How many times is it ok to view a house?

donnaessex

Our buyers viewed our house 3 times before offering - 1st the man and his father came, 2nd, man and his wife, 3rd, man, wife, mother, father and two sets of grandparents!!!

After they had their offer accepted by us they viewed at least 3 or 4 more times to measure up for curtains, check whether the garage was ok to convert to a gym, to view up in the loft and learn about the boiler etc. It did get a bit stressful towards the end but they were my buyers and I was depending on them to allow me to buy our dream home.

DPJames

donnaessex wrote: »

... 3rd, man, wife, mother, father and two sets of grandparents!!!

That's definitely pushing it a bit, crikey!! What do grandparents have to do with it? I understand why you let them all in, and i'd probably have done the same for fear of losing the sale. But c'mon!! I'd have made them all take their shoes off, "Even you old woman, i don't care about your hip. I cant have eight people plodding around with mud on their shoes. I'm selling a house, not opening a theme park. Get 'em off!!"

hazyjo

I don't mind how many times they view, but I'd be expecting an offer after the 2nd or 3rd view, and for them to maybe say they'd like to bring their kids along to see it. I'd not like someone to bring a family member or friend along on viewing no 3 for their opinion. If they'd not decided by then, I'd probably think they were timewasters.

We had someone view our house 3 times. The first time, she had a good look. The second time she came with someone saying she wanted to measure up for furniture, etc before committing, and was there for ONE WHOLE HOUR! Jeez... and we had another viewer booked about 20 mins after her so they clashed. The 2nd viewer was sitting outside waiting for her to go as they'd seen her come in, but they eventually thought she must have left out the back or not been a viewer so they came in, viewed, left and still the first viewer was there. It was an evening view and I'd not been home long from work and was starving and wanted to sit down and relax... anyway, still no offer. We chased the agents who chased her and she said the 2nd bedroom was too small. Then the agent gets in touch saying she wants to view for a 3rd time!

We said no and won't deal with her again.

So... guess I'm trying to say make your intentions clear, and maybe make an offer before you go round again.

And yes, of course your kids need to see it! It's stressful enough! They should be included and should know exactly what's going to be happening and where they're going to be living - and they should decide which bedroom's theirs, etc.

I think 1 or 2 viewings are fine before an offer, then a 3rd if you need to measure up or want to bring someone along to see it (preferably someone who'll be living there, like kids).

It's very stressful for the vendors if you go 3 or 4 times with no clear reason why. I would think you were looking for faults with it, or were having second thoughts about buying it if you had already made an offer.

Sorry for the long post!

Jx

tbs624

PaulHUK wrote: »

Exactly. Frankly, selling my place, I'd be happy to have people view 2 or 3 times... a 2nd or 3rd viewing only means they are likely to be serious potential buyers...

If only that were always the case - unfortunately some are serial time wasters & ditherers , the housing equivalent of tyre kickers.

ninky_2

have you got a camera with a video facility on it (most digital stills cameras do these days). why not do some recording on your second viewing and then you can watch this at home / show to as many people as possible without annoying the vendors. it's not quite the same as actually being there but pretty good.

hazyjo

ninky wrote: »

have you got a camera with a video facility on it (most digital stills cameras do these days). why not do some recording on your second viewing and then you can watch this at home / show to as many people as possible without annoying the vendors. it's not quite the same as actually being there but pretty good.

Can't speak for everyone, but I'd only let someone do that if they actually had a firm, legit offer on my house. Definitely not someone just viewing (even if it was a 2nd or 3rd viewing).

Jx

TOBRUK

My house is up for sale and I do know how it feels to have people going through the house. Recently I have been viewing a few places because if I were to get an offer I would be in a panick if I didn't have an idea of a property to buy!

Looking at houses I would not even ask to take pictures or a video if people were living there - they have their personal posessions there, perhaps expensive items and there may be someone viewing who are burglars! It's different if the property is empty. I certainly wouldn't allow anyone to take pictures of my house - the estate agent's pictures are enough.

If someone wants to view the house 3, 4, or how many times they wish I think I would just have to allow it, how could you not if it is a potential buyer? It is very difficult.

If I was really interested in a property I would view it as many times as I felt necessary, and ask as many questions as possible on all aspects of the property. I saw a place over the weekend and one of my sisters' came with me. If I were to have a second viewing I would take my other sister along and maybe my mother as I value their views, objectivety and input as I am single, disabled and live alone. Saying that I wouldn't want to overcrowd someone with a number of people - I really think that 3 or 4 people at any time is enough.

From my experience of viewers they are all different!

Horasio

I would not want to impose on someone after three viewings.

First one
Second one with another person and different time of day to confirm you really want it. You can get into a muddle when doing a lot of viewings.
Third one to clarify anything else if we are really interested and got the wheels going.

ninky_2

hazyjo wrote: »

Can't speak for everyone, but I'd only let someone do that if they actually had a firm, legit offer on my house. Definitely not someone just viewing (even if it was a 2nd or 3rd viewing).

Jx

i videod my flat before i bought it. but then it was EA showing me around. they didn't mind. i explained it was so i could show my OH and parents to get their opinion.

hazyjo

ninky wrote: »

i videod my flat before i bought it. but then it was EA showing me around. they didn't mind. i explained it was so i could show my OH and parents to get their opinion.

Was it empty, or were people living in it?

Maybe you have an honest face... but I'd never let some stranger off the street (no offence!) take a video of what I have. You don't know who'll they'll be passing it onto (maybe someone without an honest face!). Much easier for a burglar to come in knowing where everything is. Most are done within minutes anyway. I got burgled when I was selling my last house. Did make me wonder if it had been someone who'd 'viewed'. I certainly wouldn't let them take a video of everything!

Saying all that, I've just remembered some estate agents show little video clips of houses. Hmmm... not sure I'd like that. Never given it much thought. They can easily see if a house has anything worth nicking from the photos on the EA site.

OMG I'm making myself paranoid now!

Jx