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35 replies

Ilovemycat13 · 17/04/2021 15:19

We’ve just gone on the market and are now looking around at houses; what we can get in our budget etc. The problem is, we can’t view any as no one wants to accept a viewing from someone not under offer.

Now I understand not allowing someone to offer if they aren’t in a position to move forward but not even a viewing?? This is so frustrating!

What if someone offers on our property - have they then got to wait whilst we frantically look for a property of our own?!

Why is it like this I’m stressed before it’s even begun ☹️

OP posts:
CausingChaos2 · 17/04/2021 15:57

I’m sorry but we took this stance a few years ago. Getting the house ready for a viewing when some people are just there to effectively have an afternoon out got tedious very quickly.

crimsonlake · 17/04/2021 16:00

That is the way it works, no estate agent will let you make an appointment to view unless your own property is under offer. If you have not sold your property you are not in a position to proceed with any purchase.

Original poster
Ilovemycat13 · 17/04/2021 16:00

But our property is on the market? We are only looking at properties we a) liked and would be serious about and b) in our budget. It just means we physically cannot move forward. And when people do allow it, we’ll feel on a time limit due to a chain behind us. It’s completely ridiculous

OP posts:
Original poster
Ilovemycat13 · 17/04/2021 16:01

Not all agents however, we viewed a property this morning who knew our situation

OP posts:
RoseRedRoseBlue · 17/04/2021 16:03

That’s ridiculous.

CovidCorvid · 17/04/2021 16:06

I encountered this when we last moved. Their loss. We actually sold 3 days later and I refused to go and look at the one which previously wouldn’t let us. 🤷‍♀️ I’d seen 6 nice ones by then.

Crazycatlady83 · 17/04/2021 16:07

We allowed a free for all when we first when on the market. But there were so many viewings with people who weren’t proceedable, it got ridiculous. It takes time and effect to get a house ready for sale and then to have time wasted for people who just wanted to “see what they could afford”, got too much.

You sell your house, you then look to buy. Your buyers wait. That’s the process.

Also, I imagine estate agents are very busy at the moment, people trying to beat the stamp duty deadline, so don’t want to waste their time with people who can’t put offers in. If they give an appointment to you who isn’t yet proceedable, they might lose someone that is.

Andthenanothercupoftea · 17/04/2021 16:07

Mixed bag around here. Most want property on the market at minimum.
Although, my issue is I've viewed a house this morning, would like to make an offer, but can't as I don't have an offer on mine (unless one of the people who viewed ours today offer...)

Viviennemary · 17/04/2021 16:12

That's the way it works these days. Setting up a vìewing for folk not in s position to make a meaningful offer is pointless.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 17/04/2021 16:14

Here this was introduced for viewings during COVID, to avoid being in and out of people’s houses unless able to proceed.

No risk of letting time wasters into your home.

Original poster
Ilovemycat13 · 17/04/2021 16:16

I understand not being able to offer until yours is under offer. But how can you tell (bar rightmove) what you like, what the houses are like in your budget etc if you can’t view? Like a previous poster said; a lot of people will miss out as people will just say no I don’t want to view anymore, thanks! Like we probably will if we see a nicer one

OP posts:
NewHouseNewMe · 17/04/2021 16:16

I am sitting on the fence for this one. We offered on a house and didn't even have ours on the market. The buyer gave us 3 weeks to find a buyer - it took a (stressful!) week to get our house ready to show and then get an offer.
We didn't stipulate the same for our own but there were a lot looking around who couldn't proceed at the price. Annoying but just the way it is.

purplepenguin91 · 17/04/2021 16:28

It's the advice estate agents have been given due to Covid. They are reducing footfall into properties so only proceedable people can view and it ultimately slows everything down. If you are at the bottom of the chain then you need to be prepared to wait for a while unfortunately. Quite a lot of house have virtual viewings now which helps get a feel.

It's frustrating as we didn't want to put our house on the market until we found something as we are looking for something very specific. But we were forced to as there were a few potential houses when we listed, then by the time we were under offer they were gone. So now we are likely going to have to rent as our buyers have been waiting months and we still haven't found anything.

Lazypuppy · 17/04/2021 16:33

We were able to view before selling, probably more because of COVID atm.

It is frustrating, but make sure the estate agents know what you are looking for with your next property so they can set up viewings for you as soon as you accept an offer

chipsndippy · 17/04/2021 16:40

I think it's pretty sensible. Getting the house sorted for viewing is a total pain for some people, especially if they have kids. If you're not proceedable the chances are the house will be sold to someone else by the time you get an offer. It makes more sense to wait for an offer then see what's on the market at that time.

Bluntpencil · 17/04/2021 17:00

We are doing a let to buy for this very reason. Can’t find a house unless you have sold, so we are having to refinance, stress ourselves like mad to get a house that we want

JudgeRindersMinder · 17/04/2021 17:06

We had an offer accepted on a house before ours was even on the market. It was only because our house is in a highly desirable area/street where property doesn’t hang about. We sold within a fortnight and we’re moving at the end of the month

Didiusfalco · 17/04/2021 17:08

It was like that where we live before Covid. We did manage to see some where the estate agents held the keys, which could be an idea for getting a feel of what is available in your price range.

chickenbreast · 17/04/2021 17:12

We were slowly viewing houses to see if we find something. When we saw we put an offer and our house on the market. Vendor pulled off so when we saw our present house we were on the market. No problems to get viewings. This was in 2019 before covid.

crazylikechocolate · 17/04/2021 17:18

Houses are selling far faster than they are coming onto the market here in the SE , it's totally a sellers market
So to be fair from the sellers and estate agents perspective getting a house ready to view takes time and effort, all that is pointless unless the viewer is in a position to proceed.

TeachesOfPeaches · 17/04/2021 17:21

Just say that your house is under offer

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 17/04/2021 17:25

@TeachesOfPeaches

Just say that your house is under offer
The EAs check with your EA!

They check your AIP as well, if relevant.

ISaidDontLickTheBin · 17/04/2021 17:25

We had this while looking, although a few vendors/agents relented when they didn't get any viewings! And vacant properties are usually ok to view round here.

I understood it more in the cases where the house was back on the market after chain collapse. Then, they only want people who can proceed straight away.

BackforGood · 17/04/2021 18:00

That's the way it works these days. Setting up a vìewing for folk not in a position to make a meaningful offer is pointless.

It's not pointless.
It might be a pain in the butt when you are selling, and obviously it is your right as a vendor not to want it, but, until people view they won't know if it is the house for them, and you could potentially miss out on someone who might want to buy and might be able to buy in the near future.

You have to be realistic when selling your house. You also have to understand that buying a house is a massive undertaking for people - you aren't buying a dress, a bag or a pair of shoes, you are taking on a debt for the next 25 - 30 years. Of course people need to be sure, and they become sure by doing research and viewing several properties.

Sh05 · 17/04/2021 18:08

Out local EA had similar conditions and this was pre covid. I very politely pointed out to them that a property in our street had sold STC within 3 days of the for sale board going up. They agreed to let us view as the homes in our area were in demand

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