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?

Try reading the OPs posts - press "see all" under any of her posts & they're shown altogether

hth

That’s what I was thinking. Do people these days really put an offer in after a single viewing?

In a popular area, yes absolutely. Then you hope it’s accepted and doesn’t go to “best and final” offers.

Why not ask her to anonymize her bedroom for the 2nd viewing.

When we had a house on the market, we were strongly advised by the selling Agent to completely anonymise the whole place. Also, they wouldn't bring anyone to a viewing who wasn't proceedable.

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

Am I missing something?

Its an open day. Not an appointment.

I can see how you could instruct an EA to cancel an appointment with someone you don’t want to sell to, and to say you don’t want them in your house.

But an open day?

What are people actually suggesting here - that the EA stands guard on the door, and refuses to let Mr Smith past the threshold…? ‘Sorry sir, everyone else is allowed in, but you’re not’…?

Seriously? How awkward.

Having an Open Day doesn't mean people can wander in off the street as the fancy takes them! It means there will be multiple viewers, all of whom have notified the estate agent they wish to view. EA will have a list of expected viewers, and, as in nightclubs, if you're not on the list ...

It absolutely does mean exactly that where I am.

Clearly open days work very differently in the UK?

Just tell estate agent no to Mr Smith. It's Ok to say no. He saw it before and you would like new viewings.

Sometimes it works like that in the uk too. More common if the property is unoccupied though

If you're having an open day as opposed to individual time slots, I am not sure how they can bar him from coming.

Tbh though, your reasons for not wanting him to view it seem quite spurious. So what if his kid is in the same class? I don't understand the big deal. And maybe he wants a second viewing with a view to making an offer, which you can always reject if you don't like.

In my experience EA, really don’t like children accompanying viewings.

Surely you must know that if you're selling your house, people will want to come look at it? Very strange to say you won't sell your house to someone purely as your daughter doesn't like people viewing her bedroom. Maybe you should have asked her to put away her things tidy for the viewing?
I dont understand..

An open day just means several viewers all on the same day but at different times. And no, no one can just turn up 🤣 the estate agent has vetted viewers beforehand to make sure they are serious viewers and not just bored people wanting to have a nose around. They have to show for eg that they have the funds available to buy, have a mortgage in principle etc.

I have sold 2 houses previously and all to people who viewed once. In popular areas this is not uncommon. We have not even seen the house we are buying yet - it’s a new build and we’ve chosen the plot. Again not uncommon.

We did have a buyer who snapped our house up but the sale fell through hence the open day where we have lots of viewers lined up. My house is well priced, heavily renovated and in a good location. I feel confident it will sell hence why I am not worried about turning away Mr Smith who despite viewing a modern, renovated detached house with parking for 3 cars wanted to get his calculator out to “deduct money for renovation work”. Fair enough if he wants to change the recently fitted bathroom but not at my expense!

I really wanted advice on what to say to my estate agent not a dissection of my dd’s mental health and my parenting skills. The fact that some posters do not understand why a teenage girl would not want another teenage girl that she sees every day at school going through her bedroom says a lot about how removed some posters are from real life.

do check the terms and conditions you signed up to with the estate agent as sometimes you have to pay their fee if you wouldn't sell when there was an offer.

but a reasonable local estate agent will have loads of experience of this so tell them about the bedroom comments and they will advise.

In other countries, an open day means exactly that - an open day.

It’s advertised as being open from, say, 2-2.30pm, and absolutely everyone who wants to have a look, can do so. From genuine buyers to nosey neighbours.

If that’s not the case, then what’s the big deal?

Just tell the EA that you don’t want to sell to X, and so won’t accept an appointment with him. 🤷🏻‍♀️

House buying in England seems batshit crazy to me.

open days, the estate agent turfing you out so the viewers can nosey about without you and the whole being able to pull out at the 11th hour that’s just insane

Personally this wouldn't bother me, but if you don't want him to view, I'd just be honest with the EA about the reasons (maybe leave out the bit about your dd not wanting the child to see her room).

When I moved a couple of years ago I took down personal/identifying items like photos, framed certificates, etc before viewings. I didn't mind if someone I knew viewed the house, but I'd rather not have strangers looking at (and possibly taking photos of) things that are personal to my family.

Things have changed a lot. When I sold my first home I had to show viewers round. Now, I have to leave my house & the estate agent shows people round. I have to trust he/she will keep an eye on viewers. In fact the one time I did stay in my house as I was WFH (sat quietly working in a corner of the kitchen) the estate agent fed back that the lady viewing felt uncomfortable at my being there as “she didn’t feel she could have a good rummage around” 😲

@CallMeWaityKaty - just because London is in the name doesn't mean the person is in London now...

I'm in the SE of England. Our town, on RightMove first page (five pages in all), has 24 properties in a similar price bracket to our current house. 15 are STC. Of the other 9, 3 have been reduced and been on since April/May, 1 went on today and the others have been on since mid June - third week of July. Of the 15 that are STC 3 were reduced before they sold. So not everywhere in the SE is being sold as quickly as it's coming to the market.

And I would, obviously, always have my mortgage offer and other finances ready to go. I was talking about thinking what the house is actually worth to me - seeing some houses in the flesh makes you realise they are overpriced. But a nice house with the opportunity to negotiate depending on the sellers circumstances - why not? You obviously then need to work out how close to the asking price you'd be prepared to go...and how much you'd care if you lost it if they held out for more.

Having bought and sold well over half a dozen times, I've learned not to panic buy and second viewing may well be the next day - but I have that second visit. Estate agents will always put an offer on the table even if there has already been an offer - especially if you're in a good position to move. We've rented numerous times to be in the right area and in a better position to buy (and negotiate as a quick to move, chain free buyer compared to someone who has sold but is in a chain).

I only ever bought on one viewing once and it turned out to be a money pit. Never again - second viewing and a house is not sold until it is taken off the market.

@BlueThursday house buying and selling in England I agree is awful, estate agents unregulated (apart from their advertising to an extent) and partly as a result viewed as lower than almost all professions.

It won't change soon. Tony Blair's government shied away, apparently because it would restrict competition.

I would quietly sort out the Mr Smith problem and tell your dd not to worry and say no more about it. You're very anxious that something terrible my happen as a result of this girl seeing dds bedroom and your anxiety and worry about the 'what if' towards dd is making her worry more
Fix the problem with your EA - easy
Tell dd they're not buying the property. No need to worry about anything and everything is hunky dory. Say no more to her about it
Do something to manage your own anxiety. Kids can sense when something is going on. And if you're worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet then dd will feel it too

I get you OP, if you’re confident it will sell and you would rather not entertain Mr Smith then that’s your right, no explanation necessary.

That said, if I didn’t like him, I would get a personal satisfaction out of letting him view and rejecting any offer he put on the table.

mytortoise but there hasn’t been on offer from Mr Smith so no terms/agreement to break. He has had a good look round, wanted to “ get his calculator out” to offer a low bid on a well decorated and well renovated detached house with parking in a good location.

he’s already viewed the house, if he was serious he’d put in a serious offer

I don't quite understand. Every time I have bought a house I have viewed it two or three times before making an offer. Every time I have sold a house I have not received an offer until the potential buyers have viewed the house two or three times. I would think it was quite unusual to make or receive a firm offer after just one viewing (they never do on Escape to the Country either LOL).

I don't think you need a reason. Apart from legally protected characteristics you can sell or not sell your possessions to whomever you wish. OP, I really understand your DD's reaction...could she be encouraged to put her precious things away ready to move and depersonalise her space? I mean are you not doing this with the rest of the house?

I’ve only ever bought & sold in London, my first flat was bought by someone who viewed once as did my next property. My sister has just had an open day and 3 viewers offered on the same day, no second viewing. I guess it depends on which part of the country, but viewing once and then offering is normal based upon my limited experience.