Our holiday home is for sale. Lettings agent blocking viewings by prospective buyers.

[MillyMollyMama]

We have been trying to sell our holiday house. Someone wants to view it on Tuesday but the Agent has told us the holiday tenant is not agreeable to this. The Agent has known for months that the property is for sale and this is the second time a viewing has been blocked. I know it can be difficult to get tenants to agree to viewings when it is their home, but this is someone renting my house for a week's holiday and it is not their home.

The agent was miffed because we instructed another agent to sell the house for us. There were sound reasons for this. Our letting agent, for the past 4 years, is also an estate agent but they quoted the highest percentage for selling and do not use national coverage advertising, or even much locally. They are also closed at weekends. This made us go to a more dynamic agent.

Can the tenant refuse to accommodate our request for a viewing? Can we say to the letting agent that, if the tenant will not accommodate this request, then we will not make the house available to the tenant that week? I have offered a discount of 10% off the rent if they allow the viewing. We need to sell but we need to keep the income stream coming in too. Our letting agent told me they always accommodate viewings, but obviously this meant only if they came through them at an extortionate selling fee! Any advice would be very much appreciated.

When we were selling a holiday home we stopped letting it as it didn't occur to me to expect holiday makers to allow viewings.

Last year the holiday cottage we had booked needed some fairly big work doing at short notice (roof collapsed in a storm) to it whilst we were staying. We were given our week for free, even though the builders were mostly outside, very polite, discrete and had their own key and kept the disruption to a minimum.

OP, you are unbelievable.

Let me get this right: you want people to PAY you to hire your property for their holiday, but you then want them to accommodate your buyers viewings DURING their HOLIDAY?

What would your reaction be if they left the place in a hurry, with things strewn all over the place, suitcases here and there, plates unwashed etc? I presume you additionally want them to keep it tidy then for your viewings during their HOLIDAY.

What of the only time a buyer can view is in the morning? For a 10% discount (which quite frankly is not enough for this ridiculous disturbance) you expect people on their HOLIDAY to get up and out early doors?

Goodness. These people are paying you money and you act as though you are doing them a favour. You give landlords a bad name, OP.

Stop renting it out, get it ready for sale, and accept if you want to sell whilst the season is running you are going to lose money.

Jeez.

Take it off the market

If you have holiday tenants in the house then it isn't really reasonable to expect them to let viewers look round. I'd be furious if somebody came snooping round while I was on holiday.

Sorry Op I've no sympathy for you. People buying holiday homes in areas like Cornwall are killing the local communities. Doesn't it strike you as shocking that you can't sell this house locally? You aren't even giving a local business the chance to sell the house. Quite honestly I'm not surprised they aren't helping you out and no, when I go on holiday I would not want to be accommodating a holiday home buyer either.

Where is the house? Is it very much holiday house or are there people who will want to buy it for all round housing?

I am a landlord op. Sorry, yabu. You need to look at it from the tenants side. They are the ones purschasing the service from you.

Can I just say I have never met a single tenant because the agent handles everything. The house is kept in immaculate condition and has very high quality fixtures and fittings. We obviously want people to love coming to our house, and, judging by the feedback, we have succeeded because it is top rated by our guests. I have never sought to make anyone feel I was doing them a favour by renting the house out. It is fairly priced and I am actually upset that people think I am some sort of dragon owner, or that I do not understand the hospitality industry. I have tried so hard to make this house stunning and welcoming and have always replaced things that are broken or missing without asking for a contribution from the holidaymaker. I do not see how I could have been more welcoming or reasonable. I am just now in a difficult position but thank you for all your responses. I will now crawl back under my "owner from hell" stone where most of you think I belong.

YABU.

The more lovely and high end, the less I would be open to someone intruding on my holiday. I go on holiday for two reasons:

1. To relax a bit and not worry about housework and keeping a place in a viewable state.
2. To have loads of sex (if no dc coming. Otherwise, it's a fairly chaste break).

Neither of those are really compatible with viewings.

Can you agree a specific day for viewings? Maybe run an open-house then?

This reminds me of when we were on holiday in Italy in a rented villa.

Luckily we were in the house at the time as we had no prior warning. A swarm of people arrived - literally 10 or 11, and descended on our house. As it was a private rental with 3 families staying there we hadn't stowed away our passports, money or valuables, so we had to rush round frantically doing that. Also all our belongings were strewn about so house certainly wasn't being presented in it's best condition. It felt dreadfully intrusive and put a bit of a dampner on the week as we were worried it would happen again, but our Italian wasn't good enough to complain, plus it would have cost a fortune to have the conversation with the owner on the mobile.

OP I would suggest that if you want to maintain the position of renting it out whilst having it on the market, you need to offer the people staying a reasonable sweetener. For a £50 discount/refund I'd probably consider letting someone into the property that I had paid good money to have sole use of for the duration. If you asked me to do it for free I'd tell you know.

Tell you "no" not "know" sorry

Saw your other post OP, it's great that you keep the property in good condition and get good reviews, but you still don't be able to understand why it's such a big imposition to expect holiday dwellers to put up with prospective viewers traipsing through the property.

Imagine you are on holiday enjoying the peace and tranquility of a well furnished property, away from all the strains of every day life. How would you feel if told that people would be going through the property and seeing all your private things, you'd probably feel the need to tidy up and move your stuff away - not very conduisive to that relaxing holiday feeling, eh ?

Is your changeover day particularly unsuitable for people to travel down to look at it? eg midweek? If not, surely potential buyers have to view on changeover day.

YABU. I would be furious if the owner/agent wanted to turf me out of my holiday rental because they wanted a viewing to take place.

The fact that 'it means you have no business' is neither here nor there. That is not your tenant's problem.

"Someone wants to view it on Tuesday but the Agent has told us the holiday tenant is not agreeable to this."

Fair enough.

So it is not available for viewing on Tuesday. STFU.

Your attitude is astounding. Stop martyring yourself!

A fab home is expected when you rent a holiday home, it is not cheap. It is the service they are buying, not a favor you do to them. And it is not actually you providing the service, the agent does that. It is HIS reputation on the line too when you demand that "his" guests are shifted. I cant believe you cant understand what an awkward position you are putting the agent in, not only in terms of doing his job, but also letting another agent sell the property! No wonder you have problems getting them to liaise and communicate.

You need to stick to viewings on change over dates and the agent selling the property need to communicate this clearly to prospective buyers when the house is available to view.

(landlord of a home where people live, and turning our own home into a holiday let to fund our own holidays. )

OP, why wouldn't you expect stolen/broken/lost items to be paid for by the tenant? Why isn't your agent managing the inventory/deposits for you?

I'm afraid the fact that you are nice to your tenants only reinforces my view that you don't see this as a business - which it is, and you are going to lose money if you are actively trying to sell it through the peak season.
However, if you have lots of bookings, that you say you will lose money by cancelling, then isn't it worth hanging on to the property and continuing to let - maybe consider a 6 month winter let at the end of the season ?

Ring, ring.

Hi, it's the person from Cottages4U. How's your holiday going?

Fab.

The random who owns this place, whom you paid hundreds to for the hire of would like to let in viewers. 10% off.

For real? Tell then to come another day. We are on holiday!

If you find your home not selling, it may be over-priced.

It is not always guaranteed, as with any investment, that you will make money of even break even.

There is another option.
You could switch to selling through the same agent that you use for the lettings. Yes they may be a bit more expensive, but they are the only agents in the business who have a vested interest in doing both things - renting & selling, successfully.

Am I the only one who'd say yes to the viewers? I wouldn't alter my plans for them or tidy up, but I wouldn't object to one viewer of a holiday cottage while I was staying there. It would be different if there was one every day, but one ten minute visit in a week is no great hardship.

Guess so, because no one else would.

I can't believe you think this is an ok request for people on holiday. I hardly ever go away. I'd be leaving you a terrible review if you expected to show people round when I'd paid.

Stop renting it out if you want to sell it.

I wouldn't be happy about this at all if I was on holiday, the agent is right. If prospective buyers are serious I am sure they can arrange to visit on a suitable day when it is unoccupied

If it has been up for sale for months why didn't you instruct the letting agents to state in your information that as the property was for sale there might be viewings with fair warning during people's stay and as a reflection of this you are offering £X reduction.

I have a holiday home in the south west. I wouldn't dream of asking a paying tenant to vacate for a viewing. It's their holiday!! When I stay down there, the great thing is that I don't have a schedule, I am busy doing nothing, eat when we feel like, sleep when we feel like. Clean up - whenever. That's what people do on holiday! If I felt like I had to clear up and make myself scarce from the house, it would ruin my day. What if the hour came and it was tipping down with rain? (Often the case in teh south west). TOTALLY UNREASONABLE!

Actually I don't think YABU however maybe block 2 weeks for viewings and get the selling agent to publish that stating that x weeks are available any day for viewings.
Or maybe ask if the prospective buyer can go on change over day and explain why.