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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to decline a viewing because they haven't got their property on the marketJ

108 replies

stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 22:50

Just wondering if I am being bit unreasonable?

Our house has been on the market for just over a month. Plenty of viewings, sadly no offers yet. Had a call from the agent today to say there is a lady who apparently knows the manager at the agent's really well, she has viewed our place on Rightmove and likes the look of it, would like to book a viewing, can't do daytime and wants us to show her round in the evening at 6.30 pm!!.....ok don't have a massive problem with that, however her house isn't on the market yet, she's thinking about it!! I told the agent that she could see what she needed to on Rightmove, could do a drive past but I wasn't prepared to do a viewing as she is clearly not in a position to proceed. I added that I would be more than happy to show her round once she has her place on the market.

My view is that our house is "for sale" not "open for browsing". Perhaps it's just me but I think she was being quite cheeky, especially trying to dictate the time of the viewing....I have two kids so keeping the place immaculate is stressful but obviously well worth it to secure a sale......but to do all that for someone who isn't ready to proceed?? My gut feeling was fuck right off.....

OP posts:
Original poster
stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 23:19

Maybe I am being a little uptight having read some of your comments...perhaps I should just go with the flow.

I don't ask people to take their shoes off Yellowwiggle :) but if they offer to I do say well yes if you wouldn't mind that would be much appreciated.

Stressful old business this house selling lark

OP posts:
GreenLandsOfHome · 07/04/2014 23:19

If she just wanted to piss about and view a house she couldn't afford/had no intention of buying, she could have just told the agent she was a cash buyer.

It's what dh and I did years ago when we fancied a nose around the new gated mansion development that had sprung up across town Grin

Viviennemary · 07/04/2014 23:21

Some people do wait till the see a house they like before putting their own house on the market. But beware if she is a good friend of estate agents.

Pipbin · 07/04/2014 23:23

We were advised to view places before putting our house on the market to get an idea of what we wanted.
More to the point the house we now live in we viewed and offered on when it had been on the market for less than a week. If the owners hadn't already viewed houses then it would have slowed the whole process down.

Sharaluck · 07/04/2014 23:23

I would agree to the viewing but I would carry on with my evening routine and not bother keeping the place "immaculate" for her.

DamsonJam · 07/04/2014 23:23

Have you considered that she may have a house that she knows will be easy to sell and is just waiting to find the right place before she puts in on the market? That was our position. Our old house wasn't on the market when we viewed our current house. We saw it on the Wednesday, put our house on the market by the Friday and it was sale agreed by the Saturday. Our old house was probably worth just above the stamp duty threshold but would never have got more because of stamp duty so we knew selling it would be simple and we would wait until we found the place we wanted before going through the hassle of putting it on the market. You could have just cost yourself a sale.

Original poster
stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 23:24

Cleofatra, when the agent rings me to book a viewing they always let me know the position of the person who wants to view, I never have to ask.

OP posts:
cleofatra · 07/04/2014 23:24

It's actually better that you know she is a friend of the agent. Rather than when the bastards send their friends round to look at your house when they get the inkling that you are not happy with their current "marketing". Looks great for them with a flurry of viewers.Hmm

MerylStrop · 07/04/2014 23:25

It depends how much you want to sell the house.

Why put it up for sale if you don't want people to look?

Nicknacky · 07/04/2014 23:26

Every house I have viewed, I have bought. And each time my house wasn't on the market first.

Original poster
stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 23:28

Well I guess if she is that friendly with the manager, and i've made a bad call, then he will be in touch to persuade me to reconsider.

Really interesting reading about how quickly properties move in some areas.....nothing seems to move quickly down here ever.....generally....very laid back pace.

OP posts:
Nessalina · 07/04/2014 23:34

I think YANBU. When we put our house on the market we had one couple that viewed 3 times, twice on their own and once with their parents, and every time wanted an early Saturday appointment Confused They loved the house, but it turned out they had credit issues, and couldn't get a mortgage, which they well knew! We felt like such mugs having been arsed to spruce the house up and go to effort on a weekend when they weren't in a position to buy!

Original poster
stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 23:35

Merylstrop.....we do want to move, and we are serious about selling honestly, i guess I just have to face up to the fact that there will be some people who will waste our time, raise our hopes....the downside to being a vendor i suppose.

sharaluck, yes good idea.

OP posts:
Original poster
stripeytiger · 07/04/2014 23:47

Nessalina, that must have been really frustrating for you. That's the trouble when someone books a second viewing and in your case a third viewing, you are mentally packing boxes and moving into your new home.

We also had a lady who viewed, asked the agent to let her know if there were any offers, then faffed about making second viewing appts, then re-scheduling them, eventually viewed for the second time a month later, and since then we've heard nothing...not even, well on second viewing i have decided it wasn't for me or yes i would like to make an offer......so frustrating.

OP posts:
Mintyy · 07/04/2014 23:53

Yanbu. If she is really interested she can come and view when her place is on the market. There are far too many timewasters out there, wanting to "get a feel for what's out there" and so on.

Original poster
stripeytiger · 08/04/2014 00:02

Mintyy, i agree especially when most people have access to Rightmove, Zoopla etc. I suppose it comes down to how people operate and what they feel is completely ok to do versus what I wouldn't do myself.

DH and I usually have about a dozen properties saved on Rightmove, we review them and if quite keen we ask for the brochure from the agent. We do drive by viewings and then either keep them saved or remove them based on the drive by. Some would say that's short sighted without doing a viewing, but for me if the location is wrong or a fault has been cleverly disguised by the pictures from the agent, then i wouldn't buy the property.

OP posts:
coralanne · 08/04/2014 00:10

My DS in OZ put his home on the market. Things work differently over there.

They have "open houses" usually at a pre-arranged time by the Agent. On the day, a total of 4 agents from the agency turned up. One greeted the viewers at the door, the next took their details and the other two were at the end of the house and in the garden.

The viewing lasts for 15 minutes and yielded a total of 35-40 viewers.

Several offers came from this viewing and at a further viewing a week later the property was sold at well above the asking price.

I later found out that DS's partner had put a giant "Please take off your shoes" sign on the front door.

The Vendors are not home when the "Open House" viewings are scheduled.

Preciousbane · 08/04/2014 00:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

henrysmate · 08/04/2014 00:32

You're selling something. No-one has to look at your offering at all, be glad that they are by all means, I'm happy your place is getting interest. But no matter what the agent says, you've no way of knowing what position they're really in. Don't limit a potential sale by being a teeny bit rigid. It still gets you what you want in the end remember?

Acky123 · 08/04/2014 01:04

Depends totally on how keen/desperate you are to sell. But I don't blame you at all OP.

I went to an open house last weekend with my mum (her house is SSTC) and the other 12-16 viewers were given a clipboard to write down their contact details and circumstances (in terms of house on market/renting/SSTC etc)

My mum was the only person who had sold their current property. All of the others were either not on the market or didn't state their circs.

Estate agent told my mum in no uncertain terms that those who were not on the market or didn't state their circs were just being nosey Grin

My mum sold her house STC within 24 hours of it going on the market. Unfortunately it fell through (buyers decided not to move) then SSTC again within three days.

She also didn't want people who weren't on the market to view - too many nosey parkers, serious buyers only. YANBU OP Grin

daisychain01 · 08/04/2014 03:32

I agree with mintyy.

There are lots of noseyparkers timewasters about, with no intention of moving house.

Having your own property on the market is a real filter. Its the best sign of positive intent you can get, that you are serious about moving house. When the estate agent said to me that someone really loves your house and want to come round, then said "if they like it they will definitely put their's on the market", I said what a load of bollox if they plan on moving house, they aren't just going to do it based on my property, they will want to get things lined up with an agent anyway. If they are serious tell them to call back when they've instructed you. Of course they never do. If people like a property enough, they move heaven and earth not to lose it.

I really was totally fed up with timewaster who had no intention of buying my house. I could tell them a mile off, they walk round saying what a gorgeous house you have, isnt the garden lovely, arent the rooms nice, then the agent spends a week chasing them for feedback and they give up.

The interested person is the one who goes round, is very quiet, gives nothing away, then 10 minutes after they've left, the agent rings up and says they've just called and want to put in an offer. Happens like clockwork, I've sold 5 houses like that! Not all at the same time Grin

daisychain01 · 08/04/2014 03:33

And I agree with acky's mum, sensible person!

daisychain01 · 08/04/2014 03:41

We did a drive-by of our house, its a really good idea to see the position of the property and whether the adjacent properties look OK.

We didn't even need to go inside, we knew we loved the house before stepping inside. Of course that doesn't always follow, but it did that time. And here we are, 18 months later bitten fingernails and jangled nerves aside

The main thing was we didn't waste the vendors time, or our own. Our property was not SSTC so at that point we could not take things further until our circumstances were more certain.

MooseyMouse · 08/04/2014 03:46

I think you're right. We had people looking at ours for entertainment and it made me furious.

SweetCarolinePomPomPom · 08/04/2014 03:58

YANBU. This may have been acceptable years ago but not now. I have, to be fair, viewed houses when mine was not on the market, and even put mine on and sold it in order to buy one that I viewed like this. But it's not ideal and you do get a lot of window shoppers and time wasters traipsing through.

Years ago it seemed that once you'd accepted an offer it was morally binding, you took your house of the market and just waited for them to get their act together, no matter how many months it took. Hmm

That's just daft. I'd say even if someone's house is on the market, unless they have a firm buyer and mortgage offer etc., then accept their offer in principle but keep taking viewings until they are in a position to actually proceed.

I'd say if you are desperate to sell and there has been little interest then it cannot hurt, but otherwise you are right to say no.