Someone wants to view my house and I don’t want them to. How do I phrase it with estate agent?

[Myhousemy]

I’m selling my house and have an open day on Saturday.

I do not want one of the viewers, Mr Smith (not real name) to view my house but how do I tell the estate agent this without getting in to too much detail? Reasons I do not want Mr Smith viewing my house:

He viewed it several weeks ago. Estate agent said he was going to make an offer but was carefully thinking about what to offer as he felt certain work needed to be done. No offer was made so I think he’s a time waster.

Mr Smith has a dd in the same class as my dd and when he viewed my house he brought his dd with him. My dd was upset at the thought of this girl in her class going in her room, seeing all her things etc. It’s obvious my dd lives here as there are school photos on the walls etc

I am confident my house will sell as we have lots of viewers lined up and house is in good area etc We have spent a lot of money on new kitchen/bathroom etc so I guess there is an element of annoyance at Mr Smith saying he “needs to work out how much to knock off asking price for renovations” - estate agents words.

should I just tell estate agent to cancel Mr Smith and if they ask just not give a reason?

Ask him to have a word with his DD!

This is all more emotional than is ideal while trying to sell a house.
People may want a couple a viewings before putting an offer in.
Selling a house is a public act usually with pictures of your house all over the internet.
Almost anyone may end up viewing it.

DC's friends mother ended up being the person to draw up the floor plans for the estate agents, we had no control over that.

It might be better to talk the process through with dd and try and help her feel okay with it. Rather than have her try and control it.

I viewed a house once and realised that the child in their photos was in my son’s class. The parents weren’t at the viewing thankfully as I did feel I was intruding in a way I wouldn’t have with an unknown child. Silly really as once you open your house up for viewings it’s possible someone is going to know who you are. I wasn’t interested in the house so never mentioned it to the mum at the school gates. I can see why it’s a bit uncomfortable in that situation.

How is it obvious he's thinking of putting an offer in? Not every second viewing results in an offer, even fewer an acceptable offer. The OP can sell to whomever she chooses and who are you to say whether a child is being ridiculous, you know nothing about the situation

Ah but the mean girl's family bought your old house. They thought it worth buying. They thought it was a good investment.
I think that's a win for you.

I dont think they are good enough reasons to refuse a viewer. And I can't think the estate agemt will be pleased youmare turning away a prospective buyer. Stii aI do understand why you don't want this person to buy your house.

You don't a reason beyond not wanting to sell it to him. Your house your choice.

You can refuse anyone you want to. It’s your choice to how restricted you want your market to be. I refused all landlords (not the same I know). The estate agent was unimpressed but it wasn’t my job to impress the estate agent.

You COULD be cutting off your nose to spite your face, but if you feel so strongly that you don't want this man in your house, then it is your right to tell the estate agent you do not want him viewing again. You do not have to give a reason. As pps have said, the estate agents work for YOU! Hope you find a buyer soon.

I agree with this. Someone wanting a second viewing is a good sign so I wouldn’t put him off. Your daughter does not have to be there for the open day. All the other viewers will see her bedroom. It’s no big deal and I would be telling my daughter she is being over sensitive as the house has to be sold.

I can totally see where you’re coming from there was a young girl who lived in the house at the end of our street whose parents clearly saw it as a fixer upper despite the fact that my poor friended spent 80 grand on the place so it was a case of well you should’ve seen it before. This absolute monster of a child spent years and we’re only talking primary school years lambasting my friends daughter‘s house criticising my poor friends taste in just about everything, we’ve had to change it all mummy spent thousands putting things right. Telling her your bedroom was shit and now I’ve manage to sort it out and it looks lovely. There was extra emotion attached to the situation because my friend was getting divorced and didn’t want to leave the house. I think in the end my eldest child who was four years above them in at senior school ended up just telling bratty girl to feck off. But it was definitely distressing and not worth it.

Just tell them that as he is already trying to knock down the price you are not interested in him viewing your property.

It's your house and you instruct the EA so really- you are in control.

You don't even have to give a reason. Don't over think it.

'He viewed it several weeks ago'
&
'I am confident my house will sell'

Ok but its been on the market quite a while with no 'suitible' offers just lots of views?

Sounds like its NOT actually that likely to sell... houses round here arent sitting on the market for 'several weeks' unless they are overpriced (either they want far too much for what it is or its a very expensive mansion that not many people can afford so low demand) or just crap (and even most the crap ones sell quick because they are cheap so really only the former).

So much handwringing and bad advice here. ‘Say you’re not interested in second viewings’. Why the hell would you? People coming back a second time are more likely to be seriously interested! ‘Say you’re only interested in proceedable buyers’. Why, just to get rid of one you don’t want?

As for the ‘the estate agent won’t be happy/impressed’ comments, who is working for who here? He who pays the piper calls the tune.

OP - all you have to do is say ‘Mr Smith has viewed once and made it clear he wasn’t a serious buyer; I’m not interested in dealing with him’. Nothing further required. All I would say is don’t let the fact that you don’t want him to do a second viewing put you off second viewings in general. It’s very short-sighted to suggest any serious buyer won’t need to come back.

Tell them he left an unpleasant odour last time and you don't want him putting other buyers off.

I'm only joking, obviously, but it would be tempting!

So sensible answer is let him view it, it doesn't matter if he makes a low offer you don't have to accept it and it is perfectly normal for someone to take their child with them when viewing a house.

However we sold a house last year and DH did our viewings. There was one woman who was so horrible that we told the estate agents that we would not be interested in any offers from her as god knows how many problems she could have caused throughout the process.

You have every right to refuse a viewer for any reason.

The Estate Agent can just tell him viewings are fully booked.

Are the pictures not on the internet then? Surely if so anyone can see her room? I don’t think it’s odd to bring a child to a viewing - she has to live there too. Of course you can refuse who you want but sounds to me like you’re setting you and your daughter up for a lot more hassle by making such a big deal out of it.

The agent works for you, not the buyer. Dealing with requests from the seller is part of their job. If they can't find a way to accommodate your request, change agents, or use an online one (Purple bricks or somesuch)

Selling a house is deeply personal.

It's your house, you decide how the sale goes (obvious caveat that you might lose a potential buyer, but it doesn't sound like thats the case here)

We sold our house seven years ago, had lots of viewings but one stood out. Guy came with the intention of wanting a bargain, kitchen would have to be changed, didn't like the decor etc. I told my EA not to deal with him and when he phoned for a second look he was told that we wouldn't sell to him, guy said he was probably a bit too hasty, his loss!! We sold a couple of weeks later.

One visit was from a mum, dad and child. Mum wouldn't come in as we had a couple of cats, stood outside screaming her head off.

Your house, your rules, but just to weigh in on the thought that ppl who ask for a second viewing are automatically time wasters: I’ve made two offers on two flats at asking price in the past year (my first intended purchase fell through, the second one is now near completion) and I asked for a second viewing both times before I made my offer.

Mr Smith viewed, said some work needed to be done & went away to calculate. Perfectly normal, you have no idea what has been going on in Mr Smith’s life since that first viewing.

A second viewing is totally normal.

Bringing his DD with his is totally normal.

You and your DD are being very precious.

That said, it’s your decision.

If the girl does ever try to put your DD down, your DD could say, 'Yes, that's why we moved to a better house. You're in the one we got rid of.' She shouldn't say this unless she's bullied but it's good to have a reply that closes down the taunting if she needs one.

This is all more emotional than is ideal while trying to sell a house.

Well, that's up to the OP to decide. Some people see their house as a commodity and not much more than that and just want it to sell as quickly as possible for the biggest price, and that's absolutely fair enough, but some people are different to that and wouldn't actually mind losing out on a prospective buyer for a reason like the OP's. The OP isn't asking what she should prioritise in selling her house - she has decided for herself what's important to her and is simply looking for suggestions on how to explain that to the estate agent.

OP, you don't need to give a reason to the estate agent. There are lots of reasons you might not want a specific person as a buyer and you don't need to spell out what they are. My mum's friend refused to sell her house to a particular buyer because she knew that the buyer had been a nightmare neighbour elsewhere and she didn't want to inflict her on the lovely people who lived either side!