Buyer wants to meet us

AdrianC

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

Their answer to almost everything we asked was "I don't know, you'd have to ask the seller".

The EA who showed us this place had never even been here before.

supersaver2

davidmcn wrote: »

Then the EA does it, as the OP explains. That's the norm in Scotland too.

Does it really make sense for the sellers to go and hide somewhere while punters are shown round a house by someone who hardly knows anything about it? It seems much more disruptive, especially if they don't turn up on time (or at all).

See I always prefer to see a house empty of people. Do you really want to view house with a family, pets etc in various rooms? Surely you then feel you have to be 'polite' even if you dislike the house. At least if you are on your own with the estate agents you can be honest and not feel like you have to put an act on.

http://www.home.co.uk/guides/articles/selling_tips.htm

Phil Spencers Advice:

'You'll probably be paying an agent to do this; they know their job, so I always recommend that property owners go out during viewings.'

Unitoons

I just sold my house and didn't meet the buyers at all. They came round with the EA (I was out for the viewing as I have two dogs who I wanted out of the way!) and put in an offer straight away which I accepted.

The came round once more to measure up some things but I was out at the time so the EA let them in again. I wasn't even there on the completion day as I had already moved out!

The EA conducted all my viewings and had a great knowledge of my house and the area (they had sold it twice before and only live round the corner).

I have been to see several houses and even when the house was occupied, the EA conducted most of the viewings - only once did a seller show me round on their own!

davidmcn

supersaver2 wrote: »

See I always prefer to see a house empty of people. Do you really want to view house with a family, pets etc in various rooms?

Generally I've found that children and pets have been tidied away elsewhere when there are viewers due.

Surely you then feel you have to be 'polite' even if you dislike the house.

No, I'd just remain non-committal whether it's the sellers or the EA doing the viewing. I can give my feedback later, I can't remember the last time anyone asked me what I thought while I was still there.

As others have said, the estate agents' viewing personnel have rarely seemed to be salespeople, and just point you at the office if you have any questions.

janninew

whodathunkit wrote: »

I just think that showing prospective buyers round property is what EAs are supposed to be trained to do, whether the vendors are in or not. They're supposed to be salespeople, not just appointment makers - what are you paying them thousands of pounds to do if they don't do the most basic bit?

Re safety; at various times and in various geographical areas I've registered as a prospective buyer and I've never been asked for ID or any proof of anything. If an EA were present for viewings, at least there'd be another person in the house when the mad axeman gets his chopper out!

I think this as well. I'm in Lancashire and moved house twice and have always been shown round prospective houses by the estate agent even if the house is occupied. The local estate agent we've used a couple of times is a brilliant sales man and sold both my houses in minimal time. I must say I do find it odd that estate agents aren't showing people around, I can understand occasionally but not ever showing the houses they are selling. My local agent is open 2 late nights and and Sunday morning so it isn't difficult to find a convenient time. If they are rubbish sellers, maybe find a better estate agent!

TBagpuss

It's definitely the norm around here to be shown roaund by agents. In my recent house-hunt I can only think of 3 properties I viewed where the sellers were there.On two occasions, the agent was showing me round but the owners were there - one was really awkward as the agent had not been expecting them, and she and I both got a massive shock when we walked into the house and saw them. (It was also a huge waste of time, as I knew as soon as I walked n that it was no good, but because thery were there, we ended up going all over the house!) The second one, the seller was there and kept telling me all about various faults and issues, which was very helpful, and I got a lot of amusement out of the estate agents attempts to change the subject.

The third one was one where the agents were really crap - it was really hard to get hold of them, they didn't tell me that it would be the seller doing the viewing and although I'd made the arrangements with the agents on the Monday, to view on the Saturday, the sellers had not been told anything by the agents until the Friday afternoon, and then they had been told a different time to me. .
It was a nice house, and the seller was lovely, but again, I was there for longer than I needed to be once I'd seen the garden (which was a deal breaker for me) The only plus point was that I was able to give the sellers direct feedback, including letting them know how difficult it had been to arrange anything with the agents.

I didn't meet my buyers, and I only met my seller because he was at the house collecting some post when we arrived in the moving van (which was handy, as he gave me the keys even though we had not actually completed at hat point ) I did meet one of his sons when I first viewed the house, but the agents were there and the son stayed in the background.

I don't think it's particularly odd to ask to meet the sellers but equally I think because people's comfort levels vary so much, I would also not see it as a red flag if sellers didn't want to meet.

Anatidaephobia

supersaver2 wrote: »

See I always prefer to see a house empty of people. Do you really want to view house with a family, pets etc in various rooms? Surely you then feel you have to be 'polite' even if you dislike the house. At least if you are on your own with the estate agents you can be honest and not feel like you have to put an act on.

I would always be polite anyway :huh:

supersaver2

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

I would always be polite anyway :huh:

Of course, so would I. However if you view a house as I did recently which smelt really damp, I wouldn't feel comfortable saying I wasn't interested in looking further if the current owners were showing me around, if it was the estate agent I would have no such problems.

katejo

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

It was almost always the seller who showed us around their house when we were viewing houses last year. EA's showed us around a few unoccupied houses, and one furnished house where it was unclear whether or not anyone actually lived there but we didn't bother to ask because we weren't interested in the house.

The best viewings were always the ones where the seller showed us around! They were able to give us useful information about their houses whereas the EA's never knew anything helpful. However, if we had bought a house where we hadn't met the seller, I'm not sure if I would've requested a meeting mainly because, being a first time buyer, I wouldn't have been sure of the etiquette. Good to know that it's a completely normal/acceptable thing to do.

I actually quite enjoyed showing the buyer around. On the occasion when the actual buyer viewed for the first time, I had a gut feeling that she liked the place almost as soon as she stepped through the door so I made a particular effort with her. I was right and she had made an offer by the end of that afternoon.

Delphblue

Hi

Just wanted to say thanks again for all your advice - we met our buyer last night and she was lovely. She had questions about the meters, about rights of access in the communal yard, bin days, boiler, whether we would leave the window blinds (yes) and the white goods (maybe). Had a cup of tea and a general chat and then told us that she's going to chase her solicitor for the searches. She's away next week (contactable by phone), but I guess we won't be able to exchange if she isn't physically here. So, unless something suddenly happens by the end if this week, I think we've got at least another week to wait.

Delphi x