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Original poster

Vendor not allowing viewing before we exchange contracts

142 replies

notanotherlockdownsurely · 10/12/2020 06:26

I first viewed in September with an estate agent and again the week later after my offer had been accepted. At the second viewing I met the vendors who sat outside while I looked around.
We're now coming up to exchange with completion shortly after Christmas and I need to measure up for where my furniture will fit ( or not)
The vendors are stating that they are not allowing any visitors due to covid restrictions. ( they are elderly and, of course, high risk)
So what would people advise me to do please?
I want the house but I want to know it's in the same condition as I last saw it before completion.

OP posts:
BefuddledPerson · 10/12/2020 07:41

@LubaLuca

"Removal of radiators Removal of boiler Leak Other domestic accident Removal of carpets Removal of bathroom or kitchen Broken windows Damage to outhouse Etc. Etc. Etc."

Those things could happen after exchange.

My point is, these things aren't less likely to happen because the op goes round for an hour on Friday. If the owners do do something stupid, there'd be comeback.

You're wrong, legally.
  • If these happen before exchange, the op has no comeback.
  • If they happen after exchange, the op does have comeback.

The only way to tell is to view 'at' exchange.

This is really very simple.

Grooticle · 10/12/2020 07:44

Yep, it’s an absolutely straightforward rule that everybody should know. You buy the property in its condition at exchange. Never exchange without another viewing!

ivfbeenbusy · 10/12/2020 07:46

I think it's ridiculous to go in and measure up for furniture and fittings before you even own the house? Are you seriously going to back out of the sale because a table won't fit 🤷‍♀️

Highly unlikely they will have trashed the place either

RoseAndRose · 10/12/2020 07:47

The presence or absence of futures and fittings is included in the contract of sale anyhow (fixtures and contexts form)

Viewing again only tells you a bit about the surface condition that day, which could well be a complete PITA to try to unscramble unless there was a really enormous change.

Unless you get another survey done (which will tell you a bit more about condition than a lay person would be sure of) and which is independent, then the reassurance of a viewing just before exchange is likely to be considerably less than it seems.

PegLegTrev · 10/12/2020 07:47

@ivfbeenbusy

I think it's ridiculous to go in and measure up for furniture and fittings before you even own the house? Are you seriously going to back out of the sale because a table won't fit 🤷‍♀️

Highly unlikely they will have trashed the place either

Unlikely but not impossible and that’s the point, covering an expensive risk with a relatively simple action!
MatildaonaWaltzer · 10/12/2020 07:48

@BefuddledPerson is correct. Seems many people sign the contract without reading it which is bizarre. No also that the majority of responses to pre contract enquiries will be “rely on your own inspection “. On that basis, it is entirely sensible and perfectly correct to send in your own boiler service person / electrician if the vendor is unable to supply warranties/ service documents etc. This notion that you’re lucky to get two visits is unfounded and not very smart. Take as many visits as you need before you decide to give someone your life savings plus a giant mortgage. Don’t be credulous because you don’t want to inconvenience someone very slightly.

Roselilly36 · 10/12/2020 07:48

We have brought & sold, quite a few times over the years, we have never viewed the property the day of exchange. Never been advised to do so, we usually view, agree an offer, a few weeks later book a second viewing to measure so we know furniture fits etc so we are prepared for moving day. Our buyers have done the same with the purchase of our house. Pretty standard I would have thought.

MatildaonaWaltzer · 10/12/2020 07:49

@ivfbeenbusy it’s rather more that they will need to order a new table / curtains or whatever if their own doesn’t fit, not that they will pull out of the sale. None of this is unreasonable or unusual.

PegasusReturns · 10/12/2020 07:49

@Olivetreekeeper

We were advised this by our IFA, our solicitor and in our mortgage paperwork

Moved a few weeks ago

I’m genuinely surprised. I’ve bought several houses over the past decade and it’s never been suggested. I’m also a lawyer and whilst I have little idea about conveyancing my professional status does mean that solicitors tend to dot i’s and cross t’s for me.

ImAKaren · 10/12/2020 07:52

I've never heard of people viewing a house as a precaution before exchange. Requesting a viewing just before exchange would make me feel that my purchaser might be looking for an excuse to change their mind on the house, or to try and reduce their offer.
I think you get two visits to a house and that's it. The only slight exception might be for a sale which has dragged on and on into the 6 month+ territory. Requesting a third viewing is taking the piss a bit, especially at the moment when they have good reason not to want anyone in their home.
If measurements were important to you then you should have taken them when you went the second time.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 10/12/2020 07:52

I've never heard of viewing again before exchange. You have viewed it enough, leave them be

Plastichearts · 10/12/2020 07:52

Yes it is recommended that you view again before exchange. I think it’s sensible.

A family member moved into a house where none of the en-suite was plumbed in, it was just free standing against the walls. Obviously that should have been picked up earlier but an extra viewing might have helped.

When I was selling, my carpets through the whole house were trashed in a messy accident (long story) just before exchange and I had to get them all professionally cleaned. The buyers did come around just before exchange and fortunately the carpets were ok by then but it’s the kind of thing that you could be very upset about if you only discovered it when you moved in.

mollscroll · 10/12/2020 07:54

Of course you should check it. You’re spending almost half a million pounds. It’s ok to see it more than twice. I’ve tried on clothes more times than that before I bought them.

Medievalist · 10/12/2020 07:55

I guess I can pull out but really really dont want to do this

And neither will they.

If you say no viewing, no exchange I bet they let you in.

Jojo19834 · 10/12/2020 07:57

Combine some of the suggestions and ask the owners to do a quick video tour and some measurements for you that you are most interested in? If they refuse then I’d throw in about not exchanging until you either view or they do the above, you are being reasonable and understanding so they need to meet you in the middle

mollscroll · 10/12/2020 07:58

@ivfbeenbusy

I think it's ridiculous to go in and measure up for furniture and fittings before you even own the house? Are you seriously going to back out of the sale because a table won't fit 🤷‍♀️

Highly unlikely they will have trashed the place either

But that goes both ways. The vendors will also know she’s not going to back out because a table doesn’t fit. She’s just trying to get things ready and also do the last legal check. I wouldn’t hand over several hundred thousand pounds without having one last check. If this couple want to sell they can sit in the garden for 30 mins. Or take it off the market and sell next year.
shallbe · 10/12/2020 07:58

Some EAs advise against additional viewings to avoid further negotiation of price. I don't think viewings before exchange are as standard as some posters are making it out to be though I understand the logic and have done it myself (for measuring purposes, house was empty anyway), a viewing before exchange won't stop anything happening before completion though and you'd be able to take legal action if a kitchen was removed!

If your vendors won't let you in there's very little you can do, you don't have a legal right to see the property, you can't compel them, so you need to decide if it's a big enough issue for you to make you consider walking away from or not. It wouldn't be for me.

shallbe · 10/12/2020 08:01

Just adding I didn't realise there was no recourse before exchange (though I'm sure there would be something to challenge due to the fixtures and fittings documentation?), but surely a final viewing would only have value in this context if you literally viewed the day/moment of exchange?

joystir59 · 10/12/2020 08:03

We viewed the property between exchange and completion to make everything was ok before money changed hands and at the point when the vendor would have been contractually liable for damage or goods removed that had been included in the sale. I don't see any point viewing before exchange tbh.

MatildaonaWaltzer · 10/12/2020 08:05

@shallbe of course estate agents are against it - they act for the seller so it’s in their very great interest to ensure any minor defects / issues are kept well hidden until it’s too late - ie after exchange

badpuma · 10/12/2020 08:09

Most minor defects and issues are discovered through a proper survey or not discovered at all until the seller has moved out and it becomes apparent that the massive hall wardrobe which couldn't be moved hides a significant damp problem.

shallbe · 10/12/2020 08:11

@MatildaonaWaltzer my point is there is no way one way of buying a house, vendors and buyers are out for themselves most of the time, there are no rules as to how many viewings you are allowed to have, what might be in the buyer's interests could be against the vendors'. You could say buyers are silly to not view before exchange, and vendors are silly to allow it. We know particularly in bidding wars some buyers can be CF to try to get the price down later on at an awkward stage.

So it'll have to be a negotiation with the vendor and if they say no that is the end of it, as I say it's up to the buyer to decide whether that's worth walking away from or not.

lucywho123 · 10/12/2020 08:13

I didn't view again before exchange. When I got the keys, the previous owners of my house had ripped out a fire place - and had covered it with a sofa when I'd last viewed. So I was left with a massive great hole I had to get bricked and plastered over before I'd done anything else Hmm Not only that but they'd left holes in other walls (removal of light switches etc) that had I, on closer inspection been able to look for, I could've asked for that to be resolved before I moved in

I've learnt my lesson and will always try to view as close to exchange again

loutypips · 10/12/2020 08:16

Does the estate agent not have measurements, floor plan etc?

whyamidoingthistomyself · 10/12/2020 08:17

Thanks for this thread OP

We are sellers in a similar situation ( vulnerable husband) with buyer wanting a third viewing. And really difficult to arrange a time as I am working ( manic at the moment, and here I am skiving on MN), and I cant really take an hour out of the day to walk the streets.

The difference is that so far there is no actual talk of exchange. I will suggest that we do any measurements and they can have a final check prior to exchange.