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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Frustrated with tenants?

462 replies

thankunextex · 25/03/2019 10:13

I’m trying to view a house and the tenants have refused to let me view it both times. Appointments been booked in advance and then they say it’s not a good time an hour before.

I get it if you don’t want to actually leave the property (not sure if that’s the situation or not) but I’m just being messed around now.

OP posts:
Barrenfieldoffucks · 25/03/2019 16:53

Is the vitriol towards the OP because she wants to buy a property that has tenants in? All the childish 'diddums' and violin comments are very odd, she hasn't done anything wrong!

ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 16:59

She's not done anything particularly clever, either. Would you pursue buying a tenanted property which it proves impossible to view? It doesn't suggest an organised LL or tenants who are happily preparing to leave to me. So much potential hassle in store. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

PCohle · 25/03/2019 16:59

Isn't the OP just ignoring questions about whether the tenants really knew in advance because she has no way of knowing that?

I don't think there's anything wrong with her taking at face value what she's been told by the agents.

Lizzie48 · 25/03/2019 16:59

I agree that the vitriol towards the OP isn't fair. She isn't a landlord and isn't buying a property to let out. She is simply someone who wants to buy a house that is on the market.

JessicaWakefieldSVH · 25/03/2019 16:59

If the agent phones and cancels an hour before because the tenants have said no then it's fair for her to assume that it is down to them.

No, it isn’t!! They’ve no idea what is going on between the agents, LL & tenant.

I don’t think the OP is getting vitriol, just the post seems a little pointless. A prospective buyer has no relationship to an existing tenant and also no ‘right’ to see a property. Just move on!

ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 17:02

OP got a perfectly patient response until "I'm buying the house" turned into "I've never viewed it at all and haven't made an offer".

BettyDuMonde · 25/03/2019 17:02

Sitting tenants may well mean it’s on the market at a lower than average price point.

Of course, that’ll be due to the inconvenience of tenants being in residence!

Like I said earlier on the thread, I bought my house when my landlord decided to sell it and subsequently bought for a very reasonable price (LL was saved from a lot of inconvenience, no void period and we exchanged and completed same day). Would’ve been a lot more work for him to sell to anyone else (he was an ‘accidental’ landlord, house had been his mother’s and he let it out through a managing agent for a long time, selling only because he was very elderly and needed to pay for home care).

I have full sympathy for both tenants and landlord in this situation, but buyer needs to accept that the landlord and tenants are balancing obligations with rights, and that means a quick sale and convenient viewings are less likely than an owner-occupier sale.
An estate agent advised my landlord to sell to another landlord or wait out my tenancy before marketing the propert, which seems a sensible way to play it. As it happened, we worked out the best for both of us (and I really did not want to move, tenancy ended in the middle of my eldest GCSE exams 😬)

pootyisabadcat · 25/03/2019 17:03

Is the vitriol towards the OP because she wants to buy a property that has tenants in? All the childish 'diddums' and violin comments are very odd, she hasn't done anything wrong!

Nor have the tenants she's frustrated with! The viewing's not happening. That's how it goes sometimes. So you move on and find another place to view and potentially buy. It's that simple Confused.

Original poster
thankunextex · 25/03/2019 17:05

OP hasn't responded to questions about whether she actually knows if the tenants knew in advance.

Because I don’t have a clue. I make the appointments with the EA,

OP posts:
ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 17:07

So, in reality, you don't know who you should be frustrated with.

Also, in reality, you're not "buying the house".

Can you answer as to why you're so attached to this particular house? Is it to do with price?

ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 17:10

Are you a FTB by any chance?

JessicaWakefieldSVH · 25/03/2019 17:10

Because I don’t have a clue

Exactly. So you can’t blame tenants for anything and you’re not entitled to a viewing. Just move on.

lyralalala · 25/03/2019 17:13

If it's been on the market for four months and still has tenants in situ I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Either the LL hasn't issued notice yet (despite expecting his tenants to facilitate viewings for four months) and therefore there could be months of delays for vacant possession depending on the circumstances of the tenants - councils will not help people who leave before they are evicted.

Or he has issued notice and the tenants are going through the court process which, again, could take months until eviction.

Why would you want to even consider buying a house when you have absolutely no idea when it may be available?

It's always staggering on these threads how many LL's spout the clause in the contract thing. It's no more enforcable than it is to put in the contract that the tenants have to make you dinner ever Tuesday!

Barrenfieldoffucks · 25/03/2019 17:16

Oh for goodness sake. The OP has done nothing wrong. At short notice she has been messed around multiple times and is having a bit of a vent. If it were owners doing it she would be getting a very different response.

ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 17:18

The OP has done nothing wrong.

So you keep saying. But it's not a question of right and wrong. It's a question of finding a house to buy, and buying it, without going mad in the process.

JessicaWakefieldSVH · 25/03/2019 17:19

The OP has done nothing wrong.

No, but assumptions have been made and there really is nothing a potential buyer can do about it. This is AIBU, not ‘let me just vent unchallenged’ so it seems most think, yes, YABU.

53rdWay · 25/03/2019 17:24

Of course it's frustrating to be messed around, but she doesn't know who's doing the messing.

thankunextex, if you still want to view, ask the EAs what times would work for the tenants. If this is tenants deliberately scuppering viewings then they'll still do that, but if this is EAs just not bothering to work with the tenants then at least you've got some chance of sorting a viewing that goes ahead.

BorsetshireBlew · 25/03/2019 17:26

If the tenants are 'cancelling' at the last minute it seems unlikely that they had been contacted 24 hours beforehand and changed their minds at the last minute. Far more likely they were never asked.

HarrysOwl · 25/03/2019 17:29

I’ve never viewed it so haven’t put an offer in.

How do you know you're buying it? Your OP is very misleading.

The estate agents will know if the tenant's have been given notice, but they're not unreasonable to not allow access for viewings, it's their right.

It's up to the landlord/owner to sort this out. If the house isn't selling because basically no viewings are happening, then they'll need to serve notice and wait until the house is vacant to offer viewings.

HarrysOwl · 25/03/2019 17:30

If it were owners doing it she would be getting a very different response

I don't think a property owner would put their house on the market and then cancel all viewings. Bit counter-productive.

BorsetshireBlew · 25/03/2019 17:32

If you think the rent is too high, may I suggest renting something cheaper?

Round my way the only way to rent something cheaper is to downsize but if you have children you can't persuade landlords to let to you if they feel you will be overcrowded. I know families with 2 children and one parent who have tried to rent one beds and with 3 or more who have looked for 2 beds but landlords just refuse.

Original poster
thankunextex · 25/03/2019 17:34

This has got a bit crazy. It was just a vent and no I’m not a first time buyer at all.

I haven’t been rude to the tenants, never spoke to them ever and they have zero clue who am I so I’m sure they are not impacted by my rant on here.

OP posts:
Mix56 · 25/03/2019 17:34

Ask The EA To ask them when suits them. Assuming mid morning on a week day is convenient for them is only going to work if they don't mind the EA traipsing round their home when they are out.
If they go to work its highly inconvenient

ColeHawlins · 25/03/2019 17:35

Maybe just stop banging your head against a brick wall, then?

wafflyversatile · 25/03/2019 17:36

The landlord could wait until they have vacant possession of the house before putting it on the market but the landlord will prefer not inconvenience themselves by losing out on income from their cash cow so will prefer to inconvenience the tenants who are paying to occupy and have quiet enjoyment of their home. The landlord could perhaps offer their tenants a reduced rent for the rest of the tenancy to make up for the interruption to their lives for something that will not benefit them in any way, and, is quite likely an expensive disruption to their lives, but I don't suppose the landlord wants to do that either. Maybe you can suggest it if you are particularly keen on viewing the house.