Has you ever told a viewer to leave?

bobstheboy

You can never be sure that a potential buyer is going to make an offer or just time wasters.

Having moved around the UK several times with my job I have bought and sold many times. I found that the people who made all the right noises with comments like "Isn't this nice" and "Our dining room furniture would look lovely in here" invariably you never heard of again. On one occasion a couple arrived, we showed them in they spent no more than ten minutes looking in every room, never spoke to each other or us, left with a passing remark of "We want vacant possession within four weeks. Is that a problem ?" They paid the asking price and were cash buyers !!

Having said that there is a limit and I would have thrown anyone out if they had been abusive.

Bob

benjdr

Suzy_M wrote: »

I'm not the seller. - But yes I can have it both ways. Selling a house is a business transaction so therefore a viewing is a business meeting.

I'm sorry but I think this is a pretty bad analogy.
I see where you are coming from but don't agree.

MrsTinks

interesting.... I once worked as a lettings negotiator and came across rude people both as owners and potential letters... and being a mixed office I also had to deal with the sales side of things and dear lordy I'd have had a breakdown if I had to work that side!
As for estate agents only working 9-5 - nope... they work sometimes as late as 9pm (infact this is why I left as a lot of our properties were VERY posh and secluded in the middle of the country side and I didn't really like showing houses on my own at the age of 19 in the middle of winter at 8:30 in the evening to people we didn't know or hadn't any proof of identity for so could be ANYONE... told the bosses that and they said "part of the job" so I left...)
As far as rude people... yeah I've shown homes to a few... some would let walk in with muddy shoes (to my horror!) after being asked to wipe them or take of the shoes. As these were VERY expensive houses (8 years ago they were selling for a cool half mil...) the estate agents actually ended up paying for someone to come out and clean the carpets in a couple of them as we were sole agents... Otheres would let their kids run riot to the point where I got reprimanded for asking the client to please leave before the end of the viewing, problem was that they were very close to breaking some VERY expensive items and I just KNEW it would be coming out of MY salary, somethign I could ill afford back then...
On the other hand some sellers would be awfully rude about letting us arrange viewings for the houses. We'd call with several days notice and 30 mins before they'd call to cancel the viewing as it was no longer convinient... at which point the buyer as already on their way to the property... Nightmare! I tell you if I ever have to sell our house I'm DIYing it and I'm keeping my dog nearby!

pickles110564

We tell the agents to warn viewers that they must take their shoes off before entering the property, when they turn up and refuse to take them off they will not be allowed past the front door.
This seems to also cut down on the time wasters

keeperbear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'd argue about the children thing. Moving house is a family experience and if you're selling a 'home and not a development', then you have to appreciate that people are looking for a home as well. Sometimes people can't get babysitters, don't have them at all or they feel that the decision should be a family one. That doesn't excuse their behaviour but you can't exclude children from what might be their future home.

So now children get a say in what house parents buy? I wouldn't want my kids around when I was house hunting. What meaningful input can a 5 year old provide? Neither would I want little horrors rampaging through my house when I was selling. There are plenty of genuine buyers without kids.

Nicki

Its not always possible to view without the children though. My two are at school (age 6 and 7), I don't work and my husband is fortunate enough to be able to take time off work in the middle of the day for a viewing. Even given all that, some vendors only want to show their house when they are actually around, therefore in the evenings or at weekends. We had to take our children with us on a number of occasions for this very reason. What we tended to do was look around the house separately though - so one would stay with the children in either the garden or the living room depending on the weather, while the other looked round, then we'd swop. Nice houses in the area we were looking tended not to hang around long enough to give time to organise a second viewing, so this was the best we could do! Some vendors were lovely though and provided drinks and biscuits for the children and put TV on for them which did make the whole process much easier on us.

snowmaid

I took my children along to look at houses, HOWEVER, I respected the Vendor and their home. My children wouldn't dare run around and stayed by our sides. I ALWAYS asked people if they would like us to remove our shoes. As for going into someone's cupboards or fridges!! :eek: That is just bizarre!

Oh well, takes all types!

exasperated_2

We took our children to view the house we are buying once it was decided that was it. It was important for them to see it, to have an idea of how their life is going to be changing, and it was important for me to see them in it, to see how the fit was going to be. We did not let them run riot through the house, they mainly kept to the backgarden/play area after they saw the upstairs with us.

If you are buying a family home, and likewise, if you are selling a family home, children are going to figure in there somewhere. You have to be realistic on both ends - as a buyer, you have to be respectful of the property, and as a seller, you have to understand you'll have all sorts in the house (which is not 'your' house anymore if you are lucky!).

We aren't letting our 6 year old make the big choices for us, but for her to adjust to the choices we are making for her, it helps if she can begin to visualise it before her world changes completely.

Doozergirl

bobstheboy wrote: »

Having moved around the UK several times with my job I have bought and sold many times. I found that the people who made all the right noises with comments like "Isn't this nice" and "Our dining room furniture would look lovely in here" invariably you never heard of again.

Yes, yes, yes! That is something that really grates on me, people who make all effort to look like they love the place and then give a strong 'no' or never even bother to talk to the estate agent afterwards. What's wrong with being honest?

I so appreciate people who can tell me that the place isn't for them. You don't have to go into an exhaustive list, but just to say "Thank you, you have a lovely home, unfortunately it's not what I'm looking for right now" is so much nicer than a nail biting wait for news.

thelawnet

Suzy_M wrote: »

To say nothing of the "developer" that started thumping walls and kicking skirting boards etc. until told to stop.

I thought everyone thumped walls - you need to know how thick they are.