Can people look in your cupboards on house viewings?

[Causei]

I’m assuming yes, so where do you hide your shit?

In the car.

Yes…. That’s why you declutter and rent a storage unit.
unless you are renting - then leave your stuff where you usually would (other than valuables etc which I would put in a suitcase under the bed)

I only ask to look in a person's cupboards if its the under stairs one or already built in storage, just to get a feel for the space.

The owner has always said "you can look, but it's full of rubbish". Tbf, everyone's storage cupboards are chock full, so I wouldn't worry if they're bursting at the seams.

Of course they can. Just have a clear out before you have viewings?

They should only look in interesting cupboards that are built in. So, cupboard under the stairs but not a freestanding wardrobe.

in my experience lots of people hide shit in the oven 😆

If it's built in cupboards I'll have a look. I don't care what people have in there, I just want to know what depth/sense of size there is.

Also they look to see if there's mould or damp in built in cupboards.
(wish we'd looked behind the tupperware in built in pantry and fitted kitchen cupboards. Won't make that mistake again)

I opened a vendor's fridge at a viewing, it was like some sort of involuntary reflex, I was embarrassed but she didn't mind (we bought the house, thankfully ).

To answer your question, we make doubly sure that ALL the toilets are completely flushing, with an added visual inspection.

We then confirm with a smart "No shit, Sherlock!" statement when we rendezvous at the kitchen table at 2000 hours prior to D-Day.

Built inside one's yes portable ones and drawers no

Like kitchen cupboards yes bedside drawers no

Yes. But people expect these to be filled with crap so as long as they are filled with appropriate crap then it’s fine. By appropriate crap I mean, Tupperware/pots/pans in the kitchen cupboard. Towels in the airing cupboard etc. You want to demonstrate the house has enough storage for all these normal, mundane things but if you start cramming boxes of Lego into the airing cupboard it looks like you have no storage or maybe trying to hide things. People will also wonder where your towels and be purposely trying to find the towels to satisfy their curiosity because everyone has towels.

For us it wasn’t every built in storage space. The main ones for us were corner kitchen cabinets, small kitchen cabinets, cabinets under the skin, airing cupboards and built in wardrobes to see what the shelving was like.

Why would you need to hide your belongings? Surely nobody's going to decide not to buy a house on the basis that it has stuff in the cupboards?

I must be unusual then, I think that's generally really rude, unless the kitchen, and even then, you should ask first.

Estate agent to me said people will look in built in cupboards just make sure it's not so full it all falls out on top of them 😂

I don't know if they're meant to, but I remember the first viewing I had:

The estate agent was coming up the path, when I noticed the towels all hanging over the banisters to dry. I grabbed them up, threw them into the airing cupboard and slammed the door before walking serenely down to greet the viewers calmly.
The estate agent took them straight upstairs, and I heard him say "this should be the airing cupboard..." followed by a whumph as the pile of towels descended on the visitors. 🤣
They didn't make an offer.

For hiding things, places I found:
Under the duvet: Brilliant for piles of clothes. A whole (dry) washing load fits under without a sign.
Under the sofa: The ironing board fitted perfectly, for example.
In the car: Although park the car up the road if you're cramming it full.
And in an emergency: In a friend's house...

If you buy the house, you're buying the built-in cupboards. Why on earth is it rude to look inside them? They might be full of mould, or not as big as they look, or you open the door and it falls off, all of which is relevant information to buyers.

Years ago I remember a viewer stepping up to our built-in cupboards and briskly sweeping the doors wide open. Fortunately all our linens within looked neat and tidy but my mum looked a bit shocked anyway. Afterwards she said she hadn't expected that but it did make sense as the cupboards were part of the house structure.

Alongside that, I wouldn't be surprised if viewers turned on a hot tap to see how long it took hot water to come through (next day in my house), flushed the toilets and turned lights on and off. It sounds a bit much but how else are they to see if they work OK?

I wouldn't expect anyone looking in free standing furniture though, that's nosy, not acceptable. So you can cram stuff in there. (Accepted protocol is to have a big declutter before you put your house on the market...)

Yes, I would expect this. Our last house hadn't got enough storage - I rented a storage unit before viewings and put all the kids' toys, etc. there. It was a relatively cheap solution, and it made the house look its absolute best (we got a fantastic price for it).

Oh, I couldn't!

I'd forget about it!

My house was very tidy when it was on the market, but before a viewing I put lots of everyday clutter that just accumulates daily in a plastic laundry basket and chucked it in the car. Sometimes I was even known to put the kitchen bin, microwave, ironing board and laundry baskets in the garage. I really cleared the decks so it wasn’t cluttered.

Dead body or dedicated 35-year collection of toe jam, probably hide it; 163 bags for life, a carpet sweeper and an ironing board, you're grand.

Built in = yes
Freestanding = never

To be honest, if I opened a cupboard and it was chock full of stuff I’d be delighted. Love a nice big cupboard.

We hired a storage unit so we could sell our house. Financially it was definitely the right decision.