Would you knock on the door ?

Dunroamin

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I think many people in a younger generation possibly take for granted a loss of privacy that is perceived as totally horrendous by many of an older generation. Remember too that recent debate on Sunday viewing - to me (middle-aged and more provincial area of country it's obvious to me that I would check if thats okay and not take umbrage if it wasnt). setting...

I have to say that I think it's the opposite.

As someone from an older generation, lodgers, house sharing, university halls without en suite facilities seem perfectly OK to me. It seems to be younger people who have far more of a "thing" about privacy, not sharing a bathroom, having their own front door etc.

GoToGal

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Well then, you would just lose your sale. Does it matter whether you like the buyers or not? They are just about to fork out £1000s, obviously they want to be absolutely sure what they are buying and you should be prepared to put yourself out a bit to answer their questions. It doesn't have to be on Sunday at breakfast time, it could be to a time of your choosing. But I do think you should meet them halfway. IMHO, anyway

Demanding a vendor is present at a viewing isn't meeting halfway though is it? Meeting halfway would be expecting answers to your questions, the vendor could then choose to be present or communicate the answers via their agents. There is no requirement to be present to answer those questions.

To the op: I would put my questions to the estate agents and ask they pass it on. They are being paid to represent the vendor and should be doing their job. If they are still reticent, a letter through the door with your questions and contact details gives the vendor a choice of how to respond to you, regardless of their reasons for being absent at the viewings.

seven-day-weekend

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Halfway - as in at the estate agents office only and with them present and answering non-personal questions only? (ie just about the house itself and how the selling process of ours is going and how the buying process of the one we are getting is going). With the estate agent ready to step in the second they started asking questions designed to elicit how desperate or otherwise we are to sell or anything about the neighbours/neighbourhood (because that is not under our control - therefore not a fair question for us to be asked).

I think some of us would be prepared to meet on neutral territory only and answer neutral (house-centred only) questions. Quite happy to say when the boiler or roof got replaced and provide proof of that for instance...

I personally think that what you detail above is just about acceptable (although I would find it very standoff-ish - I'd invite the buyers round and give them a cup of tea). If I then bought your house it would be in spite of your attitude, not because of it.

phoebe1989seb

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Well then, you would just lose your sale. Does it matter whether you like the buyers or not? They are just about to fork out £1000s, obviously they want to be absolutely sure what they are buying and you should be prepared to put yourself out a bit to answer their questions. It doesn't have to be on Sunday at breakfast time, it could be to a time of your choosing. But I do think you should meet them halfway. IMHO, anyway

Exactly - I don't know what Money would have done if she'd been confronted with the buyer to whom I referred in my previous post. Our house was next door to a very large private nursery school and I had a distinct feeling they woud not be too pleased at having this guy as a neighbour.........but at the end of the day we wanted to sell, they were cash buyers spending a vast amount of money and I wasn't going to say no ;)

poet123

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

..and the vendor would think "Whew...had a lucky escape there from someone like that. Goodness only knows what further terms they might have tried to dictate further on in the process". Would you want vendors thinking "This is someone who wants to ride roughshod over us...blow us...I'm just a little cypher to them and not a human being?"

Does that sentiment not work both ways though? If I had contact with a seller who appeared intransigent over viewings I may form the opinion that they didn't really want to sell and not waste my time any further. I would guess that I am not so far from your age bracket but I accept that selling a house is a two way process and compromises have to be made on both sides. I don't think your view is typical of most sellers, whatever their age.

mike_the_bike_2

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

..and the vendor would think "Whew...had a lucky escape there from someone like that. Goodness only knows what further terms they might have tried to dictate further on in the process". Would you want vendors thinking "This is someone who wants to ride roughshod over us...blow us...I'm just a little cypher to them and not a human being?"

...As they gazed at the "For Sale" sign still up on their property six months later.

moneyistooshorttomention

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

Exactly - I don't know what Money would have done if she'd been confronted with the buyer to whom I referred in my previous post. Our house was next door to a very large private nursery school and I had a distinct feeling they woud not be too pleased at having this guy as a neighbour.........but at the end of the day we wanted to sell, they were cash buyers spending a vast amount of money and I wasn't going to say no ;)

Hmmm....:think:
The implication is that this guy was some sort of !!!!!phile? Thats how I read your post...

Let me guess...being a lone woman as well....he wouldnt have got over the doorstep or would have got back the other way again fast (depending on how soon I recognised him). Theres a fair chance I would have sussed him on the doorstep even if I hadnt recognised him....and prompt excuses would have been made for him and me not being alone together.

The school next door and him being a !!!!! (I am guessing?) - no-one can say for sure unless they are in that position - and I am no "child person" (not a maternal bone in my body:rotfl:) but I am inclined to think "If I sell to him, then I'd feel scared and guilty about it for the rest of my life" and I probably wouldnt do so - as I would worry that I had landed some innocent child in it...

I have a viewpoint generally in life that goes roughly "If they dont deserve it/havent earned it then they arent getting it from me".

seven-day-weekend

I too would probably think that the sellers who would not meet me to answer questions were not really bothered about selling their house and would look elsewhere for one where it was easier to get information.

When we sold our Spanish house, both we and the buyers had to make compromises so that the sale could complete. Ours cost us £7k euros and theirs cost them a nine-month wait. Both sides wanted the deal to complete, so we compromised.

We could easily have said, 'oh blow you, it's only because you are having a mortgage that we are having to spend this money, to suit the bank, we'll wait for a buyer who doesn't need one'. They could have said, 'oh blow this wait whilst paperwork is updated, we'll find a house that already has updated papers'. But we both wanted the sale to complete, we both compromised, that is what you have to do sometimes.

(And we had e-mail and text contact with the buyer all the way through as we did not use an Estate Agent)|.

Slinky

With respect to Moneyistooshorttomention, her own diary of her house sale suggests she is not a 'typical' vendor. She has her views on privacy which of course she is entitled to, but I would be very surprised if they were the views of the majority of those selling their home.

Stick a note through the door detailing your questions, give them several means to answer the questions, including contacting you directly or going via the estate agents, and it should be job done. If they are willing to open up a line of direct communication, it will certainly help with things not getting 'lost in translation'. I worked for a while as an estate agent many years ago, I don't recall anybody who would have refused to speak to an interested buyer who wanted questions answering.

Dan-Dan

loads of views...thanks....just been up there to put a note through the door with my business card , basically says excuse the intrusion etc , please can you lets us know on points a,b c direct to me using attached details or to mr x at the EA so that we can be in a postiton to arrange a 2nd viewing and consider possible offer

thing is , i too have read moneys diary of a house sale type thing and though its a good read , money does come across as being slightly eccentric , and i mean that in a nice way , i dont think she represents anyone i have ever known who was selling a house

i am of the opinion if a seller does not want to be met at any point before a buyer has commited to spending thousands , then its too uneasy for my liking and i would move on

anyway , will update if any answers !