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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:
Plateofcrumbs · 08/04/2014 06:28

We didn't have our old flat on market when we viewed our current home, we weren't even seriously thinking about moving, we were just browsing rightmove for fun. But we saw our house, loved it, got our arses into gear and had an offer on our flat within a couple of weeks. The whole process would only have been slightly quicker if we'd already been SSTC before we viewed anything.

Maybe she's a timewaster, maybe she has fallen for your house and will be making you a great offer. Depends if you can afford to be picky.

PastaandCheese · 08/04/2014 06:45

I can understand why you feel the way you do. I sold last year. I had a one year old and was pregnant so it was a lot of effort especially as I wanted the 1yo out of the house for viewings where possible.

That said I took the attitude 'you have to kiss a lot of frogs' when selling a house. People don't always tell the agent everything about their finances so best to accept all viewings just in case.

The couple who bought ours decided to rent their property out in order to secure ours. Thank goodness I let them view.

brettgirl2 · 08/04/2014 06:49

its up to you its your house after all. ya neither bu or not imo.

MrsCampbellBlack · 08/04/2014 06:51

YANBU

Its quite common round here for the EA to check you're proceedable before doing viewings, especially of popular properties.

thebody · 08/04/2014 06:52

It's a pita selling but you have to out your pride in your pocket. These people aren't guests. You need to sell you have to accept there may be loonies/time wasters but you won't know which ones are which.

You could just have turned away a cash buyer.

nochips · 08/04/2014 06:58

Well, we bought our current house when we were not looking for a house. Saw it was for sale. Walked in,made an offer before we had reached the kitchen. We were cash buyers then too.

We are possibly about to do it again...if the vendors drop their totally unrealistic price!

toomuchtooold · 08/04/2014 07:01

YANBU - it's your house and you can sell it any way you want. I'd probably have let her come (although evenings are a total pain if you have little ones, any later than that and our ones would be in bed asleep so no way anyone is getting upstairs) but totally understand why you want to try and screen out timewasters. When we sold our last house we got a high offer from a couple of FTBs who didn't have their mortgage sorted and we turned them down and took a lower offer from someone with their finances in order. With the English system it takes a bloody age for the sale to be binding so you want to get someone who's not going to cause any problems.

littlewhitebag · 08/04/2014 07:07

We bought the house we are currently in without putting our other house on the market. In fact three years in we still haven't sold the other house. We rented it out for a while and have only recently decided to sell it.

If I was you I wouldn't turn away anyone who might be a potential buyer. You don't know what their circumstances might be.

Delphiniumsblue · 08/04/2014 07:09

It seems silly to me. They may well want to buy it. We looked at a house before we had ours on the market and then we put it on and sold it to the first people to see it the next day.

Jaynebxl · 08/04/2014 07:12

Yabu. We hadn't put our house on the market and werhad.annoffer at browing rightmove until we aaw the right house. Suddenly we did, went to view and offered. The offer was accepted on condition that we sold quickly. That was the Friday, the agent came monday morning to take photos, it went online wed and in 3 days I showed 17 lots of people round. It went to a bidding war and we accepted an offer on the Saturday.

However if I was doing it again I would only make an offer if the vendor had got somewhere with a house to buy. We ended up wairing 6 months to move because our vendors took so long to get a house.

Jaynebxl · 08/04/2014 07:13

At the end of the day selling a house is a pain but you just have to grit your teeth and do what it takes.

mummytime · 08/04/2014 07:14

YABU - sorry and if you have annoyed the agents, you might find it slows down the sale of your house. Agents are human and will work harder with those houses which are easier to sell, gain them more commission or where they like the sellers. Those sellers who get labelled as awkward will be just slightly less likely to have their property added to the pile (maybe because the agents don't really want to phone them again), or if they do a small disparaging remark may slip out.

For example there was the guy who was trying to sell his large, modern family house (5 bedrooms). He insisted that no-one viewing brought children, among a number of other demands. I think everyone in our town knew about him. It took a long time for his house to sell, as you would have to be really determined to want to view and then go through the legal process with someone so demanding.
Another was the house on with several agents, which was once subtly described to me in passing as "not the best conversion". It didn't help that the one time I tried to view the owner didn't turn up (having been very insistent that I arrive on time) and no agent had the keys.

Agents are human, and if when someone wants to view you just say no, that may make them reluctant to go out of their way for you.

Oh BTW one house we bought was pretty much sold to us in the agents office before we'd even seen it.

whomadeyougod · 08/04/2014 07:51

we were moving 200 miles away, but only for the right house ,we went to view places at weekends , until the right house was found we didnt put our house on the market ,it only takes a few days to put your house up for sale .

JennyCalendar · 08/04/2014 08:00

YABU

We are starting to think about moving seriously as we are getting rather cramped in our house. However, we are in an excellent location in our town and we will sit tight until the right house comes up.

We wouldn't put our house on the market until we had a house we wanted to buy as it would go too quickly and we'd feel pressured to find something ASAP. A house on our terrace went on the market last week. First day was an open day - they received 4 offers above asking price and accepted one. We then had the others put notes through our door saying that they wanted to buy ours. This isn't unusual for our street.

As the next home we buy is going to be our long-term family home, we want to take our time.

Having said that, we wouldn't take the piss and view places just to be nosy.

flipchart · 08/04/2014 08:02

After reading these replies I don't know whether I should view the house I mentioned in my earlier pst last night nw.
It's been up for sale since November.

Like I said, if it ticks the boxes I would have mine up straight after viewing!

Noodledoodledoo · 08/04/2014 08:07

My house sold within 10 days of being on the market and I had 4 offers in that time so things can move swiftly. Also all of my viewings were done in the evening or weekends. None were done by the agent due to the times viewers could come.

Vendors can also be big time wasters - we offered and had it accepted at pretty much the asking price on a house and then the female party of the vendors dragged her feet, couldn't find anywhere she wanted for what she could afford in areasshe wanted, cancelled our mortgage survey 3 times, etc etc - turns out we were being used as a bargainning chip in her divorce settlement. Wasted at least 6 weeks of our time waiting for her to be honest.

From that point onwards we were very 'nosey' about the position of our vendors - the house we bought they had had an offer accepted on somewhere so we knew the same wouldn't happen again.

So hope you have your plans in place as well - cuts both ways.

unlucky83 · 08/04/2014 08:15

YABU - we were looking to buy a house, we already own one house (no mortgage), no plans to sell and this would be a cash sale.
There is no substitute for an actual viewing.
There was a house for sale nearby, had been on the market for a while, seemed to tick nearly all the boxes, viewed the pictures etc online, downloaded the schedule, floor plans, drove past it frequently.
Reason for hesitation was they wanted a bit more (£10-15K) than we wanted to spend. In the end when nothing else suitable had come up, we decided that we could find the extra money if we really had to (and they might take a little less.) If absolutely necessary we could afford to sell current house 'cheap' so quickly etc. Honestly we had more or less decided to buy it.
It was a complete and utter disappointment. Things you just couldn't tell from the photos/room plans. The loft conversion roof was so low they couldn't have a central light or a wardrobe in the room. The 'open plan' arrangement meant the living room was like a corridor and no other way to arrange furniture etc. There was no storage space etc etc. I wouldn't buy it full stop, even at less than what we wanted to spend...it just wouldn't work for us at all.
Now I would look at photos and floor plans before looking but then arrange a viewing quickly - and if I needed to I wouldn't put my house on the market before doing that.

(and someone I know, not locally, has a lovely big house for sale. They want a lot of money for it. The photos online are dreadful - they hadn't tidied up, unmade beds, etc. Just looking at the photos you wouldn't touch it - you would think that it hadn't been well maintained/cared for - but in real life it is lovely. It is for sale due a split and neither of them really want to sell...they both still live there (separate lives), have workshops etc there, neither really wants to give up the house...even though they can't afford their own places unless they do - and they'd be happier if they did.)

mummytime · 08/04/2014 08:23

Unlucky83 that couple might have a lovely house - but I wouldn't touch it, because their split and reluctance make it very likely that the buying process would be a pita. House buying is stressful enough.

I bought our present house from a splitting couple but they bent over backwards to make it work for us the buyers (eg. both moved into rented to make it proceed on time).

VivaLeBeaver · 08/04/2014 08:27

Well the house I now live in.....I saw it for sale in the paper. Our house wasn't up for sale, we hadn't even thought about moving. I loved it, viewed it the next day, had our house on the market that week and sold it within a week.

We moved in 9 weeks after we viewed it.

gordyslovesheep · 08/04/2014 08:27

Yanbu I refused to allow viewings to anyone who wasn't in a position to move ...got less viewings but still sold at just below asking price

unlucky83 · 08/04/2014 08:31

mummy I didn't think of that - I agree they will be impossible to buy from - and you definitely won't get a bargain - although they might in time realise that the current situation isn't good for them - but then I'm not sure they realise how dreadful the photos are, think it wasn't a conscious thing Hmm.

skybluepinkwithpolkadots · 08/04/2014 09:40

Yabu
My parents saw a house while browsing rightmove. Viewed it, loved it, then put their house up for sale and it was bought by the second viewers! Only on the market for a fortnight.

Some people do take the piss and just like to nosy round houses, but what if they have seen it and love it? There house could sell quickly? Or maybe they have funds to buy? Or plan on renting theirs out? Round here houses rent out pdq and i know people who have rented theirs to buy sonewhere they love. Then sold their own 12 months down the line.

elastamum · 08/04/2014 10:06

I would insist the agent organises the viewings. That way it is their time, which you are paying for that gets wasted, not yours.
We live in a listed local landmark. I put it up for sale a couple of years ago and we were inundated with time wasters who just wanted a look round. In the end I gave up trying to sell as people who wanted it either couldn't sell or couldn't raise big enough mortgages. IMO Agents are happy to waste your time but much less keen to waste their own

Roseandmabelshouse · 08/04/2014 10:10

I can kind of see your point. BUT, do you want to sell your house or not? A viewing is a viewing. You don't have to accept an offer but at least it's a chance. You never know she might have a suitcase full cash under the bed.

member · 08/04/2014 10:18

I can understand your reticence, however, we put our previous house on the market the morning after we'd viewed the one we are currently in.

We'd been getting it ready to put on the market but had been scanning Rightmove etc for months without seeing anything suitable so were a bit worried about putting it on & potentially not finding anywhere.

We really wanted this house & so bent over backwards to accommodate our buyer & get the sale through; i.e we were more motivated to accept reductions ridiculous requests for us to pay for electrical reports , etc

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