Is there a property buying/selling etiquette?

[TigerFeet]

DH and I have been browsing houses on the internet and spotted a couple of potentials.

We are not desperate to move, unless we find the right house for the right price... would it be wrong to view houses if our house is not on the market? Houses on our street tend to sell fairly quickly and ours is in good nick so we have no reason to believe it would take ages to sell.

Sorry for daft question, we are still living in the first house we bought so have no clue when it comes to selling

weeeeelllll - it depends as vendors will only let people who are under offer etc view as it otherwise it is a waste of time
you are right to have a look round, see what the market is like etc

I don't think a vendor will take your offer seriously until you have a buyer lined up.

So by all means view, make an offer, but unless your house does get snapped up pronto, you might well lose the next house to someone who is in a position to proceed.

The real trouble is that by the time you have gone ahead and made an offer which has been accepted, you are mentally "out" of your current house, having images of yourself in dream home, and then it all becomes a bit unsatisfactory if your dream home is sold to someone else.

Thanks all

I did wonder if that would be the case

Looks like dh and I will have to Make A Decision....

Agree you are really unlikely to get an offer accepted unless your is at very least on the market or under offer, let alone negotiate any reduction. I thought such viewers were timewasters tbh, tried to avoid them even viewing, and by the time you have got organised and sold the ideal house will have already been snapped up buy someone in a proceedable position.