Lots of Toronto buyers are understandably hesitant to buy a house virtually. However, the question of whether or not to buy sight unseen is unfair because the answer is that you may not have a choice. Many sellers are not allowing showings. Further, some brokerages have started to ban all showings on their listings. Open houses have been made illegal. The question really is HOW should you buy a house virtually? If there aren’t any showings allowed it is still possible that the seller will allow your agent to come through the house. If this is the case, have your agent do a very thorough walk through while you are on Facetime with them. Be prepared to ask your agent a lot of questions about the house.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Ask them about the smell of the house. Smells in the basement can often tell a story about dampness or even mould. Smells upstairs can tell you about the ventilation of the attic or the efficacy of any exhaust fans in the bathrooms.
2. Heat distribution. Is one room a lot warmer than another? Is one room stuffy and another room weirdly cold?
3. Slants in the floor? Most Toronto houses slant a bit. It’s just part of being an old house. However, sometimes photos don’t show a huge slant in the house which could be a part of other structural issues.
4. Windows. Are they wet or showing condensation? Is there new paint covering up water damage on the sill? If yes to either question, you’ll likely need new windows soon.
If you have done your virtual showing and decide to make an offer, try to make it conditional on seeing the house in person. If that is not possible, understand that you are buying a house sign-unseen and expect to have some surprises on closing. Hopefully they are mostly happy surprises but expect some unpleasant ones too. Budget for the unknowns. Above all, remember that the most important part of buying a house is location. Everything else inside the house is changeable.
