Estate agents refusing viewing

[FTB2022]

We are first time buyers so not really familiar with the process and not sure if this is the norm!

I called requesting a viewing for a great looking property just over 24 hours after it was posted online. I was told the viewings are all filled and they aren't accepting any more viewings but would add me to a waiting list. Over a week has passed and the property is still online, now with a note that no viewings are being accepted.

Is this normal? As a seller I think I'd be quite miffed at my estate agents turning away potential buyers! I've emailed again asking for a viewing.

We have made estate agents aware that we are in a position to offer full asking if it's the right property.

They have also said they will not add us to their priority list unless we have a decision in principle from their in house broker. A copy of a decision from our broker would not be enough. Is this normal?

Thanks for your opinions!

Sounds very weird. A lot of estate agents put themselves before their sellers though and they obviously don’t want to do more work than they need to!

It’s normal for this market from my own experience. Have been looking for 5 months and have an AIP but this has happened to us a few times with desirable properties in popular areas. Even when we call straight away it’s often fully booked and we end up on a waiting list. I once left it three hours after a house had gone on right move and they already had 42 viewings and I was number 6 on the waiting list. It’s crazy at the moment. Good luck

They have also said they will not add us to their priority list unless we have a decision in principle from their in house broker. A copy of a decision from our broker would not be enough. Is this normal?

This is dodgy and estate agents have got into trouble for saying this. If I were you I would go back strongly and say you will be reporting them unless they allow you to view.

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-5961735/Buyers-misled-using-estate-agents-mortgage-brokers-claims.html

Thank you for this. It did seem unfair to me, but wasn't aware that it was potentially breaking the rules. I'll definitely look into whether I need to report them!!

@HulahoopsBBQbeef thanks, it really is so frustrating. Good luck to you too! Surely the market can't continue like this...

Yes I have come across not willing to show as they have all viewing slots booked. The latter though is trouble - but they are stupid to do this. And I don't believe in a preferential list anyway. Too bad we don't have a multiple listing service in this country where any agent can see any property.

I have a neighbour with 33 viewings booked within 2 hours of estate agent opening. It is taking a week to do those viewings. Then they will likely go to best and finals.
They know from the estate agent they could have shown another 30 people around, but why bother? They are likely to get 25% above (inflated IMO) listing price anyway.

Interesting. DS is looking in a bit of a hot spot in his city, and lost out on a house which went to best and final a couple of weeks ago. (He had managed to see it the week leading up to Christmas when things were a bit dead and he had a long chat with the EA then)
The agent called him yesterday to offer a pre- marketing viewing on another house nearby. He has a hefty deposit and an AIP from a well known broker, not their in-house one.
In his experience, some estate agents mark properties as Sold Subject to Contract quickly, other take ages,. He has called about lots of houses which look as if they have been on the market for ages, and has been told they were sold a while ago.
He has also called about houses that are new on Rigjtmove and they are booked up or already sold, so I sympathise.
Have you tried visiting or calling the agents and chatting about what you need and asking to go on their email lists?
It's bonkers at the moment.

This isn't unusual in the current market.

Where I live, houses are selling within days, and almost always above asking price. I quite often see adverts saying that viewings are fully booked.

It's probably in a bidding war , if you can afford to offer above asking it might be worth letting the estate agents know how far over you can go .

It’s normal. If it’s a property with a lot of interest then the sellers will probably already have enough offers to consider. Unless you’re going to offer something wildly different, I think you might just have to accept it unfortunately.

Make yourself known to estate agents by going in to meet them so they remember you when properties become available. Show them proof of your mortgage offer and let them know you can be flexible enough to do viewings at short notice.

If they’ve already booked, say, 30 viewings in the first day to happen over the next 2 weeks, it doesn’t really make sense to keep scheduling more viewings. In this market the chances that none of those 30 will make an offer is vanishingly slim. You have to draw the line somewhere or you could be doing hundreds of viewings.

They have also said they will not add us to their priority list unless we have a decision in principle from their in house broker. A copy of a decision from our broker would not be enough. Is this normal

I had an agent do this to me years ago when I was a FTB, even though I already had a mortgage in principle from a reputable building society and had offered asking price. It went to somebody who offered less but used their in house broker.

I actually found something better and made sure I told everyone what shysters they were.

The vendors might have asked the agents to stop booking viewings. Our house is on the market. It went live on Wednesday. By the following Monday we'd already had 23 viewings. They were back to back last weekend. By Monday morning I'd asked the agent to stop booking people in as I couldn't work and show people round the house (I'm WFH).

Every morning I was having to clean the house before work so I could do viewings at lunchtime. At the weekend I had to get the kids and dogs out of the house, it was completely unsustainable and by that point we already had offers well over the asking price. It went to best and final on Thursday. The pace of the market in our area is crazy. We're trying to buy at the same time - it's a nightmare.

You need to get yourself registered with all estate agents in the area you are looking - they will be ringing round all their registered applicants BEFORE the property appears on rightmove - this is why they are fully booked for viewings when you ring after it appears on rightmove.

The limited viewings is normal at the moment unfortunately. One property we called about last summer, we were the 20th to call for a viewing in the first 10 minutes after estate agent opened, all slots gone by 9:10am. Realistically, it’s a ballache for sellers to do loads of viewings when you know you can just do 15-20 and know you’ll get at least 5 over guide price offers.

The bit about the mortgage broker is dodgy though and I’d give a big ole swerve.

Yes that's normal

We had dealings with a dodgy estate agent years ago. Were reluctant to let us view and refused to put our offer to the vendor. Property was still on the market weeks later and they had reduced the asking price to what we had offered so we put a note through the vendors door detailing our offer and with our contact details. Vendor phoned and was lovely, was bouncing about the estate agent refusing to pass on our offer as her accepted an offer from someone using their services for less than what we had offered. We still lost out but found something better.

If it’s your dream house stick a letter through the door.

Thanks all, reassuring that it's not just us dealing with this!

We have a few viewings lined up in the next week or so. Fingers crossed one will be the 'the one'!!

This happened to us with a house that was for sale in our street. Our daughter enquired about a viewing and was told that the estate agent wasn’t accepting any more viewers as they had a potential buyer lined up who was viewing it the next day. My daughter put a note through the letter box of the house, explaining what had happened and asking if she could possibly view the house. The vendor phoned her & invited her to view the next day. She made an offer which was accepted and still lives there today. I’d suggest you employ the same tactics. 😉