Strange Viewer

Riq

I am definitely taking a clipboard and making notes when I go round a house.

SimonMrGreenWard

BASFORDLAD wrote: »

Agents find out s**t about people who come to view properties.

They may say they do.....

That's why I said "should"

We do here. Nobody goes on a viewing until they've spoken with the person who took it on. Don't have time for wasted viewings.

Doozergirl

avenida wrote: »

Why tell estate agent that he liked the house and not ruling it out, would rather people be honest, I am honest when I view a house as it doesnt do the vendor any good!

"Not ruling it out"

Think about what you'd mean if you said that. It means that you're not really keen, that you wouldn't rule it out until there was a better option. When you're thinking about spending hundreds of thousands of pounds "not ruling it out" doesn't really cut the mustard, does it? You want it to fit your needs perfectly, or as close to as possible.

Some people bluff and pretend to like something so it throws you, so my rule for myself is that if we haven't heard from a viewer within 36 hours, I forget them and stop worrying. I can't think of a buyer that I've had that didn't give off all the right signs. I had a miserable bloke who was properly miserable about the whole thing but his wife was overwhelmed by the house. He did try to gazunder us though which didn't surprise me, so it's still fair to say that people on the whole do follow a pattern - (or that I do because I'm keener to sell to people that look like they want to buy from me!)

I have never had a sale from a 'thinking about it' let alone a 'not ruling it out'. The fact is that most people who view a house, don't want it so there is no point getting excited when a guy who acted in the wrong way a week ago said he wasn't ruling it out. If he comes back then what a fabulous bonus, he'll be fun to deal with over the next three months when it's all going through, lol!

And people do lie. All the time. Because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. It's what the British do. But 'not ruling it out' is a way of letting you down gently.

A clipboard isn't that unusual. It's organised. I did it when I was house hunting for friends, and we were viewing many properties in a day. I had a folder full of details and and A4 pad with my initial notes, price per square foot etc so that I could give them as much detail as possible.

avenida

Doozergirl wrote: »

"Not ruling it out"

Think about what you'd mean if you said that. It means that you're not really keen, that you wouldn't rule it out until there was a better option. When you're thinking about spending hundreds of thousands of pounds "not ruling it out" doesn't really cut the mustard, does it? You want it to fit your needs perfectly, or as close to as possible.

Some people bluff and pretend to like something so it throws you, so my rule for myself is that if we haven't heard from a viewer within 36 hours, I forget them and stop worrying. I can't think of a buyer that I've had that didn't give off all the right signs. I had a miserable bloke who was properly miserable about the whole thing but his wife was overwhelmed by the house.

I have never had a sale from a 'thinking about it' let alone a 'not ruling it out'. The fact is that most people who view a house, don't want it so there is no point getting excited when a guy a week ago said he wasn't ruling it out. It will not happen, he didn't even behave in a manner which suggested he liked it much, let's assume he's not interested. If he comes back then what a fabulous bonus, he'll be fun to deal with over the next three months when it's all going through, lol!

And people do lie. All the time. Because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. It's what the British do. But 'not ruling it out' is a way of letting you down gently.

A clipboard isn't that unusual. It's organised. I did it when I was house hunting for friends, and we were viewing many properties in a day. I had a folder full of details and and A4 pad with my initial notes, price per square foot etc so that I could give them as much detail as possible.

Thank you doozergirl, everything you said here was spot on, and I did think myself that too much time has passed so he is obviously not interested, I knew that myself but my brother I said that he was maybe putting on a front so that he could get the house cheaper. My agent is phoning him Friday for an update so will be interesting to see what he says this time

twirlypinky

Viewers can be so so strange, i've mentioned it on here before, but we had one tell our agents that our house reminded them of the Trueman show (no we didn't film them!) and another guy insisting our downstairs loo was "illegal" despite the fact that it wasn't.

I've viewed weird places too though. Like, if you're trying to sell your house, would leave a bicycle in the bath?

avenida

twirlypinky wrote: »

I've viewed weird places too though. Like, if you're trying to sell your house, would leave a bicycle in the bath?

Must have needed a wash :rotfl:

sonastin

I viewed 7 properties in a weekend a couple of weeks ago. 3 of them were ruled out straight away and I gave the EA the reasons why. 4 of them were suitable for what I am looking for. Obviously No.1 on my list suits me better than no.2, and there are more downsides to no.3. No.4 is a complete curveball that wasn't at all what I was expecting and I'm not sure whether it is really suitable or not.

So I've made an offer on no.1
I've told the EA for no.2 that I've decided to pursue no.1, but if that falls through I'll be looking to see if no.2 is still on the market and I'd probably make an offer.
I've told the EA for no.3 that I really like the property but it does have a downside that others don't. I haven't ruled it out but I'll only be making an offer if the alternatives fall through.
I've told the EA for no.4 that I might come back to them but its a big investment that I'm not sure I want to make.

If no.1 falls through, and by that time no.2 has already sold, I will be putting an offer on no.3 if it is available so "haven't ruled it out" isn't always code for "not interested". It might just mean he's more interested in something else. That something else might not be what he wants/gets when he's viewed/offered on it, and then you might hear from him again.

Doozergirl

sonastin wrote: »

I viewed 7 properties in a weekend a couple of weeks ago. 3 of them were ruled out straight away and I gave the EA the reasons why. 4 of them were suitable for what I am looking for. Obviously No.1 on my list suits me better than no.2, and there are more downsides to no.3. No.4 is a complete curveball that wasn't at all what I was expecting and I'm not sure whether it is really suitable or not.

So I've made an offer on no.1
I've told the EA for no.2 that I've decided to pursue no.1, but if that falls through I'll be looking to see if no.2 is still on the market and I'd probably make an offer.
I've told the EA for no.3 that I really like the property but it does have a downside that others don't. I haven't ruled it out but I'll only be making an offer if the alternatives fall through.
I've told the EA for no.4 that I might come back to them but its a big investment that I'm not sure I want to make.

If no.1 falls through, and by that time no.2 has already sold, I will be putting an offer on no.3 if it is available so "haven't ruled it out" isn't always code for "not interested". It might just mean he's more interested in something else. That something else might not be what he wants/gets when he's viewed/offered on it, and then you might hear from him again.

Did you actually act as if you were interested in house number 3 or did you just stick your head into rooms like the OPs viewer did?!

Do you genuinely think it's worth the vendor of house number three having sleepless nights over whether you might be making an offer in the near future, like the OP sounds like they are? I'd say you would be pretty unlucky if you do end up at number 3 on the list unless you're going to be slinging in really cheeky offers on the other two.

If another house came on the market in the meantime, would you view that or is house number 3 really good enough that if 1 and 2 don't accept your offers that you will definitely be seeking to buy it?

I still read your house number 3 as you not being really all that interested, certainly not motivated. I'd expect you to be making a lower offer certainly if you felt you were compromising a bit - presumably you're not tripping over yourself to pay full asking if it's number 3 on the list. It's not worth the vendor of that house holding their breath is it really?

I do know how it feels to wait with baited breath, having had literally hundreds of viewers, this isn't one I'd worry over. Concentrate on finding someone who loves the house and acts that way - best kind of buyer you can ever have is one that wears their heart on their sleeve.

Doozergirl

twirlypinky wrote: »

I've viewed weird places too though. Like, if you're trying to sell your house, would leave a bicycle in the bath?

At least it wasn't the vendor in the bath!

sonastin

Doozergirl wrote: »

Did you actually act as if you were interested in house number 3 or did you just stick your head into rooms like the OPs viewer did?!

Do you genuinely think it's worth the vendor of house number three having sleepless nights over whether you might be making an offer in the near future, like the OP sounds like they are? I'd say you would be pretty unlucky if you do end up at number 3 on the list unless you're going to be slinging in really cheeky offers on the other two.

If another house came on the market in the meantime, would you view that or is house number 3 really good enough that if 1 and 2 don't accept your offers that you will definitely be seeking to buy it?

I still read your house number 3 as you not being really all that interested, certainly not motivated. I'd expect you to be making a lower offer certainly if you felt you were compromising a bit - presumably you're not tripping over yourself to pay full asking if it's number 3 on the list. It's not worth the vendor of that house holding their breath is it really?

I do know how it feels to wait with baited breath, having had literally hundreds of viewers, this isn't one I'd worry over. Concentrate on finding someone who loves the house and acts that way - best kind of buyer you can ever have is one that wears their heart on their sleeve.

I wasn't trying to suggest the OP spends any more time thinking about this chap. But if he does come back again, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's just a time waster and a lot of work - could just be that his dream house is out of reach and the OPs house will do fine thanks very much.

He might be very familiar with that type of property or feel like he knows it well from the details or for some other reason so the viewing was just a quick check to make sure that everything was as expected. Again, not necessarily sinister.

BUT definitely time to forget about him. If he reappears, it's a bonus and if he doesn't, he doesn't. Nothing you can do to change that now anyway...