Is it better to pick an agent and have them send houses for me to consider buying or

[BirthdayRainbow]

Look on right move and hope that I don't like five houses from different agents? Feels like it will be complicated if I want to view a few and they are all with different agents. I'll be travelling from 400 plus miles away so trying to make things as easy as possible.

You have to look on Rightmove to see all the houses on the market in your preferred location & price bracket. If you just choose one agent you might miss the perfect property that is being marketed by someone else!

@Twiglets1 thank you and that's what I was worried about. I can't think how I can make appointments to see several houses on the same day with several agents when I'm not going to know where they are in relation to each other and the distance between them.

I'd always go on Rightmove, sorry. I have quite specific needs these days and I've never known an agent have more than two houses at a time that fit the bill.

Then there would be a hideous period of making appointments and juggling the ones who insist you can only see the house at 9am or not at all etc.

Plus I was told I had fifteen minutes only to look at a house and it had to be at 1.30. I explained I couldn't guarantee I would get there has it was a five hour drive and 15 minutes wasn't very long when spending £100s k

Google maps is your friend.

Actually my son would be good at working distances out but it's still the coordinating with different agents I'm worrying about.

@BirthdayRainbow I would arrange to stay in the area a few days if possible and use Google maps or similar to see where the properties are in relation to one another. In reality there may not be as many properties to view as you might think if you are fussy about what you are viewing and use the floor plans, street views etc to weed out the less suitable ones.

It’s easy, you just need to be organised and work out a shortlist, speak to the agents and book a time in around a schedule??

So how do I do that if it is five houses and five agents @RoseBucket ?

I will stay for a couple of days @Twiglets1

Look at right move and write down all the ones you want to view.
As you go through make a note of what agent they are on with.
Choose which one you want to see most, call that agent and book a viewing for the house.
Tell them there's another house(s) on their books you're interested in and ask if you can see both in one day. Explain you're traveling from some distance, it's not uncommon so they will understand and try to make it work.
Once you've got those appointments booked in call the next agent on your list and do the same again. If you need to know travel time between 2 properties put it in Google maps to find out.

Thanks @FrogOfFrogHall I feel a bit unsure about telling an agent I am viewing with someone else but I guess it is normal. It's a really long time since I have had to buy anywhere.

Agents dont care if you are viewing houses from other agents. They are the sellers agents not yours.

Good point @Hellocatshome thank you.

I'd be totally honest. "I'm travelling down and have 6 houses to view in one day. So I'm trying to work out the logistics of travel and viewing times". Just go through Rightmove, put into Google maps and work out the time you need to see them all. It's totally doable.

We did a day of house hunting that we set up in a different city. We saw 8 houses and we just had a schedule that we coordinated for ourselves.

It was exhausting!

I'm exhausted just thinking about it!!

If you tell an agent you live 400 miles away they’ll send you all the crap they can’t sell to locals. You need to divttd legwork or get Kirsty and Phil in.

Estate agents understand the concept of a) people viewing houses with other agents and b) people viewing multiple properties in one day as they’re coming from far away. Just phone them!

In some countries, a buyer hires an estate agent and the agent then finds houses for them and tries to help the buyer and goes on all the viewings. That is NOT what happens in England. In England the buyer goes on rightmove, works out which houses they want to see, then calls up each agent to make appointments. The agent usually meets the buyer at the house at the time agreed (although sometimes the agent doesn’t even bother and persuades the seller to show the buyer round). If you’re more than approximately ten minutes late, the agent will leave and badmouth you to their sellers.

I know you are travelling a long way but the agents and sellers do not care about that, it’s your issue to sort out. I’d suggest booking 4/5 appointments on one day and not doing any long distance travel on that day. Use google maps to work out travel distances between properties, then allow extra time for bad traffic. If you want to view properties that are more than 20 minutes drive apart, maybe just see 2-3 per day.

The agent will be friendly and talk about trying to help you find something but they are 100% wokring for the seller and their job is literally to force you to pay the most they can get out of you, asap.

If you whinge to the agent that its hard for you to commit an exact appointment time, they may not see you as a serious buyer.

And each agent you speak too will require you to register with them.

This is how it goes:

You find eight houses to view using Rightmove, over 3 or 4 agents.

You contact the agents and manage to set up appointments for 5 or 6 over one weekend, well spaced out to allow plenty of time between appointments.

You book the Premier Inn.

3 of the appointments cancel before the weekend for a variety of reasons.

You do the weekend trip and view 2-3 houses.

Repeat until you find the one you want.

Google maps with directions is your friend. Tells you travel time between locations. Set up the first one for earliest you can be there, then go from there.

@Ivee I didn't whinge about not being able to get there. Don't make rude assumptions .

Thank you to everyone else who has made relevant and helpful points.