First viewing - Advice please

Jue_xx

googler wrote: »

I read somewhere that almost one-third of viewers won't like pets, and another third are likely to be allergic to them.

Why take a chance on your viewers being in these categories? Pets and children don't mix with viewings.

Good point - I hadn't thought about the allergy thing. I know several people with cat allergies.

catmiaow

Thanks for all your help

Firstly I did the viewing myself, they actually came earlier than expected.

We cleaned the house from top to bottom, making sure the bed was made, all bins were emptied, toilet seat down and put the heating on for a few hours before hand.

We have two cats, no dogs thank god but lucky for us the viewers adored them and even owned cats themselves.

They did seem to ask questions about why we were moving and what would we leave, but I am not 100% sure whether they were interested. They said they had another viewing after us, didn't mention about getting in touch. I said if they had any questions or wanted to view again to contact us or EA.

We will see...

Caracul

Well done on showing them around. I've just been to my first ever house viewing, and Im aghast at the state of the house. Fridge magnets etc, fine. A bit of clutter everywhere (as in had to use the back door because of too much in front of the front one) ok. Even not cleaned or hoovered etc - well ok. But unmade beds? How long does it take to shake a duvet out?

Seriously!

catmiaow

Caracul wrote: »

Well done on showing them around. I've just been to my first ever house viewing, and Im aghast at the state of the house. Fridge magnets etc, fine. A bit of clutter everywhere (as in had to use the back door because of too much in front of the front one) ok. Even not cleaned or hoovered etc - well ok. But unmade beds? How long does it take to shake a duvet out?

Seriously!

I can't believe people don't clean up before a viewing, I would never do that! :mad:

zappahey

mumoftwins wrote: »

... sprayed every room with air freshner so it smelt fresh everywhere.

This would have me turning on my heels, immediately.

GoToGal

zappahey wrote: »

This would have me turning on my heels, immediately.

Why is that?

zappahey

GoToGal wrote: »

Why is that?

I really can't stand the smell of air fresheners in general but it also makes me question what they're being used to hide.

lissa

Jue_xx wrote: »

If you have dogs, PLEASE lock them up somewhere, or get someone to take them for a walk during the viewing.

We really don't like dogs, and we recently viewed the house of a dog-lover, who just couldn't understand why we didn't fall in love with her dogs at first sight. The mutts were constantly jumping up at us, licking us and trying to sniff up my skirt all the way around her house!

The house stank of dogs too. We didn't buy the house.

My sincere apologies to all responsible dog-owners on this forum - I'm not trying to tar you all with the same brush!

If you don't have dogs, please ignore this post!

I would second this. We're viewing houses at the moment and have seen three so far where the owners had large dogs that jumped around and were really off putting. Also, two of them hadn't thought to clear the gardens - these looked like they'd been used as dog toilets for a long time. Needless to say both properties were crossed straight off our list!

googler

jenny74 wrote: »

If you are happy to, Do show the viewers round yourself, I find agents on the whole to be impersonal, and totally lacking in the relevant knowledge. How will they know what your neighbours are like, what your council tax bill is or where the nearest school is?

What the neighbours are 'like' should be avoided - if you say they're great, and they're not, your buyers won't like it. If you say they're not, you'll put people off. Far better to stick to ; No. 4's a family, No 6's a pensionable couple, No. 8's a single male, etc etc. ...

In Scotland, the council tax band goes into the Home Report, so there's no worry about an agent not knowing it. Does it go in the HIP?

Also, why wouldn't your (local) agent know where the schools are? How far away would you hire them from, for goodness' sake?

Fire_Fox

googler wrote: »

Why stop at the kitchen? Empty ALL bins in the house - study, lounge, bathroom, bedroom - all of them.

You may routinely leave a bin-bag or carrier bag lying in a bin to make it easy to pick up the trash - remove this and leave a clean, empty bin in its place.

Fair point, bathroom bins can look gross if they don't have a lid: I live in a flat so there is only one bin I use regularly!