How long for first viewings?

lemonyellows · 2023-04-26T17:43:39+00:00

We had 2 very short first viewings today. Max 10 minutes. How long do you normally take or have experienced others taking? Haven't had feedback yet but I am assuming not interested.

ConstanceContraire · 26/04/2023 18:50

I wouldn't think that. It's a weekday - they may have taken time off and had to squeeze in as many viewings as possible.
We certainly had to as working people buying a 30+min drive away from our old house. We requested a second viewing if interested but if it was a really good house (this was during Covid bidding wars) we put in an offer straightaway.
The agent usually went to best and finals in the latter case which was the time to request a second viewing.

ConstanceContraire · 26/04/2023 18:52

Also to add OP 10 mins is enough for a cursory look to rule out any obvious issues. Size of drive, garden, dangerous roads, noise etc.
When you've seen plenty of properties they're all much of a muchness.

Roselilly36 · 26/04/2023 19:00

My EA said 15mins max, we were selling quite a large detached family house, 5 bed, 3 bath, double garage, garden back and front, conservatory. So 10mins sounds ok, for a first viewing, second viewings are often longer, usually before an offer. Good luck OP.

Djmaggie · 26/04/2023 19:41

Our first viewing was in and out in five minutes or less. Second was here for half an hour asking loads of questions. It was the first who put an asking price offer in which we accepted. Second gave feedback that they didn’t like it.

advice222 · 26/04/2023 19:45

I viewed my house for about 10 mins enough to fall in love, though I did offer within an hour! That’s said I finally moved in last week after 12 months so the rapid offer didn’t help.

caringcarer · 26/04/2023 20:11

Viewing should be no more than 15 minutes. Surely that's enough time to see everything.

wurtle · 26/04/2023 20:16

I viewed our house probably half an hour. I knew straight away that this the house we want. Vendor was showing the house and we were chatting away. I tried to tell her how this is perfect for our family etc plus complimenting the house. That worked they accepted our offer.

thebaneofmylifeisacat · 26/04/2023 20:18

We found that the most gushing never put in an offer whilst the ones who look quite bored and dismissive often go straight to agents and put in an offer. Very wierd. Sold many houses and always am amazed by this

15 mins sounds par for the course op

ConstanceContraire · 26/04/2023 20:31

thebaneofmylifeisacat · 26/04/2023 20:18

We found that the most gushing never put in an offer whilst the ones who look quite bored and dismissive often go straight to agents and put in an offer. Very wierd. Sold many houses and always am amazed by this

15 mins sounds par for the course op

Maybe because they know what they want, having seen loads of properties?
I know I was pretty worn out by the end and had no energy to chatter, let alone gush.

Having said that a friend DID get a very desirable Cheshire property as a lower offer... not only that 10K off after it was downvalued (not sure why tbh it was a very good price for the area. Maybe because she was a sole buyer). She gushed on about the cats.

good96 · 26/04/2023 20:31

10-15 mins max.
If they’re done in 5 mins or so then you know they aren’t interested.

ConstanceContraire · 26/04/2023 20:31

Maybe because they know what they want, having seen loads of properties?
I know I was pretty worn out by the end and had no energy to chatter, let alone gush.

Having said that a friend DID get a very desirable Cheshire property as a lower offer... not only that 10K off after it was downvalued (not sure why tbh it was a very good price for the area. Maybe because she was a sole buyer). She gushed on about the cats.

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Also by desirable I mean had several offers

thebaneofmylifeisacat · 26/04/2023 20:45

Yep true Constance good point

RM2013 · 26/04/2023 21:25

We sold our house last year and had a mix of viewings. Some were 5/10 mins and clearly not interested, others were 20+ mins and asked for a second look at garden etc and asked lots of questions - sometimes the ones you think went well aren’t the ones that offer!!
when we bought our current house we had about 20 mins viewing but I already knew I loved the house from the rightmove ad - we knew the area and had already seen a similar house we loved

SophiaSW1 · 26/04/2023 21:41

That seems a pretty standard amount of time to me.

FlyingFang · 27/04/2023 13:49

We were looking at a fairly big house and spent at least 45 mins there for each viewing. Clearly not the norm! We did offer so wanted a good look.

rainingsnoring · 27/04/2023 14:43

Interesting that most people think 10-15 minutes is enough even for a large house. Buying a home is the largest financial outlay of most people's lives. For me 10-15 minutes wouldn't be enough to feel comfortable enough to make a decision, at least not for a large house.

ConstanceContraire · 27/04/2023 16:56

rainingsnoring · 27/04/2023 14:43

Interesting that most people think 10-15 minutes is enough even for a large house. Buying a home is the largest financial outlay of most people's lives. For me 10-15 minutes wouldn't be enough to feel comfortable enough to make a decision, at least not for a large house.

An offer isn't final though. Given that the vendor even accepts. You still need to get a mortgage, building surveys, pray the chain doesn't fall apart/you get gazumped, etc. There's plenty of time to back out.

We started out being very thorough, made offers, only to be rejected anyway. This was in a rising market. I know it's a business transaction but there's no point in spending AGES deciding that something was perfect and offer, only to be rejected. Heartbreaking. Especially since we both worked FT and had to travel for viewings. The bidding was crazy.

The house we got we offered the day of, surprisingly got it after best and finals! We then had a longer viewing the week after that, confirmed we had made the right decision and got a proper survey done post mortgage approval.

After viewing lots of houses we also knew what we wanted - easy to spot straightaway. We also didn't really go for fixer uppers... and the survey would have uncovered major issues anyway.

CharlotteDoyle · 27/04/2023 16:59

I think it's well known that people spend shockingly little time viewing properties they plan to buy. Like, less time than they'd spend shopping for new shoes online.

But actually, it a lot of cases you can work out pretty quickly if you're interested or not in a particular property, especially if you've been looking for a while.

rainingsnoring · 27/04/2023 17:22

ConstanceContraire · 27/04/2023 16:56

An offer isn't final though. Given that the vendor even accepts. You still need to get a mortgage, building surveys, pray the chain doesn't fall apart/you get gazumped, etc. There's plenty of time to back out.

We started out being very thorough, made offers, only to be rejected anyway. This was in a rising market. I know it's a business transaction but there's no point in spending AGES deciding that something was perfect and offer, only to be rejected. Heartbreaking. Especially since we both worked FT and had to travel for viewings. The bidding was crazy.

The house we got we offered the day of, surprisingly got it after best and finals! We then had a longer viewing the week after that, confirmed we had made the right decision and got a proper survey done post mortgage approval.

After viewing lots of houses we also knew what we wanted - easy to spot straightaway. We also didn't really go for fixer uppers... and the survey would have uncovered major issues anyway.

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I can see why you needed to make very quick decisions in that situation but it wouldn't be necessary in a slower market. I guess it comes down to both the market and the individual buyer.

ConstanceContraire · 28/04/2023 09:52

rainingsnoring · 27/04/2023 17:22

I can see why you needed to make very quick decisions in that situation but it wouldn't be necessary in a slower market. I guess it comes down to both the market and the individual buyer.

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True, but what I've been trying to say as well is putting an offer in, to me, isn't a 'decision' as such. Because it's not legally binding.
I think many people would put in an offer with 10-15 mins viewing.
They would not, however proceed all the way to completion without having at least done a second, more in-depth viewing. Even those moving far away. The length of the process facilitates this as well.
There's no point in wasting the time of a load of people (builders, surveyors etc) bringing them around pre-offer acceptance.

rainingsnoring · 28/04/2023 10:43

ConstanceContraire · 28/04/2023 09:52

True, but what I've been trying to say as well is putting an offer in, to me, isn't a 'decision' as such. Because it's not legally binding.
I think many people would put in an offer with 10-15 mins viewing.
They would not, however proceed all the way to completion without having at least done a second, more in-depth viewing. Even those moving far away. The length of the process facilitates this as well.
There's no point in wasting the time of a load of people (builders, surveyors etc) bringing them around pre-offer acceptance.

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I understand what you are saying. This is the way the UK market, it's not legally binding so people are under less pressure on the first viewing. Not a great system though and personally prefer a longer viewing before placing a serious offer.

ConstanceContraire · 28/04/2023 10:55

rainingsnoring · 28/04/2023 10:43

I understand what you are saying. This is the way the UK market, it's not legally binding so people are under less pressure on the first viewing. Not a great system though and personally prefer a longer viewing before placing a serious offer.

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Yes, it's ridiculous! And so much stress until they day you complete.
Hopefully we won';t have to move for a good while...