Surveyor visit without agent

Guest101

Funky_Bold_Ribena wrote: »

He came in without knocking, and was rude...when you say he isn't paid to be nice, the OP and his wife are their clients!

OP of course you need to complain.

No their not, the buyer is their client.

He was proffessional and civil, that's whats to be expected.

G_M

Seems to me there was a choice:

1) your wife could have said "I'm not expecting you, no appointment was made. Please leave." or

2) your wife could (as seems to have happened) consented to his undertaking the survey.

But a complaint about poor manners could be made to his employers: which ever firm of surveyors he came from.

CuriousI

I think I will be sending some emails to the following affect tomorrow (wording will not be quite the same)... no doubt some people would get a kick out of writing these sorts of emails a whole lot better than me.

Dear Estate Agent, Don't give my keys to strangers to let them into my house when you think I am not home. You are paid to attend and make sure my place is looked after. At the very least ask my permission if you cannot be there. I want my keys back with immediate effect.

Dear Surveyor Company, You recently sent an employee to survey my home who was given keys by the estate agent. He entered without knocking. Did not greet my wife. Did not ask her permission to enter the home (just asked why she was home). Made my wife feel very uncomfortable with him in the property. If there is ever a next time he will be asked to leave and asked to return with the agent when no one is home at your cost. Surprised that didn't happen this time.

Simple manners they go a long way!

Guest101

Nah, i sorry, but your emails are just way off.

Unless the contract says the agent must accompany a surveyor (and i'd bet it doesnt) then your agent isnt obliged to do this. You and the buyer negotiate a time suitable and be there, or have someone there. The agents job is done

As for the surveyor, your wife should've said something. Simple as. He's not your employee, he's not your guest. He's been commissioned to do a job, which is to make sure he values your house correctly! Surely you want him to value it as highly as possible, so best to let him get on with the job

I agree manners do go a long way, and those messages as far too harsh. And you plan to alienate the agent, who is point of contact for your buyer, and who you will have to deal with. & a surveying firm, who may well carry out a survey there again.

hcb42

If agent has keys, yes you should have known that the agent was coming...out of manners, but equally what would you have said if they had a last minute viewing and couldnt reach you?

but what are you trying to achieve? You need to let the surveyor have access if you want to sell the place?

fart

You need to write two strongly worded letters.

1) Write to the surveyors employer and comment on his lack of understanding of the layout of your property (missing the garden) and also about his extremely poor manners.

2) Do the same to the agent. Your missus could have been strolling round naked after a shower for all they know, totally out of order not to even let you know he's coming.

Goldiegirl

I'd expect a surveyor to call without his hand being held by the agent.

However, I'd also expect the agent to advise me when the surveyor was going to call, just to make sure it wasn't going to be inconvenient in any way. I'd be speaking to agent about this, to ask why I wasn't advised of the surveyors visit.

The surveyor clearly didn't expect anyone to be home. Maybe he reacted with shock and surprise, rather than bad manners? You wife was also shocked, and could have misread his reaction.

I think the situation with the surveyor was probably a misunderstanding rather than a bad manners issue, although the surveyor could probably have handled it better. I think a full blown complaint would be harsh, but a phone call to his employer to mention what happened, so that the surveyor can handle similar situations better in future, would be the way to go on this issue

JQ.

No it's not normal for an agent to escort a surveyor. OP - What purpose do you feel it would serve for the surveyor to be accompanied?

beecher2

CuriousI wrote: »

We knew the survey was happening at some point during the day but did not know the person would not be accompanied and were not asked to be home.

You knew the survey was happening that day so I don't know why you were both so surprised by him turning up. You've assumed that the EA would accompany the surveyor, but that isn't common practice - you should've asked how the surveyor would gain access when you were told they were coming.

DaftyDuck

The surveyor is a professional, just like the agent. You wouldn't expect your agent to be accompanied by an... agent. The surveyor will have insurance of his own. He may have been told you would be out. His manner may have been brusque, but he simply had a job to do, and did it. I have never had an agent accompany a surveyor when the house was small, or a simple survey required. I have had a surveyor of my own accompanied (but only for his own safety) when a survey was on a large, rambling, elderly property.

I don't see this as significantly different from the agent coming to your property to show a purchaser. It's part of the selling process. In my experience, surveyors prefer to visit when the owner is out, so they can just get on with their job as quickly and easily as possible. He may well have actively planned to visit when you were out, but just got it wrong.

However, he should have rung the bell before using the key.

Frankly, at this stage, I wouldn't write to anyone, and certainly not worry about your "rights". Just get the darn house sold. Pointing out to the surveyor he missed bits is just asking for delays and problems. Concentrate on what matters.... get a signature on the sale contract.