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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be sick of time wasting house viewers?

97 replies

PinkBalloonsAndCherryCoke · 10/07/2018 17:17

We've had our house on the market for just over a month, and during that time have had several viewings, of which most have been time wasters.

Our EA has said that in the current market it's best to let anyone view who wants to, as people have been known to view a house and like it so much that they then decide to sell theirs.

So far the time wasters we have had have been:

A couple viewing who took ages and really faffed around, asking lots of questions then at the end were chatting and said that they had already had an offer accepted on another house in our area and were going ahead with that sale and were due to exchange soon, but just wanted to see our house to see if the layout is similar to the one they are buying.

A couple who again took ages and faffed, and said at the end of the viewing that they are looking to move 'in a year or two' and just wanted to see what they could get for their budget!!

A couple who looked round and seemed to like it. The agents phoned them for post viewing feedback a couple of days later and the couple said that they were looking for a house with more bedrooms than ours has and that they didn't want a house without an ensuite. Our full house details are on right move and on paper details from the EA office, so why the heck would they look round a house knowing full well that it didn't have as many bedrooms as they want, or an ensuite?

It's really pissing me off! DH and I both work, and we have DC and pets. Each viewing obviously requires a certain amount of cleaning and tidying and preparing, and to find out after that it was just a waste of time and effort is so annoying.

AIBU to be pissed off?

OP posts:

wheezing · 10/07/2018 18:50

In some cases I think it’s the EA fault. We did one viewing because the EA added it to the end of a day’s worth of viewings which went completely against our brief and was a no from the moment we pulled up. We were time wasting and I felt so bad especially as it turned out we were the only viewing that day so the owner had cleaned just for us, and we had no interest at all. To be fair, it wasted our time too and and was because of the EA.

missymayhemsmum · 10/07/2018 18:53

Sometimes looking at houses is part of deciding what you want/ don't want. I looked at several victorian houses before deciding I didn't want another victorian house, I wanted more light, and doors to the garden. My mum looked at lots before being persuaded that not too many stairs and a downstairs loo was more important than a garage. And sometimes you visit a house that only ticks half your boxes and decide you love it. I wanted a 3 bed house. In the end I bought a 2 bed house and a sofabed.
But yes, it is a pain and stressful and you do have to be impossibly tidy while selling which is a pita

Blobby10 · 10/07/2018 19:04

The CF viewings are only half the story! Then you get a buyer who insists on completing on , say, 30th June, so you rush like mad, desperate not to lose the sale, move 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 rabbits and 2 guinea pigs into a 2 bed chalet bungalow for the weeks between selling and buying completions only to find out that CF buyers didn't move in for another FOUR weeks!!!

Had to do this in various forms for each of the four houses we've sold! Each time we got similarly screwed over by OUR sellers who prevaricated and delayed completion! When I move for the FINAL time in 2 years time, I am NOT going to be a walkover.

Steviea88 · 10/07/2018 19:13

We bought our new house 18 months ago.
We were just driving around to see what area we liked as we were 1 1/2 away from where we lived at the tine. Stopped in an estate agents and they asked what we wanted and booked viewings for the following weekend.
Found a house we LOVED.
Went home, called estate agent, put our house on rightmove 2 days later and sold at the 1st viewing and put our offer in on new home straight away.
I guess we were lucky.
My friends dad also put a deposit on a new build a few months ago as he didnt expect to like it so much and just wanted to look around at what he could get. He sold his own place straight away.

Now i know we were probably both lucky and our own homes were in sought after locations but neither of us had our own hones up for sale so I wouldn't let that put you off.

Obviously some people just take liberties. They do just want to see what they can afford for the future or what they can't. You will always get timewasters.

Bojangles33 · 10/07/2018 19:32

I'm interested in this from the other side - I've seen a house I am interested in but our house isn't on the market yet because we don't NEED to move, but I've been waiting for a property like this to come up. So is it unreasonable for me to go and view the house even though I would be then looking to sell our property to buy it? If I don't like this particular property I wouldn't be looking to sell so I find it hard to know how to do that in this situation!

Treacletoots · 10/07/2018 19:50

It's what I call the Kirsty and Phil effect. People now expect to find their perfect house, perfect location all for a large discount of at least 20% off the asking price even if it was priced to sell.

I feel your pain OP. We've tried to sell my house a few times and ended up renting because weve either had offensively low offers or because buyers expect a perfect showroom house every time like they've seen on TV.

Seriously think there should be a course on how to buy a house / not be a dick head.

As for whether to view if you're not on the market. It's a really really tricky one. And depends on. The area. Where we live now houses usually sell within hours of going on the market so to be in with a chance buyers need to be in the perfect position i.e. sold already. I guess it depends on how much you really want it, and what the local area is like

milliemolliemou · 10/07/2018 20:10

Your EA is daft. Someone might like your house and decide to sell theirs? So that'll be a six week wait at best .. and what if they, too, have a house viewer who likes their house and decides to sell theirs ....

Tell your EA to get his/her act together. You want people who are selling their houses, have their house under offer, or cash buyers. Research Open House .. and also check your contract with the EA about break clauses if they're such numpties they can't sell your home within a certain period.

Shortstuff08 · 10/07/2018 20:21

So is it unreasonable for me to go and view the house even though I would be then looking to sell our property to buy it

Depends on the vendor

krustykittens · 10/07/2018 20:23

I feel your pain, OP. We once sold a lovely period property in a very popular tourist city and we were getting a lot of tourists coming through who just wanted to have a nosy, until I told the EA that I only wanted viewers in a position to buy. One couple were awful and seemed to want to visit every weekend they were in town. Then there were the foreign investors who didn't know what Grade II listing meant and the people who thought that it should look like a boutique hotel with marble floors etc, even though it was GRADE II LISTED! Then our buyer really dicked us about and kept whining about how he wanted 'guarantees'. Guarantees on a 350 year old building?! What did he want me to do, dig up the original builder and ask him to extend the warranty?! But on our side I went out to see a house my whole family rejected on paper and fell in love. It needed a lot of work but we love it and after three moves in 10 years, I hope this is my last.

Ratarse · 10/07/2018 20:38

After 2 buyers pulling out of our house sale, I made a deal with the EA. I gave them 4 weeks to sell it and they could have a percentage rather than a flat fee, no sale after a month and I'd change EA. They organised an open day the week after and we agreed a sale there and then for the full amount (we were prepared to come down 5k). All sailed through fine. Make them work for their money.

user1485342611 · 10/07/2018 20:46

Buying a house is a massive investment and people need to do a bit of research beforehand, see what's available in their price range, what they might have to compromise on etc.

Yes it's annoying, but the people who buy your property have also done research and viewed what was available in their price bracket and you have benefitted from that. That's just how it goes.

callmeadoctor · 10/07/2018 21:06

Erhmmmm houses are not cheap!!!!!! So you have to keep the house clean? You should be prepared for everybody, they may not have thought your house was suitable at first but you have to look at a property! In the words of Kirsty and Phil you cannot choose from the internet you have to physically look! Its a lot of money fgs. So yes I think YABU.

Hortonlovesahoo · 10/07/2018 21:15

Weve been on both ends of this, this year. We had one time waster who had absolutely no interest in buying our house but wanted to have a look around and be nosey. It was also an attempt by the estate agent for the house to look “desirable” if there were more people being shown around.

When we were looking for houses we had ones we wanted to see and then “wildcards” which had one or two things we weren’t sure of but wanted to see if we could make it work or to negotiate on our requirements. Sometimes you need to “get a feel” of a place to see if it’ll work for you as sometimes on paper, it’s not all truth. One example being a 4 bed home with “spacious bedrooms” turned out to be a 2 bed where they had shoved up 2 partition walls to make It a 4bed but where you could stretch out to touch both walls with your hands!

Sweetpea55 · 10/07/2018 22:04

We sold ours In 6 weeks. When we were looking at houses to buy we viewed o e with the estate agent present. It was really weird. It WS as though someone had just gone out to shops. Everything just left as it was
Stockings hanging to dry in the bathroom, table set for a meal.
Another one was owned by a ex policeman He had a big dog and he put it in the conservatory while we looked around. I commented on the size of the dog and the guy proudly said that all the other houses in the street had been burgled except him as the barking dog had put them off. That was a nice bit of feedback for the EA

PianoThirty · 10/07/2018 22:09

When we were buying, the EAs would call us up and tell about “a lovely place that has just come on the market, it ticks all your boxes”; and even though it didn’t, we’d still traipse across the county to see another boring box in the wrong location and with the wrong attributes. So definitely ask your EA to filter prospective buyers more thoroughly.

Shizzlestix · 10/07/2018 22:17

From a selling POV, I was pissed off at those viewers who came and then said they wanted a garage. There isn’t one! But from a buying POV, I viewed several houses that looked good in the pics but in reality were in a poor state and I was annoyed at my time being wasted. It definitely works both ways.

Littlepond · 10/07/2018 22:17

I had no intention of moving, ever. And then I noticed a for sale sign outside a house I went past every day and it intrigued me. I looked up the details, and went to view it. And loved it. Did some research to see if I could afford to move.
I didn’t want to move house, I wanted to buy THAT HOUSE. I wouldn’t have wanted to mess people about by putting mine on the market, accepting an offer and then going to look at the house only to discover I didn’t need love it after all and then call everything off.
I don’t think there is a “right way round” to do these things - what is easier for the vendor can end up messing around a buyer.

ETgo · 10/07/2018 22:21

To those saying they wouldn’t let people view unless the potential buyers house was under offer - you could easily miss out on a sale. Like a couple of other posters we had been thinking about moving but no rush etc and hadn’t put our house on the market when we saw a house in the area we wanted and could afford - we put offer in immediately after the viewing, put our house on the market two days later and accepted offer on our house the following day!

I know it’s frustrating having to plan around viewings but there will be a buyer eventually

MaisyPops · 10/07/2018 22:28

When we move next we know what we want (essentially the things we couldn't afford this time) and will move in 5-10 years subject to finances.
No way will we be putting our lovely house on the market until we see a house we want to buy. Otherwise we could end up selling our house and having to rent indefinitely until what we want comes up. I'm not doing that just in case it pisses some seller off that we haven't already got our house listed.

Actual timewasters are a PITA, but sellers who start thinking they should set arbitrary vetting criteria on potential buyers when they know nothing of the buyers are equally being precious.

Mouikey · 10/07/2018 22:57

When we were looking 5 years ago we viewed 42 properties. As we had a buyer (a very patient one and a long slow process!), we were pressurised into visiting properties that would never work for us, but they were sold to us as having potential or could be changed - much of that we discovered at the viewings was bs!!! Wasted ours and the sellers time. I hated every second of it!

Andromeida59 · 10/07/2018 23:04

We bought our home last year. The EA wouldn't even allow us to view without them seeing proof of funds etc. Personally, I think this is the best way of doing it. You should ask yours to do the same.

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 10/07/2018 23:11

Time wasters are such a pain.
Our favourite was the couple who were looking to move from Village X to our suburb, because they had friends here. When asked for feedback, and were they going to proceed, they said 'no, it's too far from Village X'. WTAF?

Another couple were local, in the exact same type of house, and were clearly just after decorating/extension ideas. They came twice!!

You only need one buyer though, so hang in there. With gritted teeth if necessary!

MrTumblesSpottyHag · 10/07/2018 23:11

We had a couple who had a good look around, stayed ages. Eventually they said "Oh we only live across the road, we book in to look at every house that comes up for sale along here!" 🙄
Fucking great mate, jog on.

ginghamstarfish · 10/07/2018 23:15

Yes there are a lot of annoying twats around who can't be arsed to read the description, let alone check out the area/do a drive by etc. Just being nosy for the most part, have dealt with many of them over the years. It's hard to be civil with them!

Wincher · 10/07/2018 23:17

We went to see a house recently having not at all been thinking of moving - but the perfect house came up in the perfect location, so we had to go and see. In the days between booking the viewing and the viewing we arranged two valuations on ours with the idea of being ready to go on the market on the Monday morning after the Saturday viewing if we loved it. I'm really glad the EA did let us see it even though we weren't on the market at the time. In the event while we did like the house, there wasn't as much communal space as we would have liked and it was very overlooked, plus the garden was north-facing, so we decided against it. But it could have been perfect. The house was reduced in price a couple of weeks later and I see it has now sold - so I don't feel too bad.

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