To wonder whether the people who have just tricked their way into our house were dangerous or have done little more than ruin our chance of selling?

[lecce]

Our house has just gone on the market and the first viewing booked for 7pm today. I work full-time and dh is sahd (dc 2.10 and 5) so you can imagine the immense effort it takes to get the house in order for a viewing. Dh also has MS, though he is well at the moment but we really try to avoid him pushing himself too much just in case.

So I rushed home from work as early as possible to help clean up. I was home at 4.45 (teacher) and spent a manic hour rushing about tidying up the evidence of the day, trying to put washing away etc. The plan was for dh to take the dc and dog out and go for a meal with them. He was about to leave at 5.45 when I heard him telling someone they were an hour early. I couldn't believe it and then I heard a woman say there must have been a mix-up and that they couldn't come back later as they were seeing a few other houses in the area.

Dh explained we weren't really ready but somehow they ended up coming in - said don't worry about the mess/children/dog etc. They were here about 5 minutes in all and, tbh, something didn't feel right. They didn't ask anything and when I asked where they live now the woman said, "oh just round the corner." She seemed evasive but only after did we think if she lived so near, why couldn't they come back at 7 as arranged.

As soon as they left, we took the dc out to tea as they had been promised and we discussed our impression that these people had been complete time-wasters who just fancied a look at our house. We planned to phone the estate agent tomorrow and ask them where they 'got these people from' and to find out whether it was they who were to blame for the time being wrong.

Anyway, we took our time over tea and then went home - got there just before 7. Needless to say, we didn't complete the tidying up and the hoover was out and the wooden floors (which seem to need sweeping 48 times a day) remained unswept.

At 7 O'clock prompt there was a knock on the door. It was the people sent by the agents to view the house . The dc were hyped up, the house was not pristine. I welcomed them by staring at them open-mouted for a bit...

Anyway, we told them what had happened and they were very understanding. They spent over half an hour here looking around (not a big house) and seemed to really like it. They looked right for it too, iykwim. I am absolutely livid that they have not seen it at its best due to that other pair of nutters. Towards the end, the dc were shouting - it was not what you want from a viewing. At all.

I don't know whether to be livid or scared as well. Who the fuck were those people who basically forced their way into our house. Dh went in the cellar alone with the man which makes me feel a little creeped. The woman was very strident, the man seemed a little shamed, tbh.

Anyone else have anything like this happen?

I did that! I rang the Estate Agent to book a viewing 'at the house in XXXX Street', I knew which one I meant, but the EA booked me in at another one I had not even noticed was for sale. I turned up at the house I wanted and it was a total mess as they weren't expecting us, but I figured that was what it would look like once we were in it anyway!

When I buy my 1st house all I would need is 5 minutes just to view room sizes.

I plan to gut the house, new everything.

Why? If you buy an old house you could ruin the character. It's also very wasteful. If you've had a few houses you know that things like heating system, boiler, windows, loftspace, are worth checking.
I agree the furniture and how tidy the house is are irrelevent but draughty windows, hardly any electric sockets and insufficient radiators with a defunct boiler could unexpectedly cost alot.
I generally get the house looking my way bit by bit.

I would hazard a guess that this is the estate agents fuck up. We had it all the the, people turning up at random times and then we'd call the agent to check them out (and look like lunatics to the prospective viewers) and they would have 'forgotten' o let us know.

We even had the agents call and be angry because we weren't in when people came round....for viewings that hadn't been booked with us!! One couple came at 10pm!!!

A woman tried to do this to us. We were renting the house but it was being sold by our landlord and we had agreed to let people look round with teh agent. The woman turned up on our doorstep unaccompanied saying she had rung the agent and she has travelled a very long way and just wanted a quick look round.

We said no as teh agent was not with her and she went away. I looked out of the window and watched her walk down the street to the house on the corner and was gobsmacked as she opened the door with her key (it was obviously her house where she lived) and went in.

She just lied to us to try and gain entry.

I never show prospective purchasers round. Can't bear it. I leave the house when agent arrives s/he sees them in, shows round, leaves, I return.

ZOMBIE THREAD

I put everything of value - tech like laptops, iPads etc - out of view and I also put them away for viewings. I mean, it’s hard to walk off with a large laptop but something like a purse from a bag or a pair of AirPods would go into a pocket all too easily and thieves are very good at distraction techniques:

“What’s that on the ceiling, Mr Estate Agent?”
”What, where?”
pockets valuables
”Oh, my mistake - it’s a shadow.”

That sounds weird and I don't blame you for being annoyed. What did your agent say about viewings? Mine was very clear that they would be accompanied and told me exactly who would be viewing and when, also what member of staff would be taking them round.

Oh, FFS, why on earth don't Mumsnet HQ do something about these threads?