What has been your worst viewing experience?

liubeliu · 3 August 2011 at 2:58PM

About 5 years ago we viewed an renovated house on the former Cottesmore Hunt kennels/stables in Ashwell Rutland. The viewing went well and whilst standing in the garden we heard a faint rumble, the owners face quickly switched from smiling to looking very nervous.

Within seconds we were deafened by 2 harrier jets flying overhead. We didn't go back for a second viewing despite house being lovely. I would now as RAF Cottesmore no longer has the Harrier fleet.

greenmoneysaver_2 · 3 August 2011 at 3:58PM

God, had forgotten this treasure!

Went to view a flat in N2. Close to The Bishops Avenue, then the most expensive road to live on in the UK.

I had a GI issue and and a really bloated stomach (had to go to A&E later. . .). The owner showed us round. He was in his fifties and was a true beardy weirdy, all hairy toes, uncut toe nails and Birkenstocks. . .

On entering the lounge it was clear one of those fence things that can make a play pen had been put up, but included the door and then snaked around out of sight. I was terrified I would stand on a small child and so commented about it. "You'll be needing one of these yourself soon" he smirked. I felt like crap and was annoyed at them not taking the pen away as it meant you couldn't walk around the place properly, so retorted "No, I'm not pregnant, just fat!".

He didn't stop, and after seeing the crappy conservatory (80's built, the size of a phone box and horrid), the mould ridden and minute kitchen, he announced that this the best road to live on in N2. I replied I thought that would be The Bishops Avenue!

missy-ss · 3 August 2011 at 4:06PM

We once sold a 3 bedroom semi-detached villa with off street parking. A couple came to view it and poked all around, asking us some very odd questions, nosing around inside all our cupboards without asking etc and were generally pretty hard work whilst there. When they called the estate agent the next day with feedback they said it wasn't any use because they needed a detached bungalow with a garage.....I could have cried for those 30 minutes of my life I will never get back - WHAT WAS THE HOUSE SCHEDULE FOR, IF NOT TO WEED OUT THE BUNGALOW LOVING, GARAGE REQUIRING, DETACHED FAVOURING POPULATION?!!!

ochloeo · 3 August 2011 at 4:15PM

Rockporkchop wrote: »

Well actually I had a very stressful experience last week where someone came round with their children and one of them managed to break my glass table, ruin my floor and smash some valuable Danish ornaments. Just kidding.

Actually I went to view a house on Saturday and there was a dead pigeon on the stairs. It really caught me by surprise but the woman just moved it to one side with her foot as we went upstairs, didn't mention it or apologise or say the cat brought it in etc. It was really weird.

LMAO :T:rotfl:

greenmoneysaver_2 · 3 August 2011 at 4:17PM

missy-ss wrote: »

WHAT WAS THE HOUSE SCHEDULE FOR, IF NOT TO WEED OUT THE BUNGALOW LOVING, GARAGE REQUIRING, DETACHED FAVOURING POPULATION?!!!

I KNOW! When selling our first flat (2nd floor of 3, obvious fom photo and description) the EA called to book a viewing. The lady wanted to come that afternoon, but didn't like cats, we had 2.

Husband explained he could put them in the bathroom, and she could view and then he could let them out and into the bedroom for her to see the bathroom. . . apparently this was just about acceptable but she really would prefer not to see them he was told!

No problem he said. She was 20 mins late (EA office 6mins away), so cats were in there for a while. She mentioned them 3 times in the viewing, "are they locked away?", well its a 1 bed flat, you would see them if they were out!

Finally, she had to be locked in the living room so as not to see the cats when they move from bathroom to bed room. . .

The feedback from the viewing "I need a top floor flat" Which she knew all along as she had current noise issues from a flat above!

Mayflower10cat · 3 August 2011 at 4:29PM

Some were so awful I've blanked out the full horrors......

Viewed what should have been a rather nice Georgian detached house with an extension at the back. Walked into toys and bikes strewn across the hall, making it difficult to clamber into the receptions rooms. Opposite was a once lovely staircase and banisters, with massive bashes out of them, showing at least three layers of gloss paint - red, deep blue and green... Children running about wildly, was it a birthday party? Kitchen filthy and dark, smelling of old grease. Out to the extension at the rear - utterly bizarre, looked like a car showroom with slippery, brown tiled steps down (no bannister) and huge metal framed patio doors. The back garden was overlooked by a railway mainline.

The downstairs bathroom had a shower cubicle in the corner, with brown tinted glass. The ceiling over the shower had partially collapsed, with plaster and lath hanging down and an ominous black void above.

The radiator had a selection of, how shall I say delicately, pants drying. Not glamourous pants. But big, greyish old lady pants. The agent said very little the whole time and the owner, a tall grim faced woman with an air of Mrs Danvers about her followed us wordlessly...... Very spooky!

I once heard from an estate agent about some the memorable visits he'd done when going on valuations. His worst was knocking at the open back door to be met by an enormous man, wearing a vest and underpants, holding a just despatched chicken and a huge meat cleaver......

sebtomato · 3 August 2011 at 4:52PM

I went with an estate agent (female) to visit some flats on a Saturday morning. On the second one to see, she knocked at the door but there is no answer, so she opens the door and we start the visit. The place is a mess, probably rented to a group of students. Lots of items on the floor. We then go to the bedroom, and there is a guy, naked on the bed (no sheets) and snoring. He probably even didn't realized that there was a visit! We quickly close the door and see the rest. The estate agent tells me that she has other visits of the same place planned for the morning, so I say she will probably catch that guy having a shower next time!

jellybaby1 · 3 August 2011 at 5:24PM

I went to view a 2 bedroom flat for rent recently, and was a bit dubious because the letting agent had called me on two separate occasions a couple of hours before the planned viewings to tell me that they had to rearrange as the keys they had for the property didn't work - I later found out that the tenants had had the locks changed...

I arrived for the viewing and the letting agent was very nice and friendly, and he unlocked the door, opened it and stared, then turned to me, ashen-faced and said 'I'm sorry, I thought they would have cleaned up a little before you came round.' To say it was untidy was an understatement, it was actually disgusting, food and rubbish everywhere, strewn all over the floor. A red sticky-looking mess was all over the cream leather sofa. I picked my way down the hall to the bedroom and the first one had a babies cot in it, but there was no room for anything bigger! I tread carefully to the parents bedroom and tiptoed over the mess and saw in full view, a babies dirty nappy just out on the dressing table. There was also a big wet mess of something on the bed's mattress that someone had evidently started to try and clean off but had just left, complete with dirty cloth. I politely told the agent I'd seen enough, and he did seem to be understanding.

On the way out of the property, a pajama-clad woman (it was 3pm) came down the stairs from the flat above, stony-face and after slowly and deliberately crossing her arms in front of us said icily to the agent 'Can I have a word?' I thanked the agent for his trouble and left quickly, and as I was leaving, caught the beginning of what was obviously a very angry tirade. Wish I could have found out what the problem was, but needless to say, we didn't end up living there! It was a shame though, because it would have been a nice flat and it had a really pretty garden!

joannie · 3 August 2011 at 5:49PM

Hi,

been to a house and there were piles of cat poo on the living room carpet! The house stank all through.

pulliptears · 3 August 2011 at 5:56PM

Which reminded me of a 4 bed home we viewed. Couldn't work out how it was 4 bed as from the outside it appeared to be a 3 bed semi with no extension. On getting to the landing the owner proudly opened the airing cupboard door to reveal where he had extended it back taking a foot of the other bedrooms to create a "cot room". It was wide enough for a cot and had no windows. God help the poor child who had to sleep in it.