Estate agents still doing viewings?!

[Desperateforadviceplease]

I got a call this morning about a viewing I had booked- i fully expected them to say they can't come as are in lockdown. Nope. They were just calling to say they are still doing viewings if we still want to!
I was shocked! Surely this is non essential, considering we were told yesterday (by a different EA) that if everyone went into lockdown everything would be on hold so we don't need to worry about losing houses.

That's terrible. I'm a landlord and have just had two people contact me wanting to view rooms (in shared houses) and got snotty when I said the new rules don't permit this. I can't believe they even thought it would be OK (but I bet there will be loads of LLs that will carry on doing viewings as normal).

Our open house has been cancelled. Instead our estate agent is planning to do video viewings but they have said they’re also open to doing standard viewings as long as no one is showing symptoms, which isn’t hugely helpful assuming some may still be carrying even if they aren’t showing symptoms.

There is a PropertyMark press release today

www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2020/3/government-tells-agents-to-shut-offices-immediately#comments

I've been sending it to agents trying to book me!

I work in an estate agents and my boss would drag himself to work with his leg hanging off, and expect us to do the same, but even he has shut up shop!

That really is ridiculous and exactly the kind of behaviour that gives agents a bad name.

We're due to have someone come to do facetime viewings (rented), but a) I started coughing although I think it's more cold than anything else, and b) do either we want someone here and / or does the person want to be walking around a stranger's home. I guess there's a c) as in is it even allowed at the moment?

I'm usually a reasonably intelligent bean but I find my brain being a bit slow today.

They've cancelled. Not sure how this will pan out, but we'll be as flexible as possible.