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Original poster

Viewing not possible unless your own house is under offer?

73 replies

NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 19:33

Is this the case always?

One of my adult DCs is moving (house about to go on the market within days.)

They want to view various properties but agents are saying on, unless theirs is under offer.

Is this how it is now?

Years ago, we always viewed/ offered/ then sold ours (on the basis that it was taking longer to find ourselves new home than sell an existing one.)

I full get that viewings take time and vendors don't want time wasters but....

OP posts:
PollyRae16 · 18/11/2021 19:39

Pretty standard at the moment especially as the market is so busy. We had to have sold our house in 2017 in order to even put a deposit on a new build.

Fizzgigg · 18/11/2021 19:40

It's fairly common at the moment. The market is moving so fast - certainly here in London - that they weed out time wasters or people who can't get the process moving quickly. Also vendors are accepting cash buyers etc more quickly so if you do try and put an offer in but you're but in a position to proceed immediately, you'll be rejected anyway

TeenyParent · 18/11/2021 19:40

I think the market is moving fast at the moment so it is probably not worth viewing until you are in a position to offer. All you would be doing is viewing properties that are sold before you can buy them.
Saying that it might be worth asking other agents and if you really want to view just to get an idea of what is out there then you can always lie. I doubt most agents will be checking up on you unless you actually make an offer which their buyers wish to accept.

WakeUpLockie · 18/11/2021 19:43

It was theoretically the case when we bought back in March 2020 (moved July 2020). However we wanted this specific house and wouldn’t move if we didn’t get this house, so the estate agent let us view even though our house wasn’t on the market. Seller was fine with it and we just had to sell our house within 2 weeks for the offer to be accepted. So estate agent was motivated to do that as it meant 2 sales for him.
So basically see if there is a way it could work. They should chat to the agents and sellers :)

Bostonbullsmumma · 18/11/2021 19:47

We have just sold ours and moved and that's how it worked for us. Did cause a slight delay through the chain as once a property went under offer, the seller then had to then find one to buy. Being a seller and with covid- working from home ect- I wouldn't have wanted anyone to view who wasn't under offer or a first time buyer. Properties have been selling so fast by the time you get yours on the market the one you viewed would be under offer in this market.

Franklin12 · 18/11/2021 20:00

Please don’t be the person who says that of course their house will sell quickly too. Our neighbours had someone who got very arsy with their agent when some potential buyers wanted to view without having their own house on the market.

Said it would sell in a flash. Now where have we heard that before....

Minikievs · 18/11/2021 20:07

I was told this too. One agent let me, but another was adamant I couldn't view without being on the market.
So I put mine on, it sold the next day and when I saw it, I didn't like the house that I had been desperate to view!
I understand why they do it but it goes both ways-for all the time wasters they get rid of, there's people like me who ended up panic viewing everything in sight because mine sold and I had nowhere to move to!

icedancerlenny · 18/11/2021 20:10

Yes this is common now. I lost my sale because of it - they wanted a 6 week turnaround but I couldn’t find anything to buy!

Lupee · 18/11/2021 20:14

It's been like that for decades. Why should people spend hours tidying up for people whose house might take a year to get an offer?

RufustheBadgeringReindeer · 18/11/2021 20:16

We moved in june

Viewed the property before our house was on the market

It worked out for us but I appreciate that its not necessarily the norm nowadays

WakeUpLockie · 18/11/2021 20:17

@Lupee

It's been like that for decades. Why should people spend hours tidying up for people whose house might take a year to get an offer?
But right now houses are selling faster than ever so it is very unlikely to take a year.
Lupee · 18/11/2021 20:24

But for that reason, nobody needs to wait. They can get a buyer who's ready to go. I have a friend who went to look at a house without even thinking about getting hers on the market yet. She'd not tidied up, decluttered, contacted estate agents to get quotes, arranged a mortgage - absolutely nothing. The house she saw had a buyer within a week. It's just wasting people's time if you're nowhere near ready. With small DC it really riled me at the time. Because it would take me at least 2 hours to get the house ready for viewing.

WakeUpLockie · 18/11/2021 20:27

But if you’re sold then can’t find anywhere to buy then the whole chain has to wait for you. I agree neither way is ideal though!

RavingAnnie · 18/11/2021 20:30

@WakeUpLockie

But if you’re sold then can’t find anywhere to buy then the whole chain has to wait for you. I agree neither way is ideal though!
I agree with this. It took us a year to find a house last time we bought/sold!
Lupee · 18/11/2021 20:33

You have the option to go into rented until you find somewhere. But you cannot be waiting for someone else to get their house on the market, do viewings, get an offer they like etc. That holds the entire chain up.

Original poster
NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 20:34

There are pros and cons each way surely.

If your mortgage offer is sorted, you have your house on the market, etc, then 'under offer' still guarantees nothing- for buyer or vendor.

People can go around making/ accepting offers all the time but unless you go right to XC contracts, it's not binding. You can easily tell an agent you have an offer.

It's unreasonable IMO to expect someone to get to XC stage and have nowhere to go.

Also most people are in a chain of 2/3/ 4 others, so any offer can fall through, as they do.

I also don't see the point if spending half a day tidying up! Your photos should show the rooms 'dressed' at their best.

If you have kids , buyers do not expect a pristine house. They should see passed that. A quick tidy up and clean bathroom/ kitchen is essential but other than that....

OP posts:
Original poster
NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 20:35

@Lupee

You have the option to go into rented until you find somewhere. But you cannot be waiting for someone else to get their house on the market, do viewings, get an offer they like etc. That holds the entire chain up.
Except in the SE the going rate for a 2-bed is around £1K+ a month so for a minimum of 6 months that's a waste of money towards a house.
OP posts:
stalkersaga · 18/11/2021 20:36

Standard in a hot market like the current one. If you're not ready to make a credible, i.e. funded, offer right away you're not ready and there's no point viewing.

Lupee · 18/11/2021 20:37

But most in the SE would be paying that plus more for monthly mortgage.

Excited85 · 18/11/2021 20:41

@WakeUpLockie

But if you’re sold then can’t find anywhere to buy then the whole chain has to wait for you. I agree neither way is ideal though!
Completely agree. I sold mine over 6 months ago as wasn’t ‘allowed’ to view anywhere without being under offer, and then nothing came up that was suitable despite viewing everything that vaguely ticked any of my boxes! Have ended up letting my buyers down recently and taking mine off the market as it felt so unfair on the poor first time buyers waiting to get into mine and probably missing out on other properties in the meantime. Genuinely believe it should work the other way around - you put in an offer on a house then have a time limit in which to sell yours and down the chain it goes so you’re pushed to accept an offer and everything moves fairly quickly. Going upwards seems to mean that you sell and then just have to wait patiently to see what the market turns up, offer on something potentially unsuitable that you’ve only viewed for ten mins so as to not lose your buyer, then that seller has their turn at waiting for the market, and so on, no wonder chains are taking months to form!
WickedWitchOfTheTrent · 18/11/2021 20:42

It's standard at the moment. We sold and bought last year and the estate agents were taking this stance

A bit chicken and egg really, people can't view to buy if they've not sold. But if you've not sold you can't view, so you can't sell to buy

Original poster
NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 20:43

@Lupee

But most in the SE would be paying that plus more for monthly mortgage.
Yes but they would be paying something off- the capital or the interest not pouring it down the drain. And they may well have to put their furniture into storage.
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Original poster
NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 20:46

It is a relatively new thing.

We've not moved for over 20 years. Our previous 2 homes were all bought on the basis of us putting in an accepted offer, then selling ours. We were moving up market so it was relatively quick to sell ours, but harder for us to find another house that ticked all the boxes missing from the previous homes we had.

Bother our previous homes sold in weeks but we looked for over year to find the one we offered on (and bought.)

OP posts:
traka · 18/11/2021 20:53

Some EA's say this, other's don't

The ones that do see you as not proceedable unless you're under offer

When we put our house on the market a year ago the EA said it's up to us. We said a viewer needs to have a mortgage in principle, be a cash buyer, a FTB or have their house on the market if an owner

Original poster
NotonMyHighSt · 18/11/2021 20:55

@traka

Some EA's say this, other's don't

The ones that do see you as not proceedable unless you're under offer

When we put our house on the market a year ago the EA said it's up to us. We said a viewer needs to have a mortgage in principle, be a cash buyer, a FTB or have their house on the market if an owner

That's all very reasonable.
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