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Original poster

EA not allowing people to see the garage ?

53 replies

NCForthisxox · 26/10/2021 12:28

I've come across this a couple of times now seen a really promising house today asked to look inside the garage and measure we have a classic car that can't be left outside it's a deal breaker for us .

We would have strongly considered putting in an offer on the day but the EA said they can't show us the garage but it does fit the car in. How can we know that without seeing it? Am I being unreasonable to say if I'm going to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds I want to be able to see what I'm buying and how big it is?

OP posts:
ZiggysPFrow · 26/10/2021 12:30

Put in a conditional offer? Then the vendors will realise what the estate agents are doing

Viviennemary · 26/10/2021 12:32

Of course you need to see inside the garage. What are they hiding.

SickAndTiredAgain · 26/10/2021 12:34

Have you ever said “we’re interested in making an offer but will not unless we see the garage” what do they say to that? Do they still refuse?

IveGotASongThatllGetOnYNerves · 26/10/2021 12:37

I agree with pp.
We are interested but will not consider making an offer until we see inside the garage.

User2638483 · 26/10/2021 12:37

They’ve blatantly put all their crap in there 😂

Upwardtrajectory · 26/10/2021 12:43

We had this. The lady ‘couldn’t find the key.’ We didn’t mind as it was a big wooden affair in the middle of the garden that we planned to remove anyway.
Turned out to have a 4ft deep, concrete lined inspection pit in the floor………

tanstaafl · 26/10/2021 12:44

Fake garage? Used to be one but they’ve turned it into an extra room/gym/office but keep it quiet to keep the council tax banding the same?

Getyourarseofffthequattro · 26/10/2021 12:46

We had this but the poor guy genuinely couldn't find the key.

It's possible it's full of shit. Ours was certainly full of shit, however I just apologized as I opened the door and promised we'd remove it all Grin

Original poster
NCForthisxox · 26/10/2021 12:56

@SickAndTiredAgain

Have you ever said “we’re interested in making an offer but will not unless we see the garage” what do they say to that? Do they still refuse?
I said to the EA we were interested in making an offer but we need to see the garage as we have a classic car they said , there's nothing I can do the owner has private things in there and the previous viewers have a mini that would fit in the garage so we should trust that . Hmm

The sooner this boom is over the better I wouldn't dream of not letting buyers see all of a house. It's a shame as it was a nice house.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 26/10/2021 13:03

the owner has private things in there

A sex dungeon?

I can't imagine what is so private that you can't show someone the garage. Shove a sheet over it before viewings or something!

I don't think you are being unreasonable at all.

TuftyMarmoset · 26/10/2021 13:09

Yanbu, that’s bizarre. We had issues viewing one house we liked but we had about 3 viewings and the EA kept saying they would let us into the garden and then on the day they would say they couldn’t find the back door key. We said we wouldn’t make an offer until we could see the back of the house (wanted to make sure the roof etc looked ok) and they eventually found it. We didn’t buy the house though in the end and stopped viewing anything listed with that EA!

HopeHappy · 26/10/2021 13:25

If it was a house you were really interested in, I'd be tempted to put a note through the door and say that without being able to see inside the garage you're not able to put in an offer.

You never know what the EA is telling the householder and if they're not getting many other offers, they might change their opinion if they know.

YANBU though - you could ensure a surveyor had access, but if there is something to hide then you've paid for a survey for nothing.

Sparklfairy · 26/10/2021 13:33

If it was a house you were really interested in, I'd be tempted to put a note through the door and say that without being able to see inside the garage you're not able to put in an offer.

I was just about to say this but you beat me to it!

If you really like the house, go over the EA's head.

Chumleymouse · 26/10/2021 13:41

Meth lab in there and the ea is in on it .

EdgeOfTheSky · 26/10/2021 14:11

@tanstaafl

Fake garage? Used to be one but they’ve turned it into an extra room/gym/office but keep it quiet to keep the council tax banding the same?
No, must be something much more suspicious / exciting than that - CT band doesn’t change for any extension / improvement you do yourself.
tanstaafl · 26/10/2021 17:25

@EdgeOfTheSky

Surely CT is based on value of property?

If a double garage say was converted with the door removed and double glazing with wall built , that extra room could push the house value into the next CT band?

SoupDragon · 26/10/2021 17:55

[quote tanstaafl]@EdgeOfTheSky

Surely CT is based on value of property?

If a double garage say was converted with the door removed and double glazing with wall built , that extra room could push the house value into the next CT band?[/quote]
Only when the house is sold. It doesn't change the band whilst you still own it.

CreepySpider · 26/10/2021 17:57

I think it’s likely the truth and the owners has filled it up so the house doesn’t look cluttered or have anything or value in it.

I’d put in an offer and say it’s dependent upon having access to the garage to measure up. If you make it clear you will only go in the garage, the seller has the chance to move all their stuff into the house so you can get in to measure up.

Comefromaway · 26/10/2021 18:00

The garage was a dealbreaker for us too as we planned to convert into an office.

A good EA would feed back to the seller that a potential buyer needed to see the garage. Their loss.

FurierTransform · 26/10/2021 18:03

Your not being unreasonable - i'd just tell the agent you are planning to put in an offer, but it's dependent on you viewing & measuring up the garage beforehand -the end-. They will surely arrange a time for you to visit again - anything else is deeply suspicious.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 26/10/2021 18:10

We had people look in our garage - and most didn’t need to, they just wanted a look at what they were buying!

CreepySpider · 26/10/2021 18:11

@TakeYourFinalPosition

We had people look in our garage - and most didn’t need to, they just wanted a look at what they were buying!
Surely you do need to though just to do a visual check that there aren’t any issues?
TakeYourFinalPosition · 26/10/2021 18:23

@CreepySpider Ah yeah sorry I wasn’t suggesting they shouldn’t - I absolutely would! Just that we’ve happily shown people our garage; so not all vendors are weird.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure if our actual buyer looked… but my husband may well have shown it to him.

BlueMongoose · 26/10/2021 20:06

We were told the key wasn't available on our first visit. When we went to do the pre-exchange visit we took a hard line and said we needed to see in it. We were able to.
It's insane how little time/access people get when spending a fortune on a house. For most of us it's by far and above our biggest spend in our lives, and some sellers don't want people around for more than about 10 or 15 minutes, and only once, before they commit, and think it's okay if they don't allow buyers to see significant areas of the property. Most of us expect to spend far longer to look at far cheaper things. It's weird.
I've spent longer being sold a decent camera than some sellers allow for you to look at a house.

Hilly17 · 26/10/2021 22:11

You might be able to fit the car in it but will you be able to open the door to get out? Lots of garages on our newish estate are too small for most cars. Beware!