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Buyer turning up at house unannounced

9 replies

rockybalboa · 27/04/2015 20:14

We are selling our house. We are not it living in at the moment and some building work is being done before the sale can be completed. We haven't yet exchanged as the work had to be done first. We have been in regular email contact directly with the buyer about the progress of the work and have been sending photos. He asked on Wed last week if he could go over and have a look at the work that had been done as it was due to finish on Friday. We arranged for someone to show him round (not the estate agent) on Sat morning. We then postponed this as the work ran over into this week. The builder told us today that the buyer appeared at the door on Wed, told the plasterer that he was the buyer and asked to have a look. Plasterer obviously had no idea who this guy was and turned him away. We emailed the buyer again this morning about rearranging the visit. He hasn't yet responded but we have been told that he turned up today and tried to get the decorator to let him in. Again, he was refused. DH thinks we should tell explicitly tell the buyer not to turn up unannounced. Whilst I see his point I can't actually see that it serves any useful purpose as actually we desperately want the buyer to stick with the agreed completion date. Our pet sitter has kindly agreed to let the buyer in one evening/weekend to look around but I'm wondering whether to bat it over to the estate agent/solicitors from now on. I suspect we are partly at fault for agreeing direct email contact with the buyer in the first place as I think it has created this informal relationship which seems open to abuse. Any advice on how we should deal with this? We just want the bloody house sold so the path of least resistance is probably wisest right? I'll just take all the light bulbs in revenge...(joke!).

OP posts:
rockybalboa · 27/04/2015 20:15

Not it living in?!? FFS. We are not living in it even...

OP posts:
forago · 27/04/2015 20:17

this is what you pay estate agents for IMO

rockybalboa · 27/04/2015 20:20

Well that's what I thought. But DH thought he was being helpful by giving exchanging email addresses with the buyer. Not sure it's something I would have done.

OP posts:
morethanpotatoprints · 27/04/2015 20:21

Was it on the buyers insistance that the work was done?
I can see where he is coming from as will probably want to check the quality of work by the sounds of it.
Bloody cheek just turning up but if you aren't living in it and it isn't really a home anymore he probably thought he was doing no harm.
yes, huge mistake getting informal contacts with him, always through agent or solicitor. I wouldn't want a buyer knowing my phone number or be able to email direct.
go back to estate agent and solicitor, show him round as you agreed to this and then tell him further contact through agent or solicitors only.

Lucy61 · 27/04/2015 20:39

Refer to estate agent. You shouldn't be dealing with this yourselves and asking friends/sitters to do you favours! You're paying the agents, aren't you?

rockybalboa · 27/04/2015 20:47

Sort of Morethan. It is work which was picked up in his survey and no-one will buy the house unless we have it done. I get that he wants to check that there isn't a crappy great hole left or anything which seriously mars the property but it's the underhand popping round I don't like when he's also been in direct email contact with us. Given that we need him on board, would we be churlishly cutting off our noses to spite our faces by referring him back to the estate agent from now on?

OP posts:
BasinHaircut · 27/04/2015 20:57

I'd just suck it up and let him get on with it TBH. If you aren't living there then I honestly can't imagine what the inconvenience is?

Devora · 27/04/2015 21:14

I wouldn't get this out of proportion. Yes, he's being a bit cheeky, but I can imagine him not realising that and - given that you're not living there - it's not really doing any harm, is it? I wouldn't go out of my way to accommodate him either, but I see no reason for upset on either side.

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 27/04/2015 23:42

Another vote for sucking it up here - I can't see what harm it can do and understand your buyer wanting to check all work is being done correctly....

I'd rather accept it than risk jeopardising the sale.

It's weird, being in direct email contact with your buyer can either be a very good or very bad idea - I firmly believe it kept our sale together last year when our buyer was having all kinds of issues with her lender and sol - but I do agree it lends an informality that isn't normally warranted in such transactions and boundaries can be overstretched.

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