Selling etiquette

ladymarmalade222

Hello everybody

We have just put our house on the market and it was advertised on the usual websites this morning. We had a call from the agent with 2 viewings already for weekend.

I have not moved for 20 years but did not think to ask if the viewers are ready to proceed.

Am I wrong to ask these questions? What I don't want is to spend time cleaning when the buyers are not ready. I am in poor health currently and it is a big effort especially if my time is being wasted.

Has it changed much from when people used to book viewings just to be nosy? An old neighbour was quite open on doing it regularly at weekends with no intention of buying.

Do the agents usually vet potential buyers or is it just a numbers game for then?

Thanks for your advice.

Xxx

Chanes

Your estate agents will, or should, find out the position of the viewers, we were asked when we were viewing houses. But people might not be truthful when they answer them.

It's a miserable thing to sell and buy houses, you find the worst of people a lot.

Levs01

It's perfectly reasonable for you to request viewers that are ready to proceed however this will lessen your market. We had two viewers who came to see ours and neither were on the market yet. They both loved the house and out thiers on. One is now our buyer after selling his within a week, the other is still on the market.

NicNicP

I agree with Levs01. We had no intention of moving until we saw a house in our area go up for sale. We viewed, loved it, put ours on the market, sold it and agreed a sale with the vendors!

G_M

You can instruct your agents to do anything. Well, anything legal - you can't, for instance, tell them not to allow viewings from green, introsexual or bi-abled people.

michelle2008

Would you think about an open house - the estate agents handles it.

Obviously this only works if you have quite a few viewers - but next did the and there was five or six couples over about an hour. Only need to clean once and who cares if a few are just nosey !!!!!!s!

ladymarmalade222

The agent did mention an open house arrangement but we did not know how the advertising would work out. The agent is testing the water price wise as it is a bit expensive for the type of property but inside is totally different and unique.

We spent a lot of money on renovations a number of years ago knowing we would not quite get the money back but it suited our family. Unfortunately we now need to move for medical reasons sooner than we would have liked:(

The agent did say that it will either sell very quickly or take a long while. We were a little shocked at the viewings this morning after just overnight advertisement. I just hope we don't get time wasters, I'm not saying that to be ungrateful but just this week preparations have made me really ill.

Hopefully all will go well, fingers crossed

Prothet_of_Doom

Open House ? We saw a house, booked to see it on a Saturday afternoon, and was surprised to find that the agent had got 4 other couples looking at the same time. House was empty, so no owner present, and I loudly stated everything that was wrong to my wife in a way that the other people would hear. I imagine some of the points may have put other potential buyers off. In the end We didn't make an offer because the house was perfect, except it needed rewiring, which would have meant weeks of redecorating.

Prothet_of_Doom

ladymarmalade222 wrote: »

The agent did say that it will either sell very quickly or take a long while. Indeed stating the bleeding obvious. Suggests they don't know their market very well. We were a little shocked at the viewings this morning after just overnight advertisement. Suggests there are a core of potential buyers/investors who are waiting for the right house at the right price, so if none of them want it, they next viewers might be a while coming.

I just hope we don't get time wasters,Don't think of them as time wasters. Think of them as nice people who you would never have met if you were not selling your house. I'm not saying that to be ungrateful but just this week preparations have made me really ill. Indeed. Stress. Just chill. and laugh about them when they have gone. Play a game with yourself. 10 reasons why I'm not selling to them, even if they want it. :rotfl:

Hopefully all will go well, fingers crossed

You'll be fine. What is the worst that could happen ? nobody wants it this time. oh well, at least the place is tidy.

ladymarmalade222

Thanks everybody.

Just called the estate agent as they had left another message saying goes they had another viewer.

They said they vet as much as possible including mortgage in place etc so I am happy with that.

They have told me one viewer is in a local rented property with mortgage ready, another is separated and temporarily living with parents with mortgage with in house advisor and 3rd viewer has house on the market but not sold yet. They did say they accepted the 3rd though due to the others already booked in.

So overall sounds positive. I will farm my doggie off to my mums. Also the agent always shows viewers around which I found strange. Do I just hang about the garden?

Thanks again

Xx

hazyjo

I'm looking (well, I've seen one), but am not proceedable.


BUT... I would consider selling right now if the right house came along.


Also, I'm an hour's drive away from where I'll be moving to, so, as I've done before, want to be in a position whereby if I do get a buyer, I can ring up that second and make an offer. It's not always easy to view houses. I'm busy, I work full time - long hours, it's too late to go after work, and people can't always find time to let you view on a weekend. I tried to view two others when I saw the one house, but neither vendors could show us round (nor the EA). If I got a buyer, I wouldn't want to be waiting a couple of weeks or more to view the house!


As above, you will always get timewasters - and they can't usually be filtered out, even if you do say proceedable buyers only.


Good luck.

Jx