Can we view houses before we're financially sorted?

Full_of_angst

NewbuyerNE wrote: »

Hi all,

My partner & I are currently living with his parents while we save our deposit. We will definitely have our deposit by end of march 2014 and want to be in a position where we can make an offer & move out as soon as we can instead of starting the viewing process then and possibly having to wait another 6 months.

We're going to get a mortgage in principle after Christmas but between now and then can we start viewing houses? I've been upfront with the agency and told them about the above but will they then take us seriously once we're ready to buy?

Some of the houses we like the look of are still listed (we started looking online in December when we decided we were going to buy instead of rent) but even if they go at least we'd have more of an idea on what we want.

Thanks in advance for your help.

there's been lots of responses on this thread and I haven't read them, so apologise if I'm repeating what's already been said.

I would say it would be a great idea to study the market between now and when you are in a position to get a mortgage. That way you will have accumulated good knowledge of what the property market is like in your area, what's available, and what you can afford. But when I say study the market, I don't think it would be fair to actually view them.

I would avoid viewing properties until you're ready to proceed because, from a vendors point of view, it will be wasting time and very frustrating for them (and also for you if you love a house you're not in a position to buy). When you're selling a house, every time you have a viewer you're wondering 'will this be the one?'. Vendors put loads of effort into preparing the house for every viewer they have and I know from my own experience if you discover they are just 'tourist' viewings (those that are viewing just because they can) it is extremely frustrating and disappointing. It's an intrusive experience that vendors have to go through so they want to at least know that their viewers have the ability to buy - even if they ultimately decide not to.

Full_of_angst

NewbuyerNE wrote: »

I referred to myself as a viewer.

By the statement if working with buyers that referred to everyone starting the home buying process as posters in here with negative responses appear to have been sellers at some point and it may be a helpful tip of working together instead of against each other.

Your input in no way answered the question I started the thread with.

How can viewing a house when you're in no position to buy it be 'working with' or 'helpful' to the vendor?

view

Davesnave wrote: »

This is the maddest thread I've seen in a long time! Too many precious people who need to get a grip

We had literally dozens of viewers through the last two houses we sold and we didn't care two hoots what their 'position' was, unless they came back a second time. Tough conditions in 2008 meant we was pretty pleased to still have viewings. Hard experience on both properties taught us not to believe anything anyone said too readily either, and certainly to keep emotions firmly under control.

a great post! :T finally someone who gets it!

Fraise

BobQ wrote: »

I appreciate the sentiments that you express above which is clearly a "sellers perspective".

It may not apply to you but I suggest it works both ways. Some buyers do waste sellers time and raise expectations. But equally some sellers ask for unreasonable prices and stubbornly stick to them or allow their estate agent to market the house with some quite fanciful marketing. In those cases they are wasting the potential buyers time.

My friend did just this, and selected the EA that was willing to market just the right side of legal at a price that was 10% about what other agents thought was realistic. They were in no way stressed by the selling process, they were just hoping that some mug would come along and offer over the odds.

I'm not sure I agree with your view that some sellers are wasting buyers time by asking (what you consider) unreasonable prices. If you think the price is unreasonable, then why bother viewing it?

Remember, a property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. But equally, if a seller wants to hold out for the price they're prepared to sell for, they have just as much right to do that as someone who wants to offer considerably less than the asking price. You may feel sellers are waiting for a mug, but then sellers may be thinking a buyer is trying to treat them as a mug and offer a silly figure.

It works both ways.

view

The_Magnificent_Spoon wrote: »

I once heard of a case where somebody got hunted down half way across the country, and stabbed to death, because they stole a sword in an online game.

People are insane. Don't count anything out.

completely utterly bizarre. Yes of course these things happen but if you lived with this in your mind all of the time you would never go out, leave the lights off, turn the computers off and don't open the door... then again, there will be a case no doubt where someone has done this and someone else has broken in and murdered them.....bit of an odd thing to say you'll end up with a broken eye or broken nose because you dared to visit a house without a mortgage in place and as we've seen from this thread, it seems most EAs don't even tell the sellers this anyway...

Let me ask you something, do you also agree with the statement made int he same post that if it does happen, the OP should do the 'honorable' thing and not inform the police if she is attacked?

ValHaller

view wrote: »

a great post! :T finally someone who gets it!

Dave speaks, quite validly, for himself. What you are not getting is that some might not be as tolerant as Dave is.

The_Magnificent_Spoon

view wrote: »

completely utterly bizarre. Yes of course these things happen but if you lived with this in your mind all of the time you would never go out, leave the lights off, turn the computers off and don't open the door... then again, there will be a case no doubt where someone has done this and someone else has broken in and murdered them.....bit of an odd thing to say you'll end up with a broken eye or broken nose because you dared to visit a house without a mortgage in place and as we've seen from this thread, it seems most EAs don't even tell the sellers this anyway...

Let me ask you something, do you also agree with the statement made int he same post that if it does happen, the OP should do the 'honorable' thing and not inform the police if she is attacked?

Don't get me wrong, I think getting punched for viewing a house with no intention to buy is verging on the point of lottery win odds. And shouldn't ever be worried about.

I was just making a point that the insanity of humans should never be completely bet against.

Davesnave

ValHaller wrote: »

Dave speaks, quite validly, for himself. What you are not getting is that some might not be as tolerant as Dave is.

Dave & his DW just learned the hard way that analysing viewers and trying to 'read' them can result in false dawns and disappointment. Some people are full of BS, while others try to be polite, but the results are quite similar.

Besides, by the criteria of some respondents here, our last buyers were time-wasters.

mail2z

OP,

If you are in a busy area there would be several open houses that the EA's organise to show multiple buyers around the house on a specified time, which in my area is usually Saturdays.

Book viewing in such open house viewings. This way you do not put your seller under stress since the house is not prepared for just you, you get to experience the viewing and get an understanding of property, EA gets to boast the number of buyers he is able to provide to the seller. It is Win-Win-Win situation.

If you are waiting for saving the deposit then this does not prevent you getting a AIP from few lenders who do not perform "hard" credit search. The lenders do not check your deposit funds until the full application anyway. If you indeed come across a house that you love, you could get the process slowly moving as long as you let your seller know of your situation.

If it is a slow area without open house events I will recommend not putting a potential seller under false hopes. 6 weeks before you are ready is reasonable though.

Good luck with your house purchase.

Full_of_angst

Quoted wrong post!