To be annoyed with estate agent after this viewing?

[ToilTrouble]

I'm trying to sell my flat at the moment and I'm not very happy with the estate agent.

When I chose him, he told me he had lots of potential buyers in the area but only 2 people have booked a viewing after several weeks of being on the market.

The first viewing was today and I did a lot of tidying and styling in the flat to prepare. When I came back, the flat was definitely not as I left it.

Things I noticed:

• Some marks in the toilet bowl, the toilet paper was moved and the neatly folded towel was left messily folded.
• My bedcovers were all crumpled and pillows moved.
• I left a ceramic tray with candles on the sofa table to look homely. The tray had been moved and the table now has several scratches on it.
• The hallway had black marks on the walls (I've got rid of them with water).
• The bedroom wardrobe doors and drawers were left open.

He said the viewing would be for a couple with kids which could explain the hallway marks and bedclothes... although do people really let their kids jump on beds during viewings? But the worst one is the toilet. I suspect someone has used it and I'm not sure if it was the agent or the people viewing.

I know none of this is serious, permeant damage, which I'm grateful for. But AIBU to be a bit annoyed about how the flat was left after the viewing?

when seeking our last home I went to bath dc in the evening and found we had no hot water. I don’t know the technical terms but basically there were 2 places to control the hot water and in the whole time we’d lived there (11 years) we’d used the main boiler in the landing cupboard because you could set the timer etc. took us ages to discover the viewers had played with the bit that was in the kitchen cupboard and turned the switched off. Who the fuck does that?

Selling not seeking. Stupid auto correct, I’m too tired to proof. Sorry.

God, some people are awful. We’re hoping to sell soon and these kinds of thing are the reason I won’t let an EA do our viewings. These people and their children sound feral. I’ve got children, and they need to sometimes use the loo unexpectedly. It’s not that they used it imo, but that they left it in a mess. The other stuff is just plain weird and it sounds like the parents had no control. Complain and say no children moving forward.

Only one person had access to the family home when I was selling it, the agent. The apple tree was stripped of fruit.

I have had (from different families) a decorative item that was hanging from a wall damaged by a child while the parent watched (couldn't be repaired), an item I was working on destroyed by another child while the parents ignored it and left me to babysit while they both ignored the little horror, a child bashing on my latop and opening drawers, a child using the toilet and breaking the flush (it was a pull up knob), if they had the manners to ask to use it I could have asked them to use one of the others instead. Next time it will be no children unless on a secure chain, preferably outside of the house, and along the road.

I have had a ring stolen by a pair of timewasters, would have liked to see their faces when they realised it was a cheap one, sadly it had been sentimental and I had left it on my work bench and forgotten to put it back on when they arrived.

I have always been in the house for viewings, but left the agent to get on with it, I am not going out just so that someone can destroy my stuff, they are able to do it perfectly well when I am there. This is just a few over several house sales.

You are not alone in thinking this...
It happens.

Estate agents will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get you to sign up with them in the hope that some people will want to view (they may even be cheeky and ask you the owner to hold the viewings, make an acceptable offer and they get their 1-2% fee. They will take some photos, make a floorplan and stick it on Rightmove to help with this. Once the property is sold stc they may occasionally spare a few minutes of their time to ring your buyers or either parties solicitors for updates. That’s all they do.

If the property is being shown vacant, why isn’t the EA returning to tidy it between viewings? This is routine in some countries.
Obviously it is the ethical thing to do but it also increases the willingness to exert control during showings.

How convenient would it be to use another estate agent?

End the contract on the basis of the likely lies and the behaviour. If he suggests breach of contract, then say what you saw suggests someone used it for sex, in front of others in the office.

When my dh worked away we rented several apartments , coming home at weekends.
When he moved to a different location the landlord would put the flat on the market again.
We requested viewings during the day or at weekends only.
Wev come back to toilet turds, , cupboards rummaged through, my perfume used. ..the bottle was moved and the top was off, plus they'd had a good squirt because I could smell it. Also an expensive laptop case went missing.
We were sat having dinner one evening when we heard someone trying to unlock the door. EA is there with viewers. DH refused to let him in ,reminding him of the agreed times.

Complain.

None of what happened during the viewing is okay - including using your toilet.

To all those saying you'd use a toilet at a viewing - what is wrong with you? It's a private home, not a public loo and you're in the house for 10-15 minutes. Go before you visit or hold it until you've left.

We viewed a house some distance from us and then the EA forgot the keys and had to drive back to the office to get them. He took ages and my husband was desperate for a wee. He didn't use their toilet - he went to a local coffee shop.

Complain and complain in writing (email).

Longer term, your estate agent is a liar - it's one of the tricks to get you on the books to say they already have potential viewers lined up. I've been burned with this nonsense too. Google articles about EA red flags and once your contract with this company is over, try to chose a slightly less dodgy EA to try again.

We downsized from a very large family home during lockdown, our EA was rubbish for various reasons, but not this rubbish, no way would they have allowed this to go on. They actively discouraged children from viewings. In my experience this definitely isn’t to be expected, complain to the EA. And yes they all promise the earth to get the instruction, take it with a pinch of salt OP. Good luck with your move.

But why?? If you weren't living in the flat, what difference would it make to you if a viewer used the loo? Bonkers.

I would never use a loo on a viewing nor would I expect someone to use mine
I find people are in and out within 15 mins ...surely they can hold on !!!
As for kids ...we would either not view with young kids or one go in ..other wait with kids then swap !!

My first thought too.

You need a different estate agent. We sold earlier in the year and had several viewings in quick succession, the house was exactly as I'd left it after every one, and tbh i'd expect that to always be the case. Fair enough things may be moved/opened during the viewing but the EA should take a moment to check the house is secure and nothing's been damaged.

Gross

Using the toilet is fine. Leaving it in a state is not

Can't you be there for the viewings or stipulate that the estate agent needs to ne more careful and not damage property. It does show a lack of respect and professionalism.

Estate agents talk the market up to get you to sign and then pressure you to drop the price in a falling market. It is going to get worse. The kings of housing market overvaluing/bullshit Rightmove are reporting drops in asking prices now. You need to price a bit lower to get interest and then get people bidding and increasing that way, not putting it on for what people may have paid last year. People can't afford it now because of interest rates - our buying power has dropped approx 30%, but prices are a little lower, but not 30%. The market is stuck now until prices go down. We have a good household income too. The estate agent should know this really and not live in a bubble where everything is OK. Have you spoken to any other agents about pricing and how they do viewings?

I've always got the EA to do viewings and have never experienced any of this stuff. It definitely isn't normal for things to be damaged or stolen.

You being you, eh? Well you sound like a prize arse.

I also never banned toilet use (only an arse would do this unless for good reason like the water being off), and never came back to a filthy toilet

It would never occur to me to use someones toilet when doing a viewing!

Its one thing to turn the tap on to check water pressure, its another to leave a massive turd in the toilet- and then realise that the water is turned off! One property we viewed had flies buzzing around the toilet, because someone had left this in the toilet! 💩

I don’t get the “people on the books” thing unless it’s a very expensive high-end house where agents need to root out time wasters. Surely everyone is on RightMove now and agents just need to list the property and wait for emails/calls from prospective buyers? Or was he talking about getting people in to view before the property hits RightMove?

All EAs will have lists of people property searching in the area. Most people who are seriously looking to buy will register with the local agents as well as trawling RightMove themselves.

That's how you get to hear about properties before other potential buyers do.

My estate agent told me he had loads of buy to let landlords desperate for a flat in my block and that he'd sell it within a few weeks. He did they'd likely be a bidding war.
3 months later we'd had less than 10 viewings, no offers and non of them were landlords.
The photos were terrible and he'd massively overpriced the flat.
I was naive and fell hook line and sinker for all the rubbish he spewed.
By the time I realised it was soo late and we were signed into a contract I couldn't get out of.