To think the vendor doesn't seem to very keen to sell?

[Newhomesoon]

Recently found an apartment that I love, in a great location, (hopefully - I can't see why there would be a problem) within budget. Have been in contact with the mortgage advisor for the last week or so, taking details etc.

Contacted the estate agent to request a viewing on the 18th. Said she would get back to me the following day but heard nothing. Phoned again on the 21st to be told they'd phoned and emailed the vendor but had no response so said they would try again and get back to me asap. Still nothing by the 24th so emailed again and was told they'd still had no response from the vendor. Estate agent then asked me if I had an agreement in principle. My response was "I'm dealing with the mortgage advisor now but Ideally would need to see the property first before putting an offer on it".

Given that it's been over a week now and I've still had no response, AIBU in thinking the vendor doesn't seem that bothered in selling?
The property has been on the market since December and they've had no offers so I thought they might of been more keen.
Just to clarify - I wasn't expecting to view the property within the next week as I appreciate people work or have other commitments, but I find it odd that a date hasn't even been set yet. It takes 5 minutes to reply to an email!

Apologies I've jumbled up the title a bit!

They don't seem bothered to sell. I'd carry on looking.

Could they be on holiday?

They don't seem that bothered about selling and I'd I'd worried they'd drag their heels throughout the buying/selling process, possibly even pulling out last minute.

My DD tried to buy a flat where the vendors lived abroad and co-owned the flat with others who lived elsewhere. They were hopeless at responding or making decisions. They walked away in the end.

When we were looking we had a vendor who took weeks to get back to us about anything - including our offer! In the end they pulled out saying they were taking the house off the market.

Just give up and tell the estate agent exactly why. It's so frustrating when people put their house for sale and then act like it's all an inconvenience.

Should have said yes to the agreement in principle. Estate agents here won't even consider you for viewing if you say no at the moment. Maybe doesn't think you're a serious buyer so doesn't think you're a priority?

I think you are misunderstanding the process. They didn’t ask you to put an offer in, they asked if you had an agreement in principle. It is normal to get one of these before you even start looking for a house, most estate agents will not allow viewing without agreement in principle.

The delay is nothing to do with the vendor, other than they maybe minded the estate agent to check an agreement in principle had been obtained first.

You should have an agreement in principle before even looking so they probably aren’t taking you seriously.

It's just so frustrating. I've been looking for a property for just over 2 years and this the first one that's come up where I love the property itself, the location and it's within budget.

Aprilx It depends on the area. It's fine round here to view without an agreement in principle.

My friends couldn't decide between a do-er upper or to get one with a higher spec finish. They looked before getting their mortgage in principle because the house prices were very different between the two categories. They were asked about their circumstances and were up front. They're currently part way through the buying process now.

@Aprilx if that's the case I have no issue with that but It would be helpful if the estate agent would communicate that to me, rather than fobbing me off and saying they will get back to me etc.

Dur to covid, our estate agents would only let people view who had an agreement in principle.

Same in our area. OP I think you need to get an agreement in principle first.

An AIP is a fairly standard requirement to show you are a serious buyer before estate agents will show you around. Lots of people like to view houses as some sort of weird hobby without any intention of actually offering.

It’s very possible the vendor doesn’t want to sell very much. The three biggest drivers for moving are said to be debt, divorce and death. If you are patient you’ll probably get in to view but they definitely don’t sound keen.

You need your agreement in principle, that’s not to do with putting an offer in.

Keep looking, but get that sorted first before trying to view any more places, that could well be why they’re not moving that quickly to arrange a viewing.

They might not want to sell, it might be part of a divorce. You need AIP in order to view a lot of places as they don't want to waste their time with people who can't buy.

Drive past the house at night and see if anyone is home.
They could actually be away, or on holiday.

Yes possibly, getting the feeling that they might not want to sell, for whatever reason. Contacted agent again and she's just said that they've rang and emailed vendor again but no response. I don't think the agent has an issue with me viewing it without an agreement but maybe vendor feels differently. Agent hasn't said anything on the phone just now though. I've got my heart set on it so would like to get the ball rolling but I guess all I can do now is get the agreement and wait to hear back. Thanks everyone

If I sell my house again, I will only allow viewers who are in a position to proceed. You aren't yet. That's all they are trying to ascertain, before wasting their time letting you view.

When we sold our house, we would book people with an AIP in quickly as poss and with those who didn’t have one book in whenever was convenient to us (could be a week or two later). Possibly the barrier you’re coming up against? The estate agent should’ve said this though!!

We had an absolute nightmare with our house because one vender wanted to sell and the other didn’t.

They used to be married but had split 13 years prior. The wife was permitted to stay in the house until the youngest moved out when they would have to sell, but she didn’t want to leave and was still extremely bitter her ex husband had left her.

She dragged out every stage, not getting back to the agents and lawyers. We were moving over 200 miles to a place with no friends and family. We rented a place for 2 months as that was when the house was meant to clear, but ended up paying an additional 3 months rent we didn’t budget for because she was dragging. (There was no chain either side and it took 7 months for the sale to go through.) She was punishing us not her husband. It wasn’t fair to put us in the middle of the inevitable.

She demanded £10k over the top valuation of the house (of course you can’t get a mortgage for higher than the house is worth). In the end we split the difference with the ex husband.

She was a hoarder (to the point she had to live in the dining room.)

My one ask for giving her the extra money was that the agents ensured the house was cleared and cleaned before they put the money through. They didn’t and we were left with additional thousands of pounds worth of removal and cleaning costs. To spite us for asking that it be cleared and cleaned, she left faeces in the bathroom.

My advice is if they don’t want to sell, be VERY careful and be prepared for it to cost you a lot more than you expect!!

[quote Newhomesoon]@Aprilx if that's the case I have no issue with that but It would be helpful if the estate agent would communicate that to me, rather than fobbing me off and saying they will get back to me etc. [/quote]
And as I said, it sounds like it could be something the vendor has had to remind the estate agent to do. More often than not it would be necessary to have an offer in principle, you look like you could be a time waster without it. I suggest you do that next and then hopefully things will go more smoothly going forward.

I have never entertained a viewer who is not proceedable. I have always asked that they have an AIP and sold their property before viewing mine