to think strangers shouldn't poke through my cupboards?

[Arum51]

Need some advice here on whether things have changed in the past 20 or so years.

Put my house on the market yesterday. First couple came round tonight. Seemed nice, but... they opened all the cupboards and poked around! "Just seeing how far back it goes". WTF?

It's been 20 years or so since I bought or sold a house. Have things changed? I would never have started opening cupboards etc, particularly on a first visit!

AIBU, is this how things are now, or were these people the CFs they seemed to be?!

Of course they are going to look!
Things like built in cupboards/wardrobes of course I want a look if I’m thinking of buying.
I was once in a rental that looked like it had a massive built in wardrobe. It wasn’t even the depth of a hanger!

If they're interested in buying your house, it's not unreasonable to want to know everything about it. It's a lot of money and commitment.

What cupboards are you talking about? Kitchen ones seem weird as it’s fairly obvious from the kitchen surface size how far they go back.
I’d understand built in cupboards like under the stairs or built in wardrobes

CFs in my opinion.

I would look only in cupboards under a sink to check for any leak/ mould/ mouse issues.

Most cupboards have more or less the same dimensions.

Erm if you're going to live in a house you want to check the cupboards etc... I've had to spend a fortune on my current house because of shoddy and dangerous DIY carried out by the previous owner so when I do move I'll leave no stone unturned! It's the biggest investment ever buying q house so buyers do have the right to check out cupboards etc

I checked under the sink (for leaks / signs of damp) and any built in cupboards in bedrooms etc for signs of mould/damp.

I’d be opening cupboards too, for storage assessment and also for damp (in the kitchen especially).

I’d feel rude if the owners were there though! And would probably not have a proper viewing if they were.

It's normal to check storage especially in older properties where things are less regular but I always ask first if it OK to open cupboards etc.

Of course they’re reasonable to look at cupboards in the house they may buy! Who knows whether people have mould lurking in their cupboards. And yep, completely reasonable to want to look how far the cupboards go back.

I’d want to see storage space too. I’d also prefer to be shown round by the EA, not the vendor.

Given the shoddy kitchen installation in my parents house, I'd look at the kitchen cabinets inside and out and give them and little rattle

Built in furniture and cupboards I'd be looking if to see what storage is like.

Hate doing it with the owners there but I'd rather not be surprised.

My place is on the market. During one viewing the prospective buyers went routing through my drawers to find the key to open the windows as they wanted to check they opened. They then left them open - ground floor, front of the house on the road. Not happy!

The last house I brought I found that the drawers didn’t open properly and the (wrecked) kitchen had had new doors installed to make it look better.

This time I’m going through the drawers!

Kitchens are pretty expensive to replace, and it's completely reasonable to want to know what the state of the cupboards is inside - ours have reasonably nice doors, but I'm frankly surprised the interior shelves are still holding up, something we took into account when making an offer.

I think it's totally reasonable if they're going to be buying the house. I didn't bother personally because I'm not a very thorough person but I've seen other people do it.

I’m another cupboard opener. I always asked first
It’s pretty normal IME, for the reasons pp have said

I wouldn't open the vendors free standing wardrobe/desk, but I bloody well would for any built in storage, especially in the kitchen. I was also caught out on this in a rental, some of the kitchen cupboards were about 10cm in depth(!)

Also, Most cupboards have more or less the same dimensions.

Aaaahahahahahaha

Not unreasonable to open cupboards at all!

If you’re spending hundreds of thousands of pounds then you need to make sure it’s right.

Oh no! My house is going on the market on Friday and my cupboards are a mess ! 🙈

I have my house on the market, I expect viewers to look inside kitchen cupboards, drawers, integrated appliances, fitted wardrobes etc. because they are fixtures that comprise part of the overall package. I did the same at the house I am hoping to buy, only the fixtures that are staying I might add, not anything that will be removable.

If it is built in, then it is fair game. But they should still ask if it is ok, not just open the cupboards.

If they are not built in/going with you, none of their business.

I can see both sides of this.

It is a bit disconcerting to have people look through your cupboards but I've previously worked in an EA office as an administrator and you would be amazed at the things people hide.

From personal experience if I ever buy another house I will be looking underneath rugs to see if they are hiding stained carpets, and I'll be running a bit of water in the bath to see how quickly it drains away.

I'll also be checking that drawers and doors on fitted wardrobes and cupboards open properly.

I'd recommend you doing the same if you are buying another property OP. Look at everything.

We once had someone ring the EA office to say that some of the cupboard doors in the kitchen were stuck closed. Turned out the previous owner had glued them shut because they didn't use them. We never properly understood why not using them made it necessary to have them glued shut.

You are selling your house and it might help to detach from it a bit while people are looking around. It is weird to have people look in the odd places in your house, but if they are fixture places like kitchen cupboards I'd say accept it. If they are going through your bedside table or something and it's obviously coming with you, then you would be right to complain.

Thank you so much everybody! I was in such a strop when they left, I felt really violated. BUT, from your comments, it's clear exactly why things have changed.

When we bought this house, I was a sahm, and we purchased on 3.5x my stbexh graduate salary. It is now worth many, many times what we paid for it.

That young couple are having to make a decision that we didn't have to make. This house represents a considerably larger investment for them than it did for us. So I can see why, despite the fact that the wife was almost crying with joy at my flooring and light fittings, the husband was checking my electrical box and the spec of my boiler!

Thank you. I was being unreasonable. I shall swallow my outrage (and stop just ramming shit into my cupboards to clear it out of the way)

I don't look. You can't change the location of a house, what way the garden faces etc but you can buy new cupboards. A drawer being small wouldn't stop me buying a house. But when we have looked at properties there have so few that (a) we could afford (b) in the right location (c) with a decent sized south facing garden that cupboards didn't come into it. I guess if where the OP is there are dozens of properties selling immediately then that's quite different