Seller won't let us look at house again until we exchanged contracts!

culpepper

Definitely try for another viewing, the estate agent may be easier to talk to and they could point out to the vendor that it will look suspicious if they wont let you.
We had a similar thing with the first house we were going to buy. The vendors were never in for us and so eventually, we decided we would just go and look at it from the outside! When we did, the neighbours came out and pointed at the back window and said, 'they have had a massive flood,you can see the hole in the ceiling if you look from our back garden'! Well we got the estate agent out and he denied it all but eventually we did get in to see the damage and it was almost the entire house damaged.
The vendors shrugged it off and said when we had exchanged, we could claim it on our insurance!!
Needless to say,we walked away and never looked back.

fiscalfreckles

Are you going through an agent? I'd say this was unusual and I'd put pressure on the agent to sort it out (make them earn their commission!) Yes, I can understand it being a nuisance to the vendor if you have viewed a lot, or if they have started packing up & feel the house is messy but think it only common courtesy that they let you view again.
I too would probably threaten not to complete until a final viewing has been made, but I probably wouldn't actually go so far as to pull out.

DVardysShadow

poppysarah wrote: »

If you have viewed more than 3 times already I'd probably say no...
but if you haven't they I would say no exchange until viewed again.

That is probably a reasonable limit before an offer. But after an offer, I would only object if the agenda of th viewing became pointless.

missile

Vendor is being stupid

kazwookie

I'd ask again to be allowed in to view / measure up.

If refused, I'd walk away...........................better safe than sorry.

DawnW

I honestly would push to view again. Between the 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd viewing of the house we bought (can't remember which, but no more than 3, and it was an empty house when first viewed) the vendors had let chav relatives move in, who had trashed the place. Our solicitor demanded they leave before completion or we pull out (the place had been completely empty when we had viewed before, made the offer, and had it accepted - the vendors had already moved). They shipped them out, but in the meantime they had fallen out with other chavs in the town and they had set fire to the garage :eek:. To say nothing of the filth inside the house itself.

We didn't find out about the fire till after completion, as they kept it quiet. There was internal damage, and smoke damage, but tbh we just swallowed it and sorted it out ourselves at that point. If they had said something at the time, we could have claimed on insurance, though it wouldn't exactly look good to an insurer to claim before the purchase had even completed, would it, especially given the circumstances. No problems since, as it is actually a nice neighbourhood - the chavs had been shipped in from elsewhere, brought their pyromaniac friends / enemies with them, and took them with them when they moved - but I shudder to think of the situation had we not known, and our sol not insisted they move the chavs out.

I would honestly insist.

Pumpkin7

Thanks everyone. Bornatrightime I think the seller is the one who is slowing it all down. Our buyers put forward a completion date of November 12th to us on Monday and when this was put forward to our seller she refused saying she wanted longer (despite knowing Novemember 5th was target date when offer was accepted).

Now I write it down it looks like maybe this seller is getting cold feet- refusal of more viewings, wants to delay, hardly being flexiable and approachable...

BornAtTheRightTime

The EA should be giving you a reason as to why she is refusing the viewing.
I think I would point out to the EA that without a good reason, I would be assuming there is something she is hiding which means risks I could not afford to take. If the EA is any good they will explain to the vendor how her refusal appears.
I would offer to go with her longer completion but demand exchange happens within 24 hours of the 3rd viewing.
In the grand scheme of things a couple of weeks' delay to completion will mean nothing once you've moved in.

DVardysShadow

BornAtTheRightTime wrote: »

I would offer to go with her longer completion but demand exchange happens within 24 hours of the 3rd viewing.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Be careful. There is enough about this deal to raise suspicions. If I were buyer, I would want to leave myself scope to pull out after this viewing and I would not leave my solicitor primed to exchange on demand from the other side.

Pumpkin7

I've been chasing the problem all day.
Said to EA we really needed a weekend due to work commitments, prefably this weekend. So the vendor finally comes back and says we can look midday in a week day- well thats useful isnt it? I again, clarified a weekend was possible only and the EA said vendor was too busy with removal companies coming round on weekends (What good will that be if we pull out!). EA said vendor is being unfair and unreasonable but at the same time he did not want to push her too much! But its ok to push your buyers too much is it?! It feels like they couldnt care less if we walk now.
I asked why we couldnt see it today and the vendor was out apparently- however we did a 'drive-by' and lo and behold her car was there.
Either this vendor is lazy, a fool or getting cold feet.Or hiding something....
Whatever it is its getting me stressed seeing as completion for sale and purchase should be a month from today...