a home site unseen.

Believe it or not, in this day and age, people are buying and selling properties sight unseen. In the sense of selling sight unseen, just meaning you’re not here and you need to make sure the property is being taken care of when you aren’t able to physically be at the property.

In 2020, we’ve had five clients buy homes without actually making a trip to Tampa. When I shared this story with several clients, they were just like, “oh my God, how is that possible? You’re going to be buying something that’s half a million dollars or more, and I’m not there to actually touch it, feel it, see it. How does that work?” What I have found to be the answer to those questions is a a number of things I will cover below.

First is a high level of trust in your agent and making sure that you and your agent are on the same page with what your goals are. Usually clarifying your goals will take several phone or Zoom calls. Zoom calls have an added benefit because so much information is sent and received with facial expressions and hand gestures.

Second is that you will also need to know the latest market data, which your Realtor will be able to share with you. We can look at it in many different ways, not only in the neighborhood that you are looking to buy in, but other locations a buyer might also consider if they are searching for a home in your neighborhood. Looking at it from a mile high perspective and sending those details out.

Third would be a quick response time from your agent and yourself. Depending on the market, if a listing goes live on Monday, you better be out there Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning to get in to see it. Conveniently, with technology these days like FaceTime  and Zoom as well as your agent taking notes and photos/videos of the property, we can send you as much information as you need to be able to make a decision.

So far we’ve covered the high level of trust, data, timing/ speed, and videos but the experience level of your agent is also important, especially if you are going to be buying or selling sight unseen. A few years ago, my dad and I sat down and did the math to see how many properties I’ve gone into and we landed on around 700 properties. That number is much higher now. This gives me a good sense of what is normal to see in a home, what is weird, what is common, what isn’t, what is awesome, and what is an upgrade. In addition to having seen many properties in the Tampa area, I have also done many renovations myself and know the general pricing of many repairs and renovations. It is easy for me to walk into a home and say, okay, the value on this one is far superior than the last one we saw. And there’s a lot that buyers cannot see in just photos and videos so having an experienced agent is a high priority.

It is definitely a challenge to see things solely online. You’re not going to be able to know the neighborhood or what the surrounding area is like, if it is zoned for good schools, what stores it is nearby, and the home’s proximity to other locations.

Please contact me if you have any questions about buying or selling a property sight unseen. We would love to be able to have the opportunity to answer those questions for you.