Would you put a note through the door?

[herewegonumbertwo]

Our house has gone on the market today.
We have been eyeing up a nearby property for weeks which has been on the market for a few months.
The estate agents won't let us go and see it until we have sold ours.
We would rather see it so if we like it then once we've sold ours we can move forward quickly. We are really really keen on it but obviously need to see it in person to know for sure. How much we liked it in person would influence what kind of offer we would accept on ours.
Our house is super sellable, all similar ones on our street have gone quickly recently.
We are in a tier 1 area.
Would you put a note through the door asking to see it? Or am I being a CFer? And if you would put a note through what would you say to not sound pushy?
Thanks

Can you ask the estate agent to talk to the vendor first, let them make the decision about you viewing, after all, the agent is 'employed' by the vendor

@Whatisgoingdown we've asked the estate agent twice and the first one said they'd ask the vendor but when we called back the second one said they hadn't asked and wouldn't ask as they don't want to do unproceedable viewings as agents either

Why not?

Of course it might be that the seller has told the agent to do this, but if not they might be pleased to know what is going on.

What do you have to lose by putting a polite note thru?

I have to admit that sellers like you make me nervous. When we were last house hunting, we kept being told "Oh the people selling that house aren't accepting offers right now because the house they wanted isn't available." We made a point to look for sellers who were able to be a lot more flexible about moving as soon as anyone offered enough.

@starfishmummy that's what our estate agent said. I guess I was worried they might think we're being pushy. Apparently there are other people who want to see it but are in the same position so they might wonder why we think we are so special that we should get to see it when they can't.

I wouldn’t. They must have instructed their EA to say that.

@lljkk thanks. We are having anyone and everyone to view ours and open to offers really,
If we had already seen this other house and loved it we would be tempted to accept the first offer on ours so we could snap up the other one. But we might hold out for a higher offer if we aren't under as much pressure if we saw this other one and decided it wasn't right.

@Suzi888 nearly all the estate agents in the area are doing the same thing. They said it was half them as agents deciding it and half the vendors choice so I wondered if they may be open to a bit of persuasion whereas the EA is immediately blocking it

I'd do it 100%. We once bought a house that wasn't even on the market because we put a note through the door saying we liked it and it turned out the owners were considering selling and our note pushed them to make the move (and sell it to us)!

More recently, an EA wouldn't let us view a house because their single open house event (the only opportunity there was to view the property) was full. Rang after the event to be told it had gone to 'best and final' offers and no new buyers were being considered. Decided to be cheeky and just turn up on the doorstep - owners were really nice and allowed us to book a viewing. Actually didn't end up offering but we would have been taken seriously and considered along with the others if we had.

I always think with houses that you should go for it, and most people are pretty human so if you are polite and friendly and explain your position they'll hear you out. And if it doesn't go your way then at least you've tried!

You've got nothing to lose. If they want you to see it, they'll get in touch and let you. If they think you're a CF, they'll ignore the note and you can book a viewing through the agent when you're sold yours instead.

Go for it, you dont have anything to lose! Worst case scenario they ignore the note, but you'd be no worse off than you are now.

I'd put a note through the door saying your house is on the market and you're interested in buying theirs but their agent has refused you an viewing appt. Give your name address and phone number.

I don’t understand op, if you get an offer you can view it pretty immediately. Rhe agent is right, you’re not proceedable. If I was the vendor I’d say come see it when you’ve sold. And I doubt you’d be rhe agents best mate to boot.

I would try a note and explain i would wear a mask,bring my own hand sanitizer and wear disposable gloves ?

No I wouldn’t they obviously don’t want to show the house to people who aren’t proceedable. It’s a ball ache getting a house ready for viewings and reasonable to only bother for serious buyers.

As soon as you have offers on the table then go and see it.

I’d knock on the door or note , nothing to lose , maybe everything to gain . The worst that can happen is they say no 🙂

I'm in the same position as you , personally I would wait until I have an offer , as you simply cannot do anything until you have sold anyway
Get all your paperwork etc bang up to date then you can act swiftly when it's time
If you say you are in a very sought after area you shouldn't have to wait long

@herewegonumbertwo I agree with previous posters, and think popping a note through the door isn’t a bad idea. After all, if they don’t like the idea they won’t allow a viewing, so no loss.

If it’s been on the market for a while, and houses in your area are selling fast, it will speed up the process if you’ve viewed the property and made your mind up.

Thanks everyone. Mostly in agreement and for the people who think it's not a good idea, I totally get your points.

I think I will put a note through, but will wait a couple of days first and hopefully get some interest on mine then it's a better compromise and we are a bit more worth their time and effort.

@Covidcovidcovid thanks, I would of course have worn a mask but wouldn't have thought to say this so will include in my note

Good luck OP!

We are still living in our first mortgaged home and honesty threads like this make me wonder how anyone buys and sells houses. I don't know what the common process is but it feels mad they basically asking you to have sold your house with now where to go before even viewing. I'd put a note through the door.

You have nothing to lose, pop the note through!

No, I think you're a CF to go behind the agents back and contact seller direct. Its most likely they have instructed their agent to only do proceedable viewings, what makes you so special?

@Isthisannoying I know, I just don't understand it. It's our first time selling and I'm worried we will end up buying something that isn't quite right just because we are being pushed to sell and then find somewhere. I would prefer to get a feel for different houses. That said, I can understand people's reluctance to have strangers in their house at the moment. I guess it's win win for sellers who are only going with proceedable offers as it shifts all the risk onto the buyer.

I'm more than happy for buyers to look round mine with masks and hand sanitiser. I'd rather have 5 time wasters and 1 offer than no time wasters and no offers

If the sellers are confident their house will sell quickly (as you are with yours) they won't want people who aren't in a position to proceed traipsing round their house unneccessarily, especially during a pandemic. They have given their instructions to their agent, you should probably respect that. What can a viewing tell you that good photos and a floorplan can't for the time being?