What You See is Not What You Get

What you see is not always what you get. The risks of buying sight unseen are real.

This property looked excellent online. Spacious living areas, plenty of natural light, blue skies and a seemingly private outlook. The reality was rather different.

During this inspection for an interstate buyer, we were surprised to see a neighbouring double-storey development overlooking directly into the living area had been edited out of the marketing photos. The living room is noticeably smaller than it appeared in the wide-angle advertising images.

For us, the future overlooking townhouse created a genuine privacy concern. But there was another bigger issue: trust.

If something as obvious as a neighbouring building can been removed from the photos, it naturally raised the question: what else might we uncover after buying? What else are they hiding?

In Victoria, and Melbourne, this can be considered false advertising. The property advertisements, including photographs, need to represent the property as it is. Anything else, can be considered illegal. As illegal as they are, there will always be people who tried to "try their luck".

Good property photography should present a home at its best. It shouldn't present a different reality.

This is why we are always advocating for in-person inspection. Not photos, not videos, not Facetime/Zoom. In person. If we cannot personally inspect the property, we would not recommend it.

For $1.3million, rather than buy the property and risk the unknowns, we put a "Do Not Buy" recommendation, and walked away. Even if this means we're back to searching for this interstate client.

Sometimes, what we don't buy for our clients is just as important as what we do.

Here is a longer write-up on the risk of buying a property sight unseen.

Rejected Due to: High Risk. What else are they hiding?