to be annoyed by not being allowed to view a house unless my house is sold.

[LemonSwan]

I found a house I potentially really like, although its very unusual so absolutely have to view it to be able to be certain. It could be a disaster.

Apparently I need to have sold my house to view it!?

Our non negotiable requirements are very unusual and do not come up regularly (c. once every 3 months). I have been looking for a long time and only viewed 3 houses which were discounted because one was riddled with damp smell, another the seller was just pretending to sell (trying to get the agri tie removed), and the other looked bigger in the pictures.

What would you do in my shoes?

Voting:

YABU - Put my house on the market and sell it just so I can view this house which may be a complete non starter.

YANBU - Or just forget it and move on.

[NotMeekNotObedient]

Unless I see a house I like no way would I put my house on the market.

[Itsokthanks]

I wouldn't expect you to have sold but I wouldn't take you seriously if your property wasn't even on the market.

[Slippy78]

Sell your current property first and then move into a rental. That way you'll be ready to go and be the most attractive buyers when you do find a place you want to buy.

[RufustheSniggeringReindeer]

We are in the same position, just after one specific house

I happened to chat to the house owner and as they had a few sales fall through they were happy for us to look at the house

We put our house on the market one day and the next day had an offer

The same thing happened with our old house, but that was nearly 20 years ago and a very different time in more than one way

[LemonSwan]

We cant move into rental because we have a business to run and need somewhere secure to do that from. We also have a middle of the road easy saleable house and local agents know this so I have never had this issue before and will not move out of secure tenancy into unsecure when we could be looking for years.

Perhaps its just not meant to be. I will sleep on it but I am starting to think this is a sign and we just need to move on and continue to look locally with agents we know instead of further afield.

If I am still thinking about this house in a months time I am sure it will still be there!

Thanks everyone

[huuuuunnnndderrricks]

Just list your house with purple bricks and go and see it . You don't have to sell your current house !

[SomewhereInbetween1]

I was with you until I read yours isn't even on the market yet! It's a difficult one because someone does always get messed around, but I can see where they're coming from.

[Eaumyword]

As pp have said, I wouldn't let someone view unless they were at least on the market, preferably under offer. Neither would I accept an offer from someone who wasn't proceedable, or I would say ok in principle, but we'll continue to market vigorously.
So many people are total time wasters, it takes hours to stage your home and you're full of hope each time.
As an aside, I wonder why more EA's aren't doing full room by room videos of properties as part of the marketing strategy, so you basically view online?

[eurochick]

It's very frustrating. We are in a similar position in that our house should sell very quickly but houses in the price bracket we are looking for are fairly rare. We had our on the market about 18 months ago and it went under offer within days. But we couldn't find anything to buy and lost out chain. We are now trying to do it the other way around and so far have found estate agents around here fairly accommodating. It would be really irritating if they weren't. Our house could go on within days of finding something - the photos are all done and ready to go.

[RufustheSniggeringReindeer]

We are in a similar position in that our house should sell very quickly but houses in the price bracket we are looking for are fairly rare

Yes thats our issue

[DancingQueen85]

YANBU
We're in exactly the same position and I find it infuriating. We have very specific requirements and I don't want to mess anyone who might purchase our house around by keeping them hanging on for months whilst we try and find somewhere, not do I want to feel under pressure to buy somewhere just because we've sold.
I think the whole system is flawed. You could easily have a buyer who has supposedly sold but then that sale falls through. It offers no guarantees at all.
However, it is what the majority of estate agents seem to be doing at the moment so you kind of just have to accept it. I think we might end up selling and moving into rented accommodation

[Meredithgrey1]

I think it depends on the market. When we bought our house we were able to view without having an offer on our flat (although it was on the market). I guess the market was a bit slower so the estate agents didn’t turn people away.

[Shoppingwithmother]

This happened to me - I wasn’t desperate to move but I would if the right house came up.
There was no way around it and they didn’t let me view it.
All I could do was to think “fuck’em then” and be annoyed every time I went past the house for 10 years...I’ve got over it now though!

[1FootInTheRave]

This would be hard work for us.

Houses in my village are selling in less than 24 hours.

I'd be terrified of selling without having something I loved to move into.

[peak2021]

I could understand if restrictions were put in place because of the pandemic. Feign interest in a house seems a way to have an excuse to travel out of your local area, or just simply a different morning/afternoon out. And if what I have been told by some people when trying to sell houses, there are almost as many time wasters if not more than there are genuine potential buyers.

[ineedaholidayandwine]

We've been told the same, where we want to be there are so few houses go up for sale, i'm worried we'll get a buyer and not find anything or find something and it'll fall through so quickly as it's in demand then we'll disappoint someone if we have to pull out of selling, the way it works though by the sounds of it. Ours goes on the market in the next couple of days
Good luck OP

[AnyFucker]

“Just sell yours and move into a rental”

It really isn’t that simple. Most places are 6 months minimum contract anyway. Then there is a lot of delays and uncertainty around completion when you do buy due to COVID.

[LemonSwan]

ineedaholidayandwine
Ooo Good luck

I have my fingers crossed for you!

[Redyoyo]

Have you ever sold a house and had people come round to view?
There's nothing more disappointing than taking the afternoon off work to get ready for viewers, not making dinner so your house doesnt smell of food and having buy a takeaway when said viewers leave, only to find out the viewers not in a position to put an offer in.
After 3 or 4 of these I told my agent no more who don't have their house on the market or a AIP.

[Moelwynbach]

We had to clean between each viewing and sit our car due to COVID. It would be a pain in the star logistically if the buyer wasn't actually in position to buy.

[Changemaname1]

@Redyoyo yup ! Exactly this !! Total waste of everyone’s time

House already sold is a tad much but at least on the market yes

[Eaumyword]

Oh yes to this! I once had a woman view who told me she liked the photos and wanted inspiration for her own decor improvement! I was young then and let her poke around - now I would probably politely but firmly cut it short!
Then there was the really rude elderly bloke plus nice apologetic wife who turned up a day early - he got quite nasty when I asked them to come back in 30min when I could accommodate them. I was in PJ's as it was 9am on a Saturday!
God, I put up with all sorts in the vague hope that one of them was my buyer!

[LemonSwan]

There's nothing more disappointing than taking the afternoon off work to get ready for viewers,

I appreciate. It seems their are no winners here.

[ineedaholidayandwine]

Thanks OP, same to you if you decide to go for it