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Original poster

Tell me stories of your worst viewings?

103 replies

NinNinJin · 27/09/2023 17:19

We viewed a house this morning. A beautiful Victorian 3-story building that ticks most of our boxes. But gosh inside. It is a witch's house. I met 6 black cats inside (yes imagine the smell), pentagrams everywhere, devil figures and hmmm ... some explicit BDSM posters let's put it that way. The property has been in their possession for 8 years and judging by previous pictures they have made a real effort to ruin it. Signs of neglect, mould and it is quite filthy throughout.

Do you think the ambiance will put people off? I'd be willing to wait for them to drop the price by circa 150K 😅

OP posts:
Booksbooksbooksandmorebooks · 27/09/2023 17:28

Oh gosh I want to see it!

Thebigblueballoon · 27/09/2023 17:30

Sounds quite interesting to me.

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 27/09/2023 17:39

We viewed a house that the agent expected to be empty........ it in actual fact had squatters in it, which we can only assume may have been illegal immigrants, that spoke no english and they had hooked up some very dodgy electrics (had all been shut off due to being an empty property) with extended leads drapped all over the floors and ceilings. Bizarrely the agent still wanted to show us around, we made our excuses and left very quickly. I often wondered what had happened afterwards.

DepartureLounge · 27/09/2023 17:47

*Trigger warning - terminal illness

I've seen some right shitholes over the years, including some houses where the seller clearly had a serious hoarding problem, and one where you could only navigate the towering piles of papers by stepping carefully from used litter tray to used litter tray.

But without question the worst viewing ever was of a house that, according to the estate agent, was being sold because the husband was ill. We were shown round most of it by the wife, who then asked us if we wanted to see the main bedroom - er, yes, of course, we said. Only to find that that was the room in which her husband was literally dying from end stage cancer. She tried to make him say hello to us but he couldn't really speak, just groan, and we stood awkwardly in the doorway going, "Uh, hello John..." We had small kids with us too iirc. Just beyond awful. It's really stayed with me, and I often think about her and how terrible it was that the estate agent put all of us in that position without properly explaining in advance. They really chased us for an offer as well, and laid a whole guilt-trip on us about how desperate she was to sell.

MerelyPlaying · 27/09/2023 17:55

That’s awful - they must have been desperate to sell.

hardly compares, but the very heavy smoker - she went into the garden for the viewing (it was when there were still lockdown restrictions) leaving the tv playing. The whole house would have needed repainting, carpets etc because of the smell. We went upstairs where the estate agent pointed out the new en suite. Which had been used and not flushed … 😱

Duttercup · 27/09/2023 17:59

I'll answer from the selling side - reluctantly agreed to a Sunday viewing (i.e. without the estate agent) for a cash buyer. Old boy viewed it then popped himself down on the sofa, asked for a cup of tea and settled in for an hour of chat 😐

Dahliasrule · 27/09/2023 18:04

We viewed with our son ( first home) a mid terrace house which the EA warned us had a lot of animals but we still weren’t prepared for what we saw. It was being used as an animal shelter but not very hygienically. Faeces on the draining board, animals in every room and the small yard with cages on both sides with a narrow walkway between. You can imagine the smell. I think only a builder would have been able to buy it and completely gut it. I bet the neighbours were pleased when the owners actually moved.

Twiglets1 · 27/09/2023 18:08

I’ll answer from the sellers side too. Our EA had a set of keys and one day we suddenly heard the sound of the front door opening with no warning. We were in the bedroom engaged in a certain activity if you catch my drift….

We were horrified but probably not as much as the viewers would have been if we hadn’t heard them in time 😅

themez · 27/09/2023 18:13

We viewed a lovely house with very genteel owners. Their elderly small dog was walking in the paddock with us and it was bringing its ball back for us to kick for it. We got quite a game going with the little dog. It all went well till my husband went to kick the ball but inadvertently drop kicked the dog who flew a little way through the air instead.

Words · 27/09/2023 18:25

So many properties where the owner leaves the telly or radio blaring. Awful.

A gorgeous Georgian town house where the dog ( I love dogs, but still) had eaten the kitchen cupboards.

thirdistheonewiththehairychest · 27/09/2023 18:32

We viewed a house once on a really hot day and when we went upstairs there was a massive fat bloke sat on a chair on his pants just inside one of the bedrooms, can of beer in his hand giving us a wave and a nice toothless grin.

DepartureLounge · 27/09/2023 18:35

I did another awful one recently actually, where the seller was an elderly lady who wanted to do viewings herself to make sure she liked the eventual buyer of what had clearly been a very cherished family home. As we walked round, she kept pointing out things where her late husband had done the DIY or where one of the children's heights had been measured etc. It might have been heartwarming (if a bit distracting) except that every so often she'd have to stop for a little weep about the trauma of selling the place, and although I really felt for her it crossed the line from being sweet to being really very awkward. It's also very hard to make a low offer after a whole rigmarole like that, but often places with years of history for the seller need an awful lot of work, so I do wonder if it's not entirely innocently done.

Original poster
NinNinJin · 27/09/2023 18:35

@themez 🤣 that must have been v awkward

OP posts:
DepartureLounge · 27/09/2023 18:36

thirdistheonewiththehairychest · 27/09/2023 18:32

We viewed a house once on a really hot day and when we went upstairs there was a massive fat bloke sat on a chair on his pants just inside one of the bedrooms, can of beer in his hand giving us a wave and a nice toothless grin.

That's hilarious, I'd be happy with a bad viewing like that compared to some of mine!

Original poster
NinNinJin · 27/09/2023 18:36

Twiglets1 · 27/09/2023 18:08

I’ll answer from the sellers side too. Our EA had a set of keys and one day we suddenly heard the sound of the front door opening with no warning. We were in the bedroom engaged in a certain activity if you catch my drift….

We were horrified but probably not as much as the viewers would have been if we hadn’t heard them in time 😅

I cannot stop laughing! You have made my evening 😂

OP posts:
TellerTuesday · 27/09/2023 18:39

themez · 27/09/2023 18:13

We viewed a lovely house with very genteel owners. Their elderly small dog was walking in the paddock with us and it was bringing its ball back for us to kick for it. We got quite a game going with the little dog. It all went well till my husband went to kick the ball but inadvertently drop kicked the dog who flew a little way through the air instead.

I know I shouldn't laugh and I'm sure he felt awful at the time but I have absolutely howled at this

OnAFrolicOfMyOwn · 27/09/2023 18:41

One where there was water running down an inside wall, the furniture was from the 1950s, there was zero parking on a busy A road and a complicated leasehold arrangement with some of the house sitting on top of bits owned by the adjoining house.

Nearly 20 years on, DH and I still refer it as 'the worst house in [our county]'.

We viewed it because it was cheap but that was its only merit.

Twiglets1 · 27/09/2023 18:45

themez · 27/09/2023 18:13

We viewed a lovely house with very genteel owners. Their elderly small dog was walking in the paddock with us and it was bringing its ball back for us to kick for it. We got quite a game going with the little dog. It all went well till my husband went to kick the ball but inadvertently drop kicked the dog who flew a little way through the air instead.

😂

KievLoverTwo · 27/09/2023 18:50

Gosh, our experiences have been really good in comparison.

It does amuse me the number of vendors who complain that most of their viewers have been time wasters though. Err, it's all them, is it? Not about you at all? Oooookay then.

My new aim in life is to dropkick a vendor's dog.

ThinkingAgainAndAgain · 27/09/2023 18:50

We viewed a house with Foxtons near Clapham in about 2006 which (and this was not in the particulars) was being lived in by around 12 people, some of whom were Foxtons agents. There were mattresses everywhere - in the living room, passageways etc. But worst of all was the smell from the loo, someone has clearly just had a massive dump before the viewing, which all of the agents seemed to find absolutely hilarious. Complete waste of time.

GetWhatYouWant · 27/09/2023 18:51

Decades ago went to view a house, it was the time when owners generally did the viewings. Turned up on a Saturday morning as arranged, owner opened the door in dressing gown and said they had forgotten they had a viewing, but we could still go in. Said they'd had a party the night before which was evident, cans and bottles everywhere, various hungover people around the place, stink of stale alcohol, she wouldn't let us see one bedroom because her son was in bed. Various holes in doors and walls where they'd obviously been kicked in. Front and back gardens absolutely full of dog shit. We obviously left as quickly as possible, agent phoned to see what we thought so we told him what had happened, he said he wasn't surprised as they were having a lot of negative feedback! I wonder who actually bought it in the end.

Thebigblueballoon · 27/09/2023 18:54

themez · 27/09/2023 18:13

We viewed a lovely house with very genteel owners. Their elderly small dog was walking in the paddock with us and it was bringing its ball back for us to kick for it. We got quite a game going with the little dog. It all went well till my husband went to kick the ball but inadvertently drop kicked the dog who flew a little way through the air instead.

Laughed just a little bit too hard at this.

balltraponthecote · 27/09/2023 18:56

Went to view a house that was occupied by an elderly lady and her son who must have been in his 40s.
She showed us his room and was showing us wardrobes when a cupboard flew open and a virtual tidal wave of porn mags fell out (this was over 30 years ago). She then took us to the spare room which just had a large tv and dvd/video, and the walls lined with shelves of porn films. Creepy son had just turned off what was on the tv, and sat glowering on the sofa. I wiped my feet on the way out!

ConfessionsOfAMumDramaQueen · 27/09/2023 18:56

We viewed one house, currently let to tenants - single mum. She had no where to go and while we viewed she was downstairs sobbing to the estate agent asking what she was going to do as everywhere of a similar size was so much more expensive and the council would only house her somewhere much smaller (4 bed house, she had 2 kids same sex so probably would have given her a 2 bed). Seemed to correlate with her having a hoarding problem, every room piled high with boxes of crap around all sides. Moisture had built up behind as was an older house so was mouldy and damp.

Safe to say didn't put an offer in!

Fleasbane · 27/09/2023 18:57

Sink full of soaking period underwear was a low point.