Buyers asking for another viewing

[AlexisP90]

Near completion - or so we think! Our buyers have just asked for another viewing. Only reason is "to view the house again" this is 4 months after their offer. Their mortgage has been approved as has ours for our new house and we are just awaiting enquiries.

They didn't do a survey.

Is this... normal? It seems odd to me, but I've not sold a house before only purchased.

We have said yes, but told them it will have to be next week (they wanted to come today after asking st 6pm last night)

Surveyors by surveys mean nothing tbh

You can only hope that the sale goes through; it can be awkward when people revisit near to completion as you may have been packing. I would make it look as tidy as possible and let them see it with the agent.
I wouldn’t allow any personal communication and do everything through the solicitors with the agents support - this is what you pay them for. Good luck.

We did a second viewing before exchange to check door locks etc for home insurance, measure white goods space, check space heating and oven etc. Totally normal imo.

I don't know why you wouldn't recheck. Like why on earth are we only having a 15 min viewing to make such a big decision

Not having a survey is odd. I don't think a viewing nearing completion necessarily is. They may want to measure up for curtains, remind themselves of the decoration in case they want to buy anything before they move in etc. it's a long time between making an offer and moving in so normal to want to refresh your memory.
I hope everything goes smoothly for you

So my mortgage company didn’t really require a survey because of the LTV ratio being so low risk for them. I chose to have it for my own piece of mind though on reflection it was a waste of time anyway and still resulted in major issues being apparent to me when I actually moved in! But I also did look again close to completion as some Qs on the insurance I needed to arrange I couldn’t answer without actually looking at the house and asking the owners also.

I did 4 viewings on mine a terraced house and early on knocked on both neighbour's doors to check them out as well. As it is on quite a busy road went at a bust ime to see what difference the traffic noise made. Hint noise travels upwards so at ground level it was quiet only when we moved in did we notice that the noise was slightly problematic in the fron bedroom as the noise travles upwards. 7 years in I am very happy with all the due digence I did.

normal I'd say. always a good idea to view bear exchange as the condition you buy it in is fixed from completion so you might want to remind yourself of that. but generally just for checking fixtures, fittings, measuring etc.

i wouldn't worry. I'm expecting my buyers to do the same.

I’ve always done this a few days before exchanging. Need to make sure the place is still standing and nothing have drastically changed in the months since the intial viewing!

@KeenBlueSnail I’ve no idea what your comment means. Surveyors are qualified - RICS. They do point out possible expensive issues. It’s up to the client what they do with the info.

Builders won’t look at random properties for possible faults and have no standards they must adhere to. Or much idea about structures either. A survey for a mortgage isn’t the same as a structural survey and most buyers have no idea about compromised roof timbers, bouncing floors, damp, chimney breast removal, bowing walls or cracks, to name just a few big ticket items. It’s best to get a structural survey and make judgement from the results of that.

I am expecting my buyers to come back for another viewing post exchange with most likely a kitchen designer. They have done two viewings and had a RICS survey done.
If they do - they will find a lot of boxes, some furniture gone (as down sizing) and spare beds dismantled. No way will it look like it was when it was viewed!

People are spending a great deal of money. Let them view again.

We viewed out house about a month before completion. It was to take measurements and have another look. There was no doubts in our mind but good to see it again and plan where our furniture would go.

i wouldn’t have seen it as odd.

They want to make sure you haven't removed all the fixtures and fittings or let it go to wrack and ruin.

Why wouldn’t you let the people buying your house come and see it.

my buyer did this she “was too busy as had to sort the pots out” . She was a nightmare.

I wanted to measure the bloody bedroom and order a bloody bed!

Yup it's recommended to do so before sxchange just in case you've trashed the place etc. I didn't as bought in peak lock down but all the online advice says u should. Also allows to measure curtain poles etc

It's perfectly normal, and actually advised, to view again just before exchange, particularly if you haven't viewed it in a while. It's to make sure the property's in the same condition as when their offer was accepted. We're close to exchange on our sale and our buyer came for a third viewing last week. Understandable, but I could have done without all the clearing up and cleaning that goes with it!

I have the opposite worry. I have lived on a main road for 15 years, the traffic becomes 'white noise' but now we are moving off the main road to a little back road I worry it will be eerily quiet (and its quite freaky to find yourself in silence).

Yes, and people absolutely should do this.

The house we were buying we didn't do this. Had we done it we would have realised
a.) That they had removed the wood burning stove and blocked up the chimney
b.) That they had no intention of selling ( they pulled out on day of exchange which was 2 days before completion.

Surveys are so full of disclaimers they are pointless. I had separate electric, boiler and damp surveys and had a builder look at the roof.

I’ve bought 5 houses and never had a survey.

And when I have stayed at family and friends in the country the noise of cocks crowing at 4am was a pastoral wake up call ! Triple glazing and the rise of electric vehicles will do a lot to mitigate the noise and fumes element.

I also think it’s totally normal to be excited and want another look & measure up.
They were being a bit unreasonable to expect to nip in the next day though.

The whole process up to exchange takes too long I think, would much prefer if people had to lock in earlier. Hopefully it will be over soon & you can enjoy your new home.

@TMMC1I think you’re confusing a lenders valuation with a proper rics survey. A lender can refuse a mortgage based on a valuation, but a survey is not a legal obligation, it’s totally up to the buyer.

Surveys do serve a purpose. I say that as someone whose family owns a building company.

Ours showed us several things you couldn't see with the eye, like a cracked lintel (right above the roof so no visible from street or inside) and the condition of the chimneys (one of which is badly cracked but non visible from street). It involved getting drones to access those points to check.

A 'builder' would not have looked for these things specifically. They could point out all the stuff I can already see myself but whats the point of that (might be mildly useful to a novice who knows nothing but not as useful as a survey). They are also going to up sell you on what needs doing, they are there for on going profit purposes unlike a surveyor.

Just like a survey they cannot tell you factually the electric/gas etc... unless they are qualified to do so (these are specialist areas not general building). They also will simply tell you to get your advisor to check any building regs/guarantees etc... there is nothing they can/should do that the surveyor can't.

As for people saying their builder removed fittings and such like lights, if you do not own the house yet thats highest cheeky fuckery. You will invalidate the sellers insurance and risk damaging their property (which you will be liable for). There is very good reason survey don't allow stuff like that and really backs up the 'cowboy' nature in what you are suggesting.

Difficult to say here but I remember we want for a third viewing quite a while down the line to measure things as wanted to order stuff- it was our first house and we were very excited! That said, we had done a survey. I hope things go smoothly for you x