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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not be able to deal with the pressure of house viewings?

53 replies

Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:29

Our house went on the market 8 weeks ago. The estate agent said in the beginning that it would be snapped up as there is huge demand in my area, but for whatever reason, this hasn't happened.

The original plan was 2 weeks of viewings, followed by 2 weeks of bidding and then sale agreed within a month of going to market (this was all from the estate agent's mouth), but here we are in week 8, still dealing with a steady stream of viewings, on average 2-3 evenings a week.

I'm finding it very stressful!! Despite keeping my house relatively clean and tidy on a day to day basis, I find the extra cleaning involved before a viewing very hard to deal with. All the worse as we are in Scotland, so the 3 DC are now on holidays, making it harder to clean and prepare. I also find it's unfair to them to have to stay in all day while I clean, and then be ferried out of the house while the viewings are on.

I don't want to face into the whole summer holidays like this. I'm on the verge of taking the house off the market because of it. I know IABU. Tell me how to make this process easier please!

OP posts:
Sissynova · 05/07/2023 18:31

Viewings are just part of it when you want to sell your house.
If you’ve had 8 weeks of interest and viewings and no offers that says your price is too high.

Dora26 · 05/07/2023 18:32

Price too high

Parker231 · 05/07/2023 18:33

Perhaps have an open day - let the estate agent organise viewings throughout one day - usually at the weekend. You go out for the day and the estate agents supervises the viewings.

hopeishere · 05/07/2023 18:33

Can you do an "open day" to keep viewings to a minimum. Is the EA vetting viewers to avoid time wasting. What feedback have viewers given?

Original poster
Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:34

We've had offers, but then bidders will trail off and then there are more viewings, followed by new bidders and more bidding. It's bloody draining.

It's possible that the EA has overvalued the house, though I don't think so as a smaller one nearby in a worse location and condition sold for the amount we are looking for just before ours went to market.

OP posts:
stbrandonsboat · 05/07/2023 18:36

Could you get the EA to do the viewings? I had to leave dh to do ours because the amount of rude, snotty, sarcastic people who were coming just stressed me out and I couldn't deal with them anymore.

Original poster
Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:37

It would really annoy me if the house were overvalued, as we only put it on the market because the EA said he was very confident he could get X amount. The amount we need is 10k less than X amount!! We wouldn't have put it on the market if there was any chance of not getting it.

OP posts:
GoodVibesHere · 05/07/2023 18:38

When I was viewing houses, I honestly wasn't looking at mess/how clean etc. I was looking at layout, room shape and size, and whether or not there was need for renovations/repairs. In the garden, I was looking at size, level of privacy, noise levels and sun position.

I really don't think it's necessary to worry about tidying and cleaning, people look past that. However, you do want it to look spacious, so you don't want anything which emphasises that you might be struggling for space e.g. microwave oddly located in the hallway, or a spectacularly massive pile of junk in the corner of living room.

Sissynova · 05/07/2023 18:38

Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:34

We've had offers, but then bidders will trail off and then there are more viewings, followed by new bidders and more bidding. It's bloody draining.

It's possible that the EA has overvalued the house, though I don't think so as a smaller one nearby in a worse location and condition sold for the amount we are looking for just before ours went to market.

If you’ve had offers why haven’t you accepted them? It does sound like your price expectations are too high if you’ve had multiple offers but don’t want to accept any of them.

BillyNoM8s · 05/07/2023 18:40

I agree, why aren't you accepting offers and closing the sale?

I thought all this stuff was easier to lock in in Scotland?

hopeishere · 05/07/2023 18:40

Agree on why haven't you accepted the offers are they too low?

Justkeepingplatesspinning · 05/07/2023 18:41

If you've had an offer that would be acceptable, why haven't you got the estate agent to move to a closing date and get the sale nailed down? I don't get why they're still sending viewers if you've already got reasonable offers / notes of interest handed in.

Original poster
Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:41

Our EA does deal with the viewings, which is something at least, as I couldn't face dealing with that myself. It's just the constant pressure to maintain a showhouse.

We had open viewing type things in the beginning, and TBF, the EA does tend to group them together, like we had 3 couples in this evening. I've no idea if the EA is vetting time wasters, that's a good question.

There has only been positive feedback from viewers, which is odd because why aren't they buying the house then??? I've also asked the EA if there's anything at all we can do and he says no, he's baffled that it hasn't sold yet. He said maybe the time of year (school hols) is slowing things down. We used the same EA for our last sale and purchase, and he was great so I know he's not a chancer.

OP posts:
Kay286 · 05/07/2023 18:42

Accept
one of the offers you’ve already had ? Of course there is a chance you won’t get the amount you need an estate agent gives a valuation but it’s not a guarantee

Original poster
Wozzzzz · 05/07/2023 18:43

The starting offer that we had was a proper lowball, and it's just progressed so slowly from there, in small increments. So yes, the current offer is too low, and I think the issue is that bidders drop off, and then new ones come in and the whole thing is just dragging out.

The other house that sold just before ours was sale agreed in 2-3 weeks.

OP posts:
Trivium4all · 05/07/2023 18:44

Has your agent talked about going to closing at all?

TheWalrusdidbeseech · 05/07/2023 18:45

GoodVibesHere · 05/07/2023 18:38

When I was viewing houses, I honestly wasn't looking at mess/how clean etc. I was looking at layout, room shape and size, and whether or not there was need for renovations/repairs. In the garden, I was looking at size, level of privacy, noise levels and sun position.

I really don't think it's necessary to worry about tidying and cleaning, people look past that. However, you do want it to look spacious, so you don't want anything which emphasises that you might be struggling for space e.g. microwave oddly located in the hallway, or a spectacularly massive pile of junk in the corner of living room.

It might be true if your house is snapped up immediately that people see past whatever state it is in, but it really is not when it stays on the market.

The state of the house does matter.

OP, can you at least only agree on 2 days a week when viewings can be booked, but no viewing allowed the other 5?

What can you buy in your area for the amount you are asking for?
What are similar houses selling for?

Justkeepingplatesspinning · 05/07/2023 18:46

Has the solicitor gone back to the folks who put in the offer and said what would be likely to be acceptable? Okay you don't want to accept a stupidly low offer but you might need to meet a realistic one if you want to get moved?

honeyandfizz · 05/07/2023 18:46

Things have changed a lot though even if a few weeks with interest rates, buyers confidence is low plus it's summer holidays. If you really want to sell for x amount you have to hold your nerve and put up with the viewings. It is a pita but that's the trade off for selling.

Gigglebert · 05/07/2023 18:49

If you are in Scotland how much over your HR are you looking for? What are the offers like in relation to your HR? With mortgage rates as high as they are offers around here are definitely cooling right down, it was pretty standard that "good" family houses would be sold in two weeks at 20-30% over HR until the start of the year but now things are definitely sitting a bit longer. Bidding wars like we were seeing seem to have stopped for all but the really premium stone built fixer uppers (one of which went for 40% over the home report a few weeks ago and would've had a ridiculous stamp duty charge as well!!)

We had an off market offer accepted in Feb for 20k over the HR, put our house on the market the following Friday, did two viewings that weekend and accepted an offer 6% over the HR on the Monday as we wanted to complete quickly and they were chain free (the other couple offered higher but theirs was linked them selling a house that wasn't yet on the market)...

I'd insist the estate agent groups viewings together, say one evening a week and one weekend afternoon so you don't need to be doing them in dribs and drabs.

Good luck

BillyNoM8s · 05/07/2023 18:50

Isn't Scotland generally offers over?

If you're being lowballed then that suggests you're priced too high for your target buyers. The rate hikes will really be screwing with people's budgets and borrowing capacity.

Gigglebert · 05/07/2023 18:52

And if you are desperate to sell just set a fixed price? How many notes of interest do you have? When we were looking we wouldn't bid other than on a closing date and I reckon that's totally standard? No way I'd be revealing my hand to an estate agent so they could use it to help push up the price with other buyers.

Set a closing date if you have a few notes of interest?

JMSA · 05/07/2023 18:54

It's awful, I know. Really feel for you. I'm in Scotland too - I'm guessing you're not in Edinburgh if it hasn't been snapped up.
Very best of luck.

Mumtothreegirlies · 05/07/2023 19:12

My husband runs an estate agents and he says the agent has probably over valued your house and made promises he can’t keep to get you to go with him. You need to drop your price, and have an open day. Don’t go having scattered viewings and then expect a bidding war. On top of this the market is really fragile with a lot of cold feet so you need to be patient. 8 weeks isn’t the longest of time to have been on the market especially with how things are at the moment but lowering your price might be all it takes.

Ihateslugs · 05/07/2023 19:13

my house has just gone on the market and the EA is vetting prospective viewers and only allowing those with a mortgage offer and whose house is already under offer or first time buyers.

The first three views are tomorrow with four more over the weekend. I’m in the NW, in a suburb of Manchester where the market is still good so hopefully I’ll get a decent offer fairly quickly.

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