Arranging viewings- question re. timescales

[fuzzyfeltfox]

If you are selling, how much warning of a viewing do your agents usually give?

If you're buying, how far in advance do you tend to make appointments to view properties?

Just interested, getting a little fed up with our agents who keep trying to get us to have viewings at very short notice, and have questioned our desire to sell the house as last time we couldn't accommodate and then moaned (because they seem to have a system of taking buyers round two other properties at the same time) 'we've had to rearrange two viewings of other properties as well'

You have to be flexible up to a point, but we once had EA ring on a Saturday morning as soon as they opened asking to send someone round. We were still in bed!

When we were looking we would ring for example on a Tuesday for a Saturday viewing. Always at least 24 hrs notice.

I think I would be reminding your EA who is working for who. Not your problem if they are doing 3 viewings at once.

When I was buying, I did have some last minute viewings. Sometimes a place would come on the market and that morning/evening was the only time we would be free to view - and we didn't want to miss out on the place.

I think it depends on how keen a buyer they seem to be. If the reason they are last minute is because they are desperate to see the place and this is their only opportunity, then it's worth accommodating them. If on the other hand it's because the agent is tacking your house onto another viewing they are doing, then definitely not worth putting yourself out over! Maybe ask the agent why these buyers need to see it NOW rather than the next day or later that day?

When we were selling, we gave the agents details of our 'preferred' viewing times - evenings and weekends and said that we'd need at least an hours notice (we had to hide the toys and get the children out of the way with DH!). I think its about keeping the agent's on side and showing that you're flexible. Obviously you have to work around your lives but in our case the priority was getting the house sold so we were prepared to bend over backwards!