to request to view a house without the owner's presence?

[nightowlmostly]

We want to see a house for a second viewing, and would prefer it if the owner wasn't there this time, as they were there last time and it's just not as easy to have a proper critical look around when you are also trying to be polite about someone's home. I'd like to see it with just the estate agent before committing, as it is a lot of money obviously!

My DH asked the estate agent on the phone and he said she seemed a little surprised, as if it was on odd request, is it? I would have thought it was quite common for people to want to see houses without them there, everyone in RL that I've mentioned house hunting to says it is much easier to look properly without the vendor present.

Just wondered if IABU!

I used to be an estate agent for my sins and although I cant comment on the rest of the country in the North East It tends to be that if the owner is living at the house they do the viewing, if its empty or owners are away etc then the Estate Agent does the viewing.

Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, and if you feel strongly about it you should def ask the estate agent to try and arrange this. However, I would have found it a little odd and the vendors would be within their rights to refuse (although in this housing market they would be mad to)

I know exactly what you mean though, I hate viewing houses with the owners present. I had a set of stock phrases I would repeat at viewings just to be pleasant - one of which was "great size room" my ex would just roll his eyes. It was like tourettes though, I would get nervous and out it would come!

We sold our house over the summer and with all the viewings the estate agent brought them around and showed them round the house. I took a book out into the garden and kept out of the way!

So YANBU

I am in Ireland and it is unheard of for the owners to be there. I have viewed dozens of houses and would think it really strange if the vendors were there. How could you look critically and talk honestly about the house if you had to worry about being polite all the time? I had never heard of the possibility of the owners being present before Mumsnet!

I've looked round lots of houses over the years and some sellers are great - just leave you to look, others are a COMPLETE nightmare and insist on pointing out every bit of 'home improvement' they've done in the last 20 years, despite the fact it then takes ages to do a viewing you wanted to do quickly (eg in your lunch break from work). Often - you get a gut feeling about a house as soon as you go in. If its not for you, you can leave after a few minutes whizz round.If the owner is there you feel thats rude so feign interest even though you have no intention of following up.

Just came back to have a look and find loads of comments, mostly sensible with the notable exception of spiderpig with a silly comment about stealing, why bother, really?

Obviously would expect the EA to be with us, to stop us stealing the silver it would just be easier to look objectively without the owner shadowing us all around! It's not about looking in their cupboards.

I think we will put in an offer if we can get a proper look at the property so fingers crossed!

YADNBU. In Ireland, the vendors would never be present at a viewing! I can't imagine looking around a property properly with the owners hovering in the background. Viewed a property in the UK once with a friend and the owners were there. It was awful. They kept asking us what we thought of this and that. Of course we couldn't be honest at all! Best of luck.

I would be very unhappy about small children going round my property if I wasn't in the house. Unless I met them I wouldn't know whether they were going to be calm and quiet while their parents looked around or whether they would be peering into everything, touching valuables, racing around or playing hide and seek in my wardrobes.

I have had my house on the Market for nearly 4 years now and whilst I have never had this reques from a viewer i would not object to it as long as the estate agent was there. At the end of the day you are making a massive investment in buying a property so you should do whatever you need to to make sure you are happy with buying the property.

I dint think YABU to request that but I would explain that you are seriously considering buying the property and would like a good inspection of the property and would feel more comfortable with just the estate agent there. I would also be prepared to be able to visit the property during a work day or when they have already made arrangements to be out of the house and this will be more convenient for them.

It is a buyers Market at the moment and I doubt any seller would risk loosing a buyer on the basis they refuse you looing around the house without them present.

Good luck!

YANBU. It's much easier when the vendor isn't there. Most of the reasons have been touched on, but critically, I think the one about how sometimes, there's a deal breaker in the first 2 mins, and you end up looking round the whole place just to be polite. Also, you can have an unhindered discussion about the pluses and minuses without offending the vendor (and even if the vendor didn't mind me and DH discussing whether her kitchen is wonderful or horrific, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing so)

I have bought one flat and two houses over the years although our roots have been down for the last 18 years. I have never thought about it. Flat 1 (in 1982) I viewed unaccompanied, house 1 the owner was in, house 2 we were accompanied by the estate agent. TBH I would expect the agent to accompany all viewers regardless of whether I was in or not nowadays and I don't think it would make very much difference. IME if you love the house, you love house and not much else is relevant apart from a full structural survey.

Many years ago we went with EA to view a house, owners were out but 2 huge dogs were in!

And another where teenage son was still in bed!!

Good luck, hope you like it!

I think second visits are about being really critical - convincing yourself of all the things you don't like so you can be sure that you can live with them, it's a lot easier to do that without the owners around IMO.

YANBU. At all. And I really hope those saying YABU are not trying to sell their houses! (or have learnt something from this thread) It really is much better to see a home without the owners present as you can be so much more objective. We saw a house last year that was obviously 'well loved' but we would have seen as a 'project'. The owners were also very chatty, which meant that DP spent half an hour in the garden talking to them while I explored. We asked to be able to see it without them present so that we could have a frank and honest discussion about what work would need doing (not so we could poke around in their cupboards!) and were refused (estate agent thought it was a good idea; vendors said no) I genuinely think we'd have bought that house if we'd been able to see it properly. As it is, it's still on the market and we're in a house we were allowed to see four times without the vendor. Good luck!

i wouldn't feel comfortable with the owner there i would need to check the kitchen cupboard to make sure they where in good quality, build in cupboard to see if i needed to sell free standing ones ect.

when MIL was selling her house she waited outside with the dogs.

Well, I think the definitive answer lies with Kirsty and Phil! Do we ever see the vendors in the houses they show? Nope. And how odd would it be if we did?

We're selling our house at the moment. I hate being in when there's a viewing. I don't want to see the people who come to look round - I trust the Estate Agent to do a good job, and if someone decides to make an offer then they can ask the Estate Agent to pass on any questions they have.

We've viewed houses where the sellers have been there, and they have been in the way, and also some where the seller has shown us around without the Estate Agent being there. Both of these have made me feel uneasy - it has felt like the seller was putting me under pressure to make an offer, where I might have gone away to think more if they hadn't been there. It feels embarrassing if you have a second viewing and the sellers are there again, and you decide you just don't like the house enough. One we viewed recently, not only the sellers were there getting in the way, but their adult daughter (who was just visiting), and a huge dog!

I wouldn't worry about offending the vendors. They are selling for a reason and it could be that they don't like the house any more.

When we were selling our house I really hated that we had to do all but one of the viewings. What were we paying the EA for?

Ok, update! The owner won't allow us to look without her being there, but says she will sit in the garden! The EA will show us around. So it's a compromise but it's ok. I don't really get why not, maybe someone has put daft ideas in her head about people stealing or something.
Hopefully it'll seem as nice the second time round!

YABU. I have never had an estate agent doing the viewings-I do them and I do the second viewing. I would let them just wander around by themselves the second time-if they wanted to, but I can't see the point of the estate agent when I am the one who knows the house and can answer the questions.

mylittlemonkey 4 years?!?!?!

If they did insist on an estate agent (which appears to be a complete waste of the agent's time) I am not going out especially.

We are selling our house and DH was present for a viewing during an open house at the weekend but that is because the estate agent said he would prefer it as he couldnnot be in all rooms at once and you never really know if they are people who want to buy a house or slip the family jewels in their pocket!

On normal occasions though the EA shows people around - I get a bit emotional of peolpe are at all critical of our home and so best to stay out of the way - we all normally take the dog out for an hour when people are viewing.

I think it competely normal for EA to show people around - afterall they are paid a huge amjount for what equates to not a lot of work if they don;t ave to handle the viewings.

There's a difference between the vendor being in the house but politely keeping out of your way and just being available for hello, goodbye and questions - and the vendor actually showing you around. I've had the latter and found it extremely uncomfortable, especially one who did a real hard sell on every room, asking what I thought of his (hideous) home improvements, could I see myself there, didn't I think it was cheap at the price etc.