Do you guys test everything before buying?

hazyjo

Firstly, I'd think about whether something was a dealbreaker or not. If something's not going to be working, or is damaged, is it something I'd pull out of the purchase over, or reduce my offer because of...

I was peed off when one girl viewed my last house and opened every kitchen cupboard and tried all the taps. If it had been a second viewing, or if she'd made an offer, fine. But not on a first viewing. That's just rude if you're not planning on buying the house. There was certainly nowt wrong with my cupboards or water that put her off buying.

You should at least view all the house before going back round and opening stuff. Do it on a second viewing, or ask the seller if they mind going round again with you and if you can check out things like water, any built in cupboards, etc.

I do remember someone opening a wardrobe before - and I wasn't even selling the bloomin' thing! I think I said 'erm, that's mine and not actually staying!'. Wasn't impressed!

Jx

harrup

LittleMissAspie wrote: »

Seriously? Why do people get so touchy when they are selling? Buyers are there to view your house, that means looking at what they are buying.

Touchy? I think you misunderstood...or perhaps I expressed myself badly.

The image I had in my mind when replying to the OP was a stranger walzing through my home opening cupboards and wardrobes at will without a comment or the minimal courtesy to ask whether this is ok.

For me, someone viewing my home, especially for the first viewing...
this would simply NOT be deemed appropriate behaviour at this stage of the game. I don't like rude people. And if they are rude enough to do that, I would suspect that dealing with that person for the entirety of a sale would be a frustrating endevour. JMO, of course.

And hey...it costs NOTHING to simply ask "would it be alright if I opened this to check the integrity of the unit(s)?". If the vendor reacts irked or weird, true THEN alarm bells should ring.

Fundamentally, I get where you are coming from and, in principle, I agree. But to me a PB opening doors and testing appliances without comment is as inappropriate as the vendor demanding to see your bank statements and savings before they let you through the door...just to verify whether you are even in a position to buy it. Would you find that acceptable?

DRP

harrup wrote: »

Touchy? I think you misunderstood...or perhaps I expressed myself badly.

The image I had in my mind when replying to the OP was a stranger walzing through my home opening cupboards and wardrobes at will without a comment or the minimal courtesy to ask whether this is ok.

For me, someone viewing my home, especially for the first viewing...
this would simply NOT be deemed appropriate behaviour at this stage of the game. I don't like rude people. And if they are rude enough to do that, I would suspect that dealing with that person for the entirety of a sale would be a frustrating endevour. JMO, of course.

And hey...it costs NOTHING to simply ask "would it be alright if I opened this to check the integrity of the unit(s)?". If the vendor reacts irked or weird, true THEN alarm bells should ring.

Fundamentally, I get where you are coming from and, in principle, I agree. But to me a PB opening doors and testing appliances without comment is as inappropriate as the vendor demanding to see your bank statements and savings before they let you through the door...just to verify whether you are even in a position to buy it. Would you find that acceptable?

I see no reason, as a vendor, to be present at viewings... waiting to be offended by potential buyers wanting to take a proper look at something they will invest a large portion of their income, savings and life on purchasing...

I always vacate the place therefore no offence or embarrassment is caused and as long as everything goes back as it was before, I am none the wiser.:p

harrup

DRP wrote: »

I see no reason, as a vendor, to be present at viewings... waiting to be offended by potential buyers wanting to take a proper look at something they will invest a large portion of their income, savings and life on purchasing...

I always vacate the place therefore no offence or embarrassment is caused and as long as everything goes back as it was before, I am none the wiser.:p

Point taken....that's certainly one way to preserve one's sanity if nothing else.

But whenever we viewed a property which was inhabited rather than vacant, we would never dream of opening anything without asking.

Surely, when viewing a property, and certainly when viewing for the 1st time, one primarily checks for location, size and overall suitability rather than whether a specific drawer or cupboard has a back to it?

If a PB would truly be that easily dissuaded by such that they'd dismiss the place then they can't be all that smitten with the place or serious about buying it. In which case - they really have no business opening anything. Least of all without asking!

gooner63_2

So what is the etiquette for a bed if it's included in the sale ?

harrup

gooner63 wrote: »

So what is the etiquette for a bed if it's included in the sale ?

Hmmm....tricky.

A thorough bounce - yes, but a full flung pillow fight- no? Dunno.

ash28

We sold our house last year and had EA accompanied viewings - I stayed out of the way and just kept quiet unless I was asked something specific - however I did always ask the people viewing before they left with the EA if they wanted to have a wander round on their own. Some did some didn't.

When I was showing people round I always opened cupboard or fitted wardrobe doors for them to have a look inside. I didn't normally turn taps on or anything but wouldn't have been offended if someone had asked if they could.

I didn't open kitchen cupboards or drawers for them (jeez a couple of my kitchen drawers were full of crap) - but had they been soft touch I probably would have done. Would I have been put out if someone had just opened them - probably not - not everyone has manners.

beedeedee

Friends who sold their house to "the church", ( for a retired vicar to live in), said that there were surveys and tests for absolutely everything......not only gas/electric/water/drains etc but also had tradesmen in to apparently evaluate kitchen units, built in wardrobes, tiles and everything that was an addition of any sort to their house and used this as leverage in price negotiations. Our friends said "Never Again" would they entertain selling property to a church organisation of any sort.

Norma_Desmond

We couldn't test anything in this house - it was a virtual shell when we viewed and even had a rather attractive tree growing through the boiler.

We guessed pretty quickly that it didn't work.

We'd taken a builder with us and he confirmed that the roof and walls were sound, and that's all we wanted to know.

We bought it straight away and 8 years later we've 'just about' finished the renovations.

ash28

harrup wrote: »

Point taken....that's certainly one way to preserve one's sanity if nothing else.

But whenever we viewed a property which was inhabited rather than vacant, we would never dream of opening anything without asking.

Surely, when viewing a property, and certainly when viewing for the 1st time, one primarily checks for location, size and overall suitability rather than whether a specific drawer or cupboard has a back to it?

If a PB would truly be that easily dissuaded by such that they'd dismiss the place then they can't be all that smitten with the place or serious about buying it. In which case - they really have no business opening anything. Least of all without asking!

Not everyone is in a position to have a second viewing before making an offer. We have offered twice on properties without having a second viewing (this house) - we were moving 200 miles. And one about 20 years ago when we were moving 350 miles.

The owner knew we had travelled a long way and he was extremely good about everything. Opened all the doors, airing cupboard, fitted wardrobes, downstairs cupboards etc. Left us on our own for a chat and then asked if we wanted another look around on our own which we did. He didn't know we wouldn't be having a second viewing - which due to other commitments we couldn't do a second viewing for weeks.

Less than an hour later we had put in an offer.

We did have a second viewing about 6 weeks into the buying process and that was to show our 10 year old grandson who lives with us the new house and where he would be going to school etc. And the owner was even more accommodating than the first time.

We had done a lot of research into the area - stayed a couple of weekends several months before we viewed the property - but weren't in a position to be classed as serious buyers - our own house wasn't on the market at the time.

I had looked at 100s of houses on the internet and this one had just come on to the market, ticked all the boxes and then some. We wanted to see if it was as good in reality as it was on the internet and it was. We knew as soon as we walked through the door...

Must have the easiest sale the EA has ever had......

Would it have put us off if the owner had been less accommodating than he was - it might have - but he was lovely and not "precious" at all.