House viewings - hate them!

[OriginalFloorboards]

I’m selling our home. I’m doing the viewing myself, mainly because it’s an equestrian property and I can answer things better than the estate agent.

But, oh my gosh…I absolutely hate it. I know we have to go through the process. The cleaning, the stables, the fields…then sitting there for an hour beforehand not daring eat or drink in this show home (we can’t keep up this standard!).

Then people coming and they don’t talk all the way round. I feel I have to fill in the gaps.

Or people talking and being here an hour and a half asking questions to then say it’s not for them to the estate agent.

I know I have to go through the process. I know we all have to suffer this. How do you all get through them? I have anxiety from perimenopause and I feel it’s really stressful.

I have such large grounds I can’t get my viewings down to less than an hour and and ten minutes, even if I’m business like.

Am I the only one like this?

Does anyone else dread them but know we have to do them?

Just needed a few kindred souls to tell me I can get through all of this!

I’m not even selling because I want to. It’s just got so expensive and too much to do with my health.

I would let the agent doing. The people looking round don’t want to offend you as the owner if they hate something but equally they don’t want to be all gushy if they love it as then they worry you won’t accept an under asking price offer if you know they loved it. They play their cards close to the their chests. Let the agents do the hard work and sell for you. It’s in their interests after all

We sold our house (no land though!) through a well-known site that specialises in modern(ist) architecty houses. We did the viewings ourselves and agree it's a nightmare. After a while I stopped showing them around and just let them wander around on their own. You could tell some had just come to look at the house because they liked that type of architecture and wanted to nose around. I also got sick of having to be really friendly and hear everyone's stories of why they were thinking of leaving London.

You have my sympathies. And yes, just get the agent to earn their fee and do the viewings.

I'd definitely push for the estate agent to do the first viewing but perhaps offer showing people around for the second viewing. If/when I get the chance to buy an equestrian property I would definitely want a careful look as there are so many expenses that can crop up with horses(!) (and estate agents are mostly useless).

Whilst I'm biased I wouldn't exclude buyers who aren't under offer, just insist that they have their own house listed for sale. We were refused a viewing a few years ago as we weren't under offer at the time but we'd had an offer accepted and then were under offer ourselves weeks before that property sold.

I watch the Parisian Agency on Netflix and they have a property which had stables and land and things. And they went on a horse ride around the grounds. Covers more ground quicker... what that be a feasible option?

I would do a little loose ring type folder with all the relevant details that you think would be necessary

just make sure you put on the folder Do Not Remove 😂😂 or just

Then I would get the estate agent to do viewing for arrange a day of block viewing
if you feel generous and know that there are going to be 10 people viewing I would print out something with all the relevant details and tell the estate agent to give it to the people viewing

When I sold my late parents house a few years ago
I gave the estate agent a folder with all the relevant details that viewer might ask
I did one sheet of paper with the following info
so who supplied the internet and who other suppliers were
gas / electric suppliers
copy of gas boiler certificate
copy of the recent electrics
local schools
how long my parents had lived there
even how long the neighbours had lived next door
😂😂

estate agent said he wished more sellers did this as it made his job much easier as he was able to give this information direct to the sellers

I think he actually printed out the main stuff and just gave it to everyone who visited 😂
But he sold the house within 2 days so I don’t know hi much what I did helped

I told my estate agent that viewings would be limited to 2 days a week unless the viewer could give a good explanation of why they could not make those days. In my case the weekend.
The estate agent did not like it, but a serious buyer is going to get there or explain why not.
Explain to the EA that each group of viewers stay together.
I was sitting on my sofa, the EA and the male were in the garden talking technical building stuff, and the wife came into the house alone, wandered into the bedroom, and I joined her when I heard my free standing wardrobes open...
No one, no one gets a key.
Coming home to find that the would be buyer's builder has drawn his plans across your kitchen in felt tip is not good.

We’ve learned through bitter experience not to show ourselves, always have the agent do it.

Can you compile an information sheet to hand to prospective purchasers? If they’re seriously interested, they can ask anything else.

I have such large grounds I can’t get my viewings down to less than an hour and and ten minutes, even if I’m business like.

This post has got to be a wind-up.

Flatdog,
Hmm, not sure. I live in a stunning location (house is not stunning!)
I find they take a good 45 mins to get round my small house because they are looking at the view, asking about the area etc. Deciding what they are going to do with the house.
I can quite believe that an equestrian property with out buildings would take over an hour.

I think it’s pretty standard practice to only take viewings from people who are under offer. Certainly in the house I bought this year. Maybe different with larger properties like that though as there are fewer of them? I’d get the agent to show people around (you’re paying them a percentage so make them work for it!) and then ask them to send you any questions and you can answer them afterwards. You may find that several people have the same questions in which case you can give the agent a crib sheet and they can begin to reply to them without you being involved. Good luck. It sounds stressful!

Yeah have the estate agent do the viewings. It’s a nightmare. If they’re genuinely interested they can come back for a second viewing with you maybe and any questions. Or they can email the agent the questions who can forward onto you, and then they’ll start to understand more from that etc!

we are on the market too but nothing happening. It seems to be the way here with all properties over £450k at the moment which is a nightmare. Wondering where you are to be getting viewings, or is it just nosey people! Obvs not expecting you to say but I thought it was similar in most of England..