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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's unfair to view a house when you've got no intention of buying it?

120 replies

NotActuallyAMum · 17/05/2013 13:51

I'm prepared to be told IABU as I seem to be in the minority here

A colleague has just said she's going to look at a house near us tomorrow, we were all quite surprised as they've never got any money as it is and this house is much bigger than the one they currently live in. Another colleague said they were surprised they were considering moving and she said "Oh we're not, we just want a nosy". I said that was a bit unfair on the people who are selling it as it's getting their hopes up that they might sell but everyone else seems to be of the opinion that "there's no harm in looking"

I am aware that it's cock all to do with me what she does Grin just wondered what other people think

May be a while before I'm back, am still at work...

OP posts:
ShadowStorm · 17/05/2013 22:48

YANBU.

It's inconsiderate and time-wasting to go and view a house if you're not planning / considering a house move, or if it's clear from the property description that the property won't suit (i.e. going to view a ground floor flat when you don't want to live in a ground floor flat).

Although, if someone is actually looking to move, then I think it's perfectly reasonable to look around lots of houses in the areas and price ranges they're looking at, even if they're not sure whether they're keen on that particular house before going to see it.

HorryIsUpduffed · 17/05/2013 22:50

Actually, thinking about it, we viewed this house more out of curiosity than expectation, because something about the particulars intrigued us. So glad we did.

BenjaminButton172 · 17/05/2013 22:53

I have always wanted to do this as i love houses but i never would do it as i think its a shame on the owner.

I just stick to having a look onlineGrin

Startail · 17/05/2013 23:03

YANBU, but not unknown in one village round round here. Very mixed ages and types of houses, very hard to judge what thet are like inside. Nosing is not unknown.

Jan49 · 17/05/2013 23:04

I sold my house last year and I found it increasingly stressful dealing with people viewing so I'd hate to think that someone was viewing with no serious intention of buying. Most of the viewings took place on Saturdays with the estate agent booking as many as they could, and we just stayed out all day whilst they did pre-booked viewings. But inevitably some took place on weekday evenings and I'd be hiding washing away, making beds that would usually be left airing, washing up every knife and fork to make sure there was no washing up at all on show. It took me half an hour to prepare the house for a viewing in addition to the usual cleaning. When we had viewings for 6 days in a row, I'd got really stressed.

MusicalEndorphins · 17/05/2013 23:13

I think when it is an Open House, it is fine to go in and look. But to make an appointment with no intention, no, that is inconsiderate.

espressotogo · 18/05/2013 09:05

YANBU, the last 2 times we have sold our house I have insisted that the agents only send round people who are in a proceed able position. I got so fed up of getting the house to a viewable standard ie. immaculate rather than just tidy ( not easy with 2 dcs) only for people who hadn't even put their house on the market yet to turn up ! FWIW I have never been to view a house unless I've been in a position to buy. What's the point ?

RustyBear · 18/05/2013 09:30

I really, really want to go and see this one, even though we wouldn't be buying - but in my defence, it's the house DH's parents lived in for 50 years and it's been totally remodelled inside. When it was sold six years ago it was cold and dark and inconvenient with stone floors, horrible carpets and chintz -I think PIL based their decorating ideas on their favourite pub-now it's full of light with wooden floors and a completely different arrangement of the rooms.

I'm think the owner may not live there at the moment, but I'm not sure whether that would make it OK to go and have a look; probably not....

BreakOutTheKaraoke · 18/05/2013 09:54

That's a gorgeous house Rusty.

MidniteScribbler · 18/05/2013 09:57

I think that as a seller you need to accept that there will be some inconvenience to your life. I'm preparing to sell again, and I'm busy taking boxes of things to a storage shed, moving furniture around where I would not necessarily have it, and doing home renos. The house will be immaculately clean for the next however long it takes to sell. When there's a viewing, the dogs will get put in the car and taken for a drive. That's what it takes to sell a property. Get over it. I detest sellers who whinge about having to pack up the 10000 kids teddies or have to actually wash up their dishes in the morning. You want to sell, then put some effort in. If you won't, then I'm not interested in buying, because you're probably going to be a pain in the arse to deal with and not understand the process.

I've sold several houses to people who weren't specifically in the market. But a good house, well presented, at a strong price, will always generate interest. I've never been on the market more than four weeks, even in a slow market. It requires work and effort, but it will pay off it you treat it like a business transaction and stop going on about "people invading my private space".

NoWayPedro · 18/05/2013 09:59

YANBU bloody annoying (as someone who has just sold their house after ~30 viewings and a 9 mo old).

I don't so much have a problem with people who can't 'quite afford it' as they might be looking for a cheeky offer or something but we had several people who openly admitted it was out of budget. You can see what you get for your money from the internet and property pages ie. size, number of bedrooms, approx. decor.

NoWayPedro · 18/05/2013 10:01

Sorry, just to add I did most of the viewings and if I said a time wasn't convenient but offered lots of alternatives, you'd be surprised how many that weeds out. If someone if really interested they will arrange a mutually convenient time.

imaginethat · 18/05/2013 10:03

It is quite normal where I live.

Lonecatwithkitten · 18/05/2013 10:08

I have a totally different attitude to this.
Firstly it stops being my home the moment I put it on the market it is purely a product to be sold to the highest bidder. So it is business deal and in business you get browsers sometimes you up sell them to buy something they weren't originally thinking of buying.
I compare it to any other business deal and the effort I put in is proportional to the likely profit. The house is preped prior to sale with everything put away at that point and when DD was a toddler she had to manage 4 weeks with significantly less toys during the viewing process.

RustyBear · 18/05/2013 10:13

It wasn't lovely when PIL lived there, BreakOut! The setting and the view and the garden were always gorgeous, but the inside didn't live up to it -the guy MIL sold to has done an amazing job on it!

When we last sold, the DC were toddlers and we used to frantically tidy up every time we had a viewing. Then one day I suddenly remembered halfway through lunch that I was supposed to be setting up the activities at toddler group, so I dashed off leaving the dishes in the sink, and the sofa cushions on the floor where DS had just pulled them off. We'd just come back from holiday, so the cases were sitting on the upstairs landing waiting to go back in the loft and there was a pile of washing by the machine. I'd forgotten that we'd given the agents a key so they could show people around while we were away, and I hadn't told them we were back, so when he rang and didn't get a reply, he assumed we were still away and brought the viewers anyway. They made an offer straight away...

pleasestoptalking · 18/05/2013 19:23

nowaypedro - you can get an idea from looking online but it really is very different to seeing a house in real life. Photos are very deceptive and you can't get an idea of scale, fittings etc unless you see actually see something in the flesh.

I went to see a house recently where in the pictures the garden looked a decent size only to find that the garden was tiny in real life. The photo had been taken from a very flattering angle and possibly with a fish eye lense - very deceptive.

ChocsAwayInMyGob · 19/05/2013 19:23

Lonecat- that's a great idea, but our house took 18 months to sell so it's hard to live that minimally when you don't know how long it's going to be for.

Other than that, I admire your no nonsense attitude!

WafflyVersatile · 19/05/2013 19:44

Perhaps not in this case but I'm sure a few houses have been sold to people who had no intention of buying.

babybarrister · 19/05/2013 19:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

McNewPants2013 · 19/05/2013 21:24

I am guilty of looking online at other people houses for sale, but I find it appalling to waste the owners and estate agents time to book a viewing.

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