To expect viewers to actually turn up to see my house when they have made the booking???

[Twinkie1]

Becaues after spending 2 hours cleaning, putting everything away and looking after 2 kids on Saturday morning whilst DH swans around the golf course and then we get a call 15 minutes fatre they are supposed to turn up saying they are not coming because we live too far from the nearest train station (10 minutes walk) has got me slightly riled.

Why do people do it - I would never dream of making an appointment and just not bothering turning up or giving plenty of nitice - people are just so feckin rude!!

So we are another week down the line without a buyer!!

Message withdrawn

Ring the estate agents and have a moan at them about the time wasters. Tell them you expect them to ensure the viewers have all the details of the property to hand before arranging a viewing or you will take your business elsewhere. Tell them to tell viewers that it is inconvenient for you to have people drop out at short notice so could they be sure they are interested in the property and drive past outside before making an appointment to view.

I was selling a two bed house and the estate agent sent round a woman who had five kids who said "hmmm, it's a bit small". I went mental at them. I had two very small kids, a job, a life and I wasn't going to sit in an immaculate house for them to send random people round that weren't even interested in the property.

ooh, you hit a nerve with me there didn't you!

poor you , I so agree. Unfortunately it happens ... We had at least 2 no shows, never got in contact to explain and they didn't return any calls from the agent either. Also had a few last minute cancellations, one when I had rearranged things to tidy the evening before and get back in time to show them around, only to find a message cancelling. One couple who only lived a short walk away didn't show up at the allotted time, so I showed the next viewer around who was actually running early and then chased. When the agent got back to me they apparently hadn't been sure where to come, , he was a local taxi driver , and had left late. They finally turned up 45 minutes late, no apology , with a toddler who ran riot and trashed the kids toys.

Fuckers - I tell you it must be rife then - but don't these people even have the manners of a dog when it comes to being polite and punctual - they are probably the same people who don't turn up for dioctors appointments!!

Said to DH that next time I am not tidying at all and they can see the house how we would live i it not in a show home state that has taken me 2 hours to achieve - I even ran around the shower door on my hands and knees with a bleachy toothbrush and I wiped all of the outside window sills!!

I know , we always went out of our way to be on time even ones we had reservations about and had to be "persuaded" to go and see (bums on seats principle, I suspect) so it is a bit of a shock when others don't do the same. Think it is partly due to the viewers enquiring direct from the internet without having sussed out the area properly first - we got comments about railway, road noise etc which were pretty self evident to anyone who might have driven past.

Twinkie, this happened a lot when we were selling our old flat, and it's happening with MIL's house at the moment too.

I suspect that sometimes people are persuaded by a pushy estate agent to book a viewing for a house they aren't really interested in, just for a quiet life and to get to see the house they really want to look at. I know this happened when we were selling; someone turned up unannounced one afternoon and said that she was meant to be coming at the weekend, she didn't really want to come but the estate agent had insisted she did, and could she see the flat there and then just to get it out of the way.

It makes the vendor think that the estate agent is working hard for them, when in fact they are wasting everyone's time.

Most of the time it is people who don’t come and look around outside first. So they turn up in the street. Don’t like what they see and don’t go in. It’s annoying.

Next time you go to pjay golf and let your husband clean up. Wouldnt bother ne personally cos I'm a lazy arse who needs a reason to tidy up so I'd enjoy having the neat house for a bit!!

The only thing you can do is tell the estate agents that any repeat means you will transfer to another agent. Though it must not be a hollow threat and you must be prepared to go through with it.

One thing that Tony Blair's government failed to do which I remember is to properly regulate estate agents and the house selling/buying process. It would not have got rid of all time wasters but could have reduced their number.

ZOMBIE!! This thread is from 2007, how on earth was that dragged up