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Original poster

Is there any point in viewing a house before mine is ion the market?

27 replies

shreddies · 26/12/2021 05:05

A house in a street I would love to live on has come up, but not only is my house not in the market, it's also in need of quite a lot of work.

Is there any point in thinking about this? Or is the market still crazy at the moment. It was listed a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering about ringing the estate agent that's selling the other house and seeing if they might have anyone on their books who would be interested in mine.

This is in zone 3 London - an area popular with families for context.

OP posts:
Agadorsparticus · 26/12/2021 05:11

Where I am, EAs won't let you view a property unless yours is already on.

redfairy · 26/12/2021 07:10

There is no harm in asking the EA although be prepared for them to say no. Most sellers won't entertain buyers who aren't in a position to proceed. Also the market is moving so fast at the moment. I think you may find by the time yours is ready to go on the market the house you like will be sold.

Penguinsmum · 26/12/2021 07:28

We had same situation. We were just open with estate agent. They told us if we instructed them to list our home we could see it.
Was bit manic mad decluttering etc then pics taken and on Rightmove within 2 days. An offer on ours in 3 days. Unfortunately we weren't the highest bidder on the house we liked bit went on to find something else. But of a rush but worth it for us.

Roselilly36 · 26/12/2021 08:26

I wouldn’t even think about it OP, property in our city is moving so fast, I doubt the EA would allow a viewing, as you are not in a position to proceed. If you did get to view the property, of course you will love it, and end up very disappointed and then compare it to everything else you see. Around me it’s not uncommon for properties to be going well over asking. If you want to move, get yours on the market, accept an offer and then view.

oftenbaffled · 26/12/2021 08:27

Won’t let you view it

HelloDulling · 26/12/2021 08:27

Get your on, don’t worry about doing the work.

LawnFever · 26/12/2021 08:31

Just ask, see what they say. We had no issues viewing houses before ours was on the market.

What’s holding you up getting it on the market anyway? Tbh if it’s marketed right it doesn’t matter if it needs work and you might not make the money back, just get it listed as it is.

kitcat15 · 26/12/2021 09:03

You wouldn't be allowed where I am....you need to have had an offer accepted on your own house

Nomoreusernames1244 · 26/12/2021 09:13

I’ve always put my house on the market after I’ve found a property I want to offer on. Never have a problem with viewings.

If it’s london there’s every chance yours will sell quickly, so I would at least try.

Our last purchase we found a house, put an offer in, explaining our circs, but the agent advised the vendor to go with a lower offer with someone who had their house under offer. Fair enough.

Two months later found another, offer accepted, sold our house (z3 london) in a week (slow market 😂). We were moved in within 12 weeks, two months later the other house hadn’t even exchanged.

Yorkie64 · 26/12/2021 09:38

We saw a house we liked a month or so ago. Ours wasn’t on the market. We viewed it, decided we liked it, put ours on which sold in days and had our offer accepted. So it’s worth a go - you’ll never know if you don’t go for it!

Original poster
shreddies · 26/12/2021 18:10

I thought so. This one will go quickly it's a great location and a good price.

It's tricky, I only want to move to a very few streets so feels risky to sell and then cross fingers that something comes up

OP posts:
vickyc90 · 26/12/2021 18:13

@shreddies

I thought so. This one will go quickly it's a great location and a good price.

It's tricky, I only want to move to a very few streets so feels risky to sell and then cross fingers that something comes up

We viewed the one we complete on soon before selling ours. We offered on the day let the estate agent sell ours (so they would stop viewing on the one we offered on), ours sold in 3 hours for slightly under market value.
PegasusReturns · 26/12/2021 18:14

It's tricky, I only want to move to a very few streets so feels risky to sell and then cross fingers that something comes up

I think a lot of people are in that situation. Surely in those circumstances people still manage to move?

oftenbaffled · 26/12/2021 18:19

@shreddies

I thought so. This one will go quickly it's a great location and a good price.

It's tricky, I only want to move to a very few streets so feels risky to sell and then cross fingers that something comes up

It’s what the vast majority have to do

If you are committed to move, you put your home on the market
I would point blank say no thanks for anyone wanting to view that didn’t have their home on the market.

Original poster
shreddies · 26/12/2021 18:22

I don't know if it is what most people do - when I've moved before I've had a rough area in mind, or perhaps two and so I've had a lot more flexibility. Literally only wanting two or three streets feels a bit different. But I take your point, you're all confirming what I thought.

OP posts:
wineandchocolateforthewin · 26/12/2021 18:29

@Agadorsparticus

Where I am, EAs won't let you view a property unless yours is already on.
Same where i am
arethereanyleftatall · 26/12/2021 18:33

It isn't about whether there's any point for you to view it - it's about whether there's any point for the sellers/estate agents to waste their time letting you view it.
It takes me about 3 hours to clean my house for a viewing, then I have to organise myself and dc out of the house - I will only do it if the buyer is in a position to proceed.

FTEngineerM · 26/12/2021 18:37

I don’t know why everyone’s so dramatic about not letting you view.

Ours isn’t even on the market yet but we’ve been to see 4 now; we’ve called and asked 5. So we’re at 20% not liking the fact we’re ‘not proceedable’.

LondonGrub · 26/12/2021 18:42

I wouldn't allow someone to view my home if they were not in a position to buy. Houses fly off the market here, it would be a waste of everyone's time.

WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor · 26/12/2021 18:45

It’s a good idea to view it to get an idea of whats on offer in the area your looking in. It will help you understand what you want.

LondonGrub · 26/12/2021 18:45

@FTEngineerM

I don’t know why everyone’s so dramatic about not letting you view.

Ours isn’t even on the market yet but we’ve been to see 4 now; we’ve called and asked 5. So we’re at 20% not liking the fact we’re ‘not proceedable’.

It's not about being dramatic but it's about saving time and stress. Every new viewer who comes to see my house means I need to clean and hoover and get prepared. When I was selling my last home I was nine months pregnant with a three year old. It was an absolute pain to get their shit cleared up and get them out of the house for every viewer. After one too many viewers with flats not on the market in instructed my EA to only allow viewings for folk who were ready to go.
oftenbaffled · 26/12/2021 19:08

@shreddies

I don't know if it is what most people do - when I've moved before I've had a rough area in mind, or perhaps two and so I've had a lot more flexibility. Literally only wanting two or three streets feels a bit different. But I take your point, you're all confirming what I thought.
Out of interest Why do you think fact your are looking locally has any impact on anything?
Original poster
shreddies · 26/12/2021 19:33

@oftenbaffled because I won't bother to move if I can't move to these couple of streets.

OP posts:
oftenbaffled · 26/12/2021 19:49

Yes from your perspective

But a vendor won’t cafe

In fact. I’d think they were just having a nose!

oftenbaffled · 26/12/2021 19:49

Care