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AIBU?

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Original poster

CF? Would you park on the driveway of a house you were viewing to buy?

358 replies

movingonupps · 05/04/2022 16:31

This happened to us today and DH & I can't quite workout if we were the CF or not lol.

Went to viewing, no where to park, 1 car already on 3 car drive.

We parked on drive and got out of car

Vendor opens door, asks why we have parked on drive.

Explained we had a viewing

Again she said why have you parked on drive, her son will be home shortly

I said if it's a problem, we will just leave; so we did!

Her EA was gobsmacked when I explained why we didn't do the viewing.

Who is BU?

OP posts:
Ponoka7 · 05/04/2022 16:38

If there was nowhere else to park, I would have offered that as an explanation rather than being there to view the house. You shouldn't have really parked on their property.

Sarahcoggles · 05/04/2022 16:39

How bizarre! Of course it’s Ok to park on the drive of a house you’re viewing.

Looseleaf · 05/04/2022 16:39

I hope she was embarrassed when you disappeared as does seem an over reaction rather than politely asking if you’d leave room while explaining her son was arriving too

ForeverLooking · 05/04/2022 16:39

Bonkers. I've never been to view a house and not parked on the drive. You are visiting the house....the drive is a part of the house you are potentially buying. Lucky escape I'd say, I bet the estate agents are fuming.

strawberrystrawberry · 05/04/2022 16:40

Yep I would park on a drive too.

But I wouldn't also have an issue if someone then asked me to move, does sound like she was a bit unnecessarily rude.

VainAbigail · 05/04/2022 16:40

We are currently on a cul de zac, we always say to people visiting etc to def come up and park on the drive

But you weren’t a visitor. I don’t think she was BU, tbh, because you don’t know what the inner workings of their daily lives are and how much inconvenience parking on their drive may have caused.

Jericha · 05/04/2022 16:40

We've never parked on the driveway of a house we've viewed, even when we were visiting to measure up. I think it just felt a little presumptuous. It's funny as thinking about it, had our prospective buyers parked on our drive I don't think I'd have given it any thought, let alone be compelled to make a comment to them.

theemmadilemma · 05/04/2022 16:41

Where the fuck else would you park? We shifted cars around to make room for people to use our most convenient space when viewing.

MsSquiz · 05/04/2022 16:41

@VainAbigail

We are currently on a cul de zac, we always say to people visiting etc to def come up and park on the drive

But you weren’t a visitor. I don’t think she was BU, tbh, because you don’t know what the inner workings of their daily lives are and how much inconvenience parking on their drive may have caused.

@VainAbigail how is someone coming to view a house for sale not a visitor?!
bumblefeline · 05/04/2022 16:41

We parked up the road when we viewed the house we purchased, but we had a lot of viewers of the house we were selling and the majority parked on our drive. Didn't bother me at all. They are batshit.

nobabiesyet · 05/04/2022 16:42

It is Unreasonable of the seller - because the driveway is part of the property that is being sold. It's like them not wanting you to go in the garden.
If you want to sell your house - having people park on your driveway is the smallest inconvenience compared to the rest of it. There's bound to be a back story.

AnxiousHeffalump · 05/04/2022 16:45

She was being extremely unreasonable.

ForeverLooking · 05/04/2022 16:45

@VainAbigail

We are currently on a cul de zac, we always say to people visiting etc to def come up and park on the drive

But you weren’t a visitor. I don’t think she was BU, tbh, because you don’t know what the inner workings of their daily lives are and how much inconvenience parking on their drive may have caused.

Eh? She IS a visitor. She has arranged in advance with the agent to visit the house and view it. I would also assume the drive had been left clear to accommodate the agent (also never seen an agent park anywhere else but the drive) and the person viewing. I always did this when selling as it gave the potential buyer a good view of the front and it's just polite.
BeautifulDragon · 05/04/2022 16:50

We don't park on drives when viewing houses. If there was no other parking, then we would have knocked and asked where we should park or if it was okay to park on the drive.

Also I always like a good look at the drive and front of the house and always feel that cars block the view. But that's probably just me!

Seller was ridiculous for getting into it with you though. I'm guessing they've already had offers or don't actually want to sell.

Paddingtonthebear · 05/04/2022 16:54

We’ve looked at loads of houses in the last year, double figures. I don’t think we’ve parked on any driveways as yet though. Not sure why, I guess we’ve just parked outside or nearby on most as have assumed the agent would be using the parking space! If I needed to park on the drive I would probably ask the agent if it was ok when I arrived. I absolutely wouldn’t expect to see a vendor still in the house for my viewing though. It’s a pet hate. Just go out! I think the vendor in question could have been more polite about it. You’ve probably dodged a bullet with that one!

Bornsloppy · 05/04/2022 16:55

I wouldn't park on a drive when viewing a house, I parked up the street and walked, you can have a proper look at the road, next door houses and the exterior that way.

We did see one house and the people before us parked on the drive and then couldn't get their car off so the man who lived there had to reverse it out for them. Blush

emmathedilemma · 05/04/2022 16:57

I went to view houses where the owners had moved their cars so that viewers could park on the drive!!

VainAbigail · 05/04/2022 16:58

@ForeverLooking
@MsSquiz

I don’t know, I just wouldn’t consider people viewing a house as ‘visitors’. Visitors and guests are the same thing to me and someone looking at a house to buy isn’t a guest to me, they’re just ‘someone’s coming to look at the house later’.

No biggie, guys.

krustykittens · 05/04/2022 16:58

Yeah, she was rude but I agree you have dodged a bullet. I was once viewed a house and it had a few cons but enough pros that we might have considered it. But the vendor was so rude I was clawing the walls to get out of there and crossed it off my list because I didn't think I could bear the thought of another interaction with her. The house stayed on the market for quite some time, she made the EA's life hell and was very difficult when they did find a buyer willing to push a sale through her bullshit. It's such a stressful thing to do that unless the house is amazing, I would walk away from anyone displaying the slightest hint of batshittery.

Thatsplentyjack · 05/04/2022 16:59

@Bumpsadaisie

SWBU!

What a way to treat someone who hope might buy your house!

Maybe she doesn't want to sell the house.
dworky · 05/04/2022 17:00

I can't believe people agreeing with you, of course you should have asked first. You haven't bought it yet!

bluebaul · 05/04/2022 17:00

Ok, not a reverse.

I'm in the minority here but I would never park on someone else's drive, not without first asking if it was ok.

BlueOverYellow · 05/04/2022 17:00

She's not keen to sell and will be difficult throughout the process ... that would be my take. I would have left, too.

Why else would you appear to leave spaces open on a drive in an area where there is no parking but to help potential buyers to view the property...

20viona · 05/04/2022 17:02

Wtf she's crazy and has possibly done herself out of a house sale

bluebaul · 05/04/2022 17:02

What a way to treat someone who hope might buy your house

Maybe she doesn't want to sell the house.

I don't think she treated OP badly by asking why she had parked on her drive, and explaining her son would be home soon. I think she probably does want to sell the house, just not to OP. Although OP was the one who chose not to view.