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Unpleasant Surprises for Online Real Estate Buyers
prostoalex writes "Buying expensive items online from the people you've never met without any guarantees on the seller's part might seem a bit risky even for an experienced Internet shopper. The 'hotness' of the real estate investment market apparently influences some cash-heavy investors to look for opportunities online. When the entire transaction is done via a click of the mouse, and the deed for newly bought real estate arrives in the mail, some unsuspecting buyers might discover that a cozy house near the bus line in the middle of a busy street might imply a criminalized neighborhood and proximity to crack house. The New York Times investigates negative experiences of people buying investment real estate online."
Given the capital cost of RE, and the extensive variability of the land and the improvements, how could you ever hope to really know what you were buying unless you saw it yourself?
Right?
I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
Buying any real estate online is clearly a stupid thing to do. Anyone who does this was just going to lose their money via some other scam, anyway. There's not much point in trying to prevent them from losing their money, because they will eventually find a way.
A fool and his/her money will soon be parted.
Buying a house site unseen is just plain stupid, fools and their money indeed.
Sorry, but anyone who buys a **house** online and doesn't check it out first is a moron. They deserve as much sympathy as someone who sinks their entire life savings, knowingly, into a get rich quick scheme.