Hi Elizabeth - definitely a pet peeve and a tremendous mistake by buyers and their agents.  When informing sellers of this "move" by prospective purchasers of their home I have never had them react favorably especially when multiple offers are on the table.  Not a good strategy.  

HI Elizabeth... I don't see this happen very often... maybe a different marketplace. But I have "purchased" homes for a number of clients who never saw them prior to purchase and they were very happy with the results. Then again, in each case I knew exactly what my people were looking for and had spent time with them looking at houses.

As for my husband, I don't think he's ever seen any house we bought prior to signing a contract but once. In one case, he didn't see the home until he flew into town for the closing. He adds nothing to the overall exercise. 

Hi Elizabeth- the only time Larry and I almost did that was when we were trying to buy a home in a seller's market in Northern VA. We'd been looking for months and I was still back in Florida. A new listing came on the market quickly so Larry had me look at in online. The house went quickly and the buyer who got it has an escalation clause in the offer. 

Hi Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Realtor Top 1%, I sold two homes to buyers who lived out of state, both were happy with their purchases. Thanks to video and Facetime, they can at least see the home on their smart devices. I wouldn't suggest this as it can turn out to be a disaster as well. 

I have to agree with you on this one, Elizabeth!  That's not my favorite kind of buyer!

Thankfully I've had good luck with selling sight-unseen here in Charlotte. In fact, last year, I sold a buyer from Sacramento their new home on the east coast, sight unseen! 

I know what they want and so far, I've never had one to terminate during the transaction and they've all been happy with their homes. 

HOWEVER, all agents don't really 'listen' to their clients and if I'm representing sellers, I would prefer them select a buyer who has already taken the first (and main) step in the elimination process - actually seeing the home!

It's also a lot of responsiblity for the agent to write up an offer for a buyer(s) who has never seen the home. There can be backlash, why didn't you tell me the master bathroom was so small, the garage had oil stains...? The list goes on and on...as a listing agent we know the buyers, when they finally see the home, may back out. 

Oh, that is crazy that they do that, Elizabeth! When I'm the listing agent, I much prefer the buyer seeing the property first. When they go back on the market, regardless of who's fault it is, buyers always think there is something wrong with the property - it's never the fault of the buyers in their minds!

Eliabeth, we do" by appointment only" and I am always at each showing, fixer, tear down or what ever.... and if they did not see it I advise against accepting offers like that. Now just to be clear I have sold two clients homes who were from Australia, in one case the Wife saw it (decision maker) in the other the husband saw it... and we got the wife on the phone and we had discussions, questions etc answered and the deal was consummated....Endre

I'm seeing this happen more now during this pandemic. People are not as willing to jump on a plane to come see homes, and they are trusting their agents to help them find the perfect second home in La Quinta.