Vendor not present at viewing

DizzyDasher

Of about 12 houses I viewed, I can only think of one where the vendor was present (but there were probably another 3 or 4 that either had tenants or where the vendor had already moved away). And totally normal for agents to insist that negotiations be done through them. But saying hello to the neighbours is a sensible precaution (having said that, I didn't do it and have been lucky!)

tommie1shunt

The advice about knocking on next door is good advice, they can be a mine of information, might even save you money. Did this recently when the guy answered the door we knew in an instant that we would not be buying. We did not know you could christen you child Shut The F### Up.

FireWyrm

The vendor wasnt present when I went to view the house I eventually bought, but she did turn up towards the end. I think she went out for a walk and misjudged how long we would take on the viewing and came back early. Anyway, we had been told that she was timid and she didnt really like to think about people walking in her house. I did ask all the same questions as the OP, but the EA didnt know. It was just lucky that the vendor happened to come back and I could button hole her. Personally, I much prefer to speak directly to the vendor myself, even if just briefly, but I can understand that some people might not be able to handle the idea. As a vendor myself, I had no difficulty in conducting my own viewings, but I'm sure I fluffed the first couple before I got the hang of it. Perhaps it's the same for your vendor, s/he doesnt want to do or say something that might potentially put you off and would prefer to leave it to the 'professionals' who they are paying to deal with this.

Write your questions in an email to the EA and make it clear that whilst your friend is interested in the property, you wont be proceding any further unless you get some answers. However, be prepared for a load of lies and evasions. When I was selling my house and people asked me why I was moving, I told them it was to move to another area to be nearer work and not the true reason, which was I could forsee the property crash happening and we were selling to the first mug who would give me the inflated market price - another words, getting while the going was good. I checked on zoopla the other day, and the house I sold for £185K is now worth closer to £140K. Considering how the buyer cheated me in the end, I hope he chokes on all £40K of his negative equity.

shar46y

When we sold our flat, we were adamant that we wanted the agent to do all the viewings and made sure we would be out for all of them. The reason? We have boisterous twin toddlers and felt that it would be impossible for viewers to properly appreciate the property with the kids running around screaming.

hazyjo

FireWyrm wrote: »

I checked on zoopla the other day, and the house I sold for £185K is now worth closer to £140K.

FYI, Zoopla valuations are rubbish. Search this forum for more info. Overvalued the house we bought by nearly £200k. Would take any valuations with a very large pinch (gallon) of salt.

Jx

hermanmunster_3

I have always got the EA to do the viewings (make them do something for their money LOL!) - on the other hand have always preferred to have an EA when we were viewing ourselves. Cannot stand vendors wittering on about how beautiful their fitted wardrobes are etc etc. Not really relevant why people are moving - they will say size of house / garden, change of job, schools etc - highly unlikely to tell you if there is a mega problem....

googler

hermanmunster wrote: »

Cannot stand vendors wittering on about how beautiful their fitted wardrobes are etc etc.

That reminded me of a tale from years ago; an owner was doing their own viewings, and when showing the viewer the bathroom or en-suite, was minded to tell them, about the washbasin - "The hot tap's the one on the left"

poppysarah

Go meet the neighbours. You might find out the story.

MoneyJuggler

It's school holidays, so that's quite a likely reason they went out if they have children!

If I'm looking at a house there are pros and cons of vendors being there -on the one hand you can ask questions, on the other you feel a bit like you are intruding, I wouldn't read too much into it, but would definitely ask as many questions as I needed to via the estate agent.

maid020279

We were never in when selling our house; surely that's what the estate agent is for?

For us, selling the house and moving to another house should be conducted as a business transaction hence its the estate agents business to sell houses and if they are any good they will sell the property better than the owner.

When viewing houses, we preferred if the vendor was out as we could express our true feelings for the property we were viewing and so the estate agent would have more of an idea of the house we were looking for. When the vendor was in we didn't want to say negative comments and I think the feedback to the estate agent is not as good.