Still open to viewings

[LuluMorris]

Does anyone know why a property on Rightmove would still be allowing viewings if the vendor had already accepted an offer subject to contract? We were going to contact the agent to arrange a viewing but I just noticed in the small print the above as a note from the agent. I always thought they were taken off the market immediately, is this going to be a waste of time looking?

It's the seller's choice - a lot can go wrong between offer and actual signing so they may want to have one or more potential buyers in reserve. Or if they are unscrupulous they may want to see if a subsequent viewer makes a better offer.
Some buyers insist on no more viewings as a condition of their offer.

@Fieldofbrokenpromises Thank you for your reply. If this is the case I do understand but it also makes me very wary about viewing it. I may call the agent to see if they can give me more details. I would hate to unintentionally gazump a buyer

It might be a repossession - they need to be marketed until exchange. Show us the photos. Is there red tape on taps/toilets?

No red tape. It actually looks like an investment property. I am wondering if they've not quite got the price they were looking for? Was reduced in July.

When a close family member was selling, the agent knew it was wrench for her to sell, but it was and has been the right thing to do.

He left it on the market so the buyers, who loved the property, pulled their fingers out and kept chasing everyone that needed chasing along with the estate agent. It was sold in under ten weeks

So maybe it is to keep their buyers on their toes? I was wondering if the buyers hadn't sold theirs yet or were in a chain. I know the market is a little stagnant at the moment.

It might not be the sellers. The agent I used in London didn’t mark my flat as SSTC at any point - it simply went to no longer on the market after exchange. I asked them why and they said it wasn’t their policy. It was the first property I’d ever sold so I didn’t push it and as far as I’m aware the buyer didn’t question it at the time. They stopped doing viewings though.

@Karmatime i think that’s really dodgy of your agents! The only reason I can think of for them doing that is to make it look to prospective customers that they have more attractive properties still available than they actually do, in the hope of being able to ‘capture’ potential buyers and interest them in their other properties. I know a friend mentioned she recently encountered this when looking to buy a house in what was an overheated post pandemic London market with little in the way of decent properties available.

@LuluMorris I’d ask the agent directly what the situation was with the property and would only bother going to view if it sounded like the original buyer was failing to proceed or on the verge of pulling out. I wouldn’t want to get into a gazumping situation or frankly either to waste my own time viewing a house that was unlikely to be proceedable.

@ibelieveinmirrorballs I agree it was shoddy behaviour and I can’t understand why as it was a one bed flat in London last year and it was hardly a seller’s market for that type of property. I would have thought they would want to prove they could actually sell one!

@ibelieveinmirrorballs I will do exactly that tomorrow, thank you!

Good luck! It could well be that the agent suspects current buyer isn’t committed or proceedable rather than anything more dodgy.