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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Was what estate agent said justified?

69 replies

SnickettyLemon · 10/08/2020 21:16

House across the road is for sale. I was parking my car this morning and estate agent was outside the house with a couple who were viewing it. They all had face masks on as per rules , so I could not really see their faces. As I walked up my path the lady shouted "hello Lemon." I did not recognise her immediately until she said It's 'Julie' from work. I said hello and she said she didn't know I lived here and asked if I liked the area. I replied something like '" Well we are still here after 16 years , so Yeah!". The estate agent then re-engaged her in his conversation and I went inside. My neighbour just told me that when he rung the estate agent for feedback he was told that I had spoken to the viewers and I should not be having any interaction with them. I only spoke because she engaged with me first.
Also I hardly said anything detrimental to a sale. Is this a thing that everyone knows you shouldn't talk to viewers (even if they speak to you first)

OP posts:

BoomBoomsCousin · 10/08/2020 22:01

I wouldn’t be calling the estate agent, I’d just laugh at your neighbour. They have absolutely no authority and even less moral right to tell you who you can “engage with” or not. Your neighbours are leaving so you don’t even need to be polite to them for the sake of neighbourly relations.

You could try sending them a contract in which you agree not to “engage with” any potential purchasers while in your front garden or on the street for the next 28 days for a set fee or a percentage of the offer price of the house (paid in advance).

Shizzlestix · 10/08/2020 22:02

Utter nonsense. Are you supposed to blank a colleague? Ridiculous.

BackforGood · 10/08/2020 22:06

EA is bonkers.
Someone you knew said Hi to you. What are you supposed to do? It's not like you approached strangers and then started slagging off the area, is it ?

Am I the only one disappointed this wasn't about some terrible parking faux pas, after starting to read the OP ?

PrincessHoneysuckle · 10/08/2020 22:09

What I want to know is how pleased/gutted you are that Julie from work might be moving in

Jimdandy · 10/08/2020 22:10

Take absolutely no notice!! You can speak to who the hell you like when you like!!

ParcelFarce · 10/08/2020 22:13

Nah, you’re good. EA was talking shit unsurprisingly

Bargebill19 · 10/08/2020 22:13

Ooo work colleague will mean no sneaky duvet days.

Starlightstarbright1 · 10/08/2020 22:15

It sounds odd - I also think it’s the neighbor- but crap anyway - free country you can talk to who you want.

On a side note as I read through your post I was wondering why she called you lemon till I realised it was your user name 🤣

Jux · 10/08/2020 22:16

Agent's an idiot.

IdblowJonSnow · 10/08/2020 22:17

Absolutely batshit.

Jargo · 10/08/2020 22:18

Sounds as if the EA may be interested in the property themselves and was not keen that you had said something positive about the area.

I spoke to both sets of my neighbours before I moved in, several times whilst viewing.

Janaih · 10/08/2020 22:22

EA sounds unprofessional to me. I always try and speak to neighbours somehow if I'm seriously interested in a property.

bluebird243 · 10/08/2020 22:24

It's not the same EA as the one who told me my son had no right to go and look at [from the outside]a property I was thinking of buying...is it? He drove past slowly that's all as the road was packed with cars in the evening.

She was barking mad, and adamant none of us should have gone to the road, full stop, shrieking at me [I'd decided not to buy house due to parking issue]. She left the area about a fortnight after. I wonder where she went.

Sounds like the EA in your case was another strange one. You did nothing wrong at all.

JingsMahBucket · 10/08/2020 22:25

@PuckyMup

Has the EA ducked up the viewing somehow and decided to scape goat you?

@PuckyMup oooh good point. I'd be curious too about that.

Janaih · 10/08/2020 22:28

OP do you know anyone who could book a viewing, we need to know more about his technique!

Enough4me · 10/08/2020 22:29

What your neighbour said doesn't really add up, unless you have a gagging order stopping you from replying to people.

It is more likely that the EA said that a neighbour had spoken and it may have put your colleague off (rather than the truth that they are not marketing it well) or the EA remarked on you saying hello and your controlling neighbour does not want you to say anything in case it reduces the chance of a sale.

Thankfully the neighbour is going!

WorraLiberty · 10/08/2020 22:30

My neighbour just told me that when he rung the estate agent for feedback he was told that I had spoken to the viewers and I should not be having any interaction with them.

I'd put money on it being your neighbour saying that and not the estate agent.

swimlyn · 10/08/2020 22:33

When we were actively viewing properties, we went to one where we knew the couple selling. They chatted for a few minutes clueing us in on the locality.

The EA immediately clammed up and stopped talking to us. Apart from “Let’s go now”, that was it. He never said another word to us. Other properties of interest were suddenly ‘not available’. No answers to our emails.

EAs really are special people aren’t they?

Sevo7 · 10/08/2020 22:34

If it was me OP I would now make a point of talking to every person who came to view the property, just to be petty.

I might even put an old sofa in my front garden and sit on it waiting for said viewers with my slippers on and a glass of something alcoholic.

NoProblem123 · 10/08/2020 22:40

What the...???

NO it is not a thing !

Weird

Puzzledandpissedoff · 10/08/2020 22:42

Even if you had said something awful about the place, it's not the estate agents job to police your behaviour - you don't have any sort of contract with him or obligation to him

Ain't that the truth

My late, ex MIL had a large drive between her and the next house, and since next door didn't have one the agents made a point of including her drive in the pictures when it went up for sale

Seeing this, my ex made a point of nipping out whenever a viewing took place to "clarify" that the drive formed no part of the marketed property

If looks could have killed ...

Original poster

SnickettyLemon · 10/08/2020 22:43

When the neighbour mentioned it he sounded a little embarrassed and actually said he wasn't bothered. He wasn't there at the viewing, so the EA must have mentioned it otherwise neighbour wouldn't have known iyswim. Actually no disrespect to 'Julie', but I don't fancy having a colleague so close to home!

OP posts:

Casmama · 10/08/2020 22:48

I would actually be tempted to phone the estate agent or their manager as others have suggested.
For him to imagine for a second that he has any right to influence your behaviour is bonkers and someone should have a word.

ktp100 · 10/08/2020 22:55

Absolute and utter bullshit. Either the EA is lying or the neighbour is.

Enough4me · 10/08/2020 22:57

If your neighbour was embarrassed, surely he could have said to the EA at the time that he "couldn't of course ask Lemon or any of the neighbours not to say hello or talk to potential buyers" i.e. be normal

Also, why say anything to you at all if he was uncomfortable as it is ridiculous? EA held a gun to his head?

This would really piss me off, but knowing the neighbour was going would relieve this.

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