Is it sensible to find out about a viewer before deciding to show a house

shortcrust

6am wrote: »

In my opinion the property is not priced to be attractive to investors. The last time investors made several viewings, mulled over the offer for a week, then made an offer which we refused straight away. We are not that desperate yet. It is a complete waste of our time. We will not drop our price beyond a certain limit, the agent knows that, the investors know they are not going to offer the price we want, so why waste everybody's time?

What on earth does that mean?! I can only imagine it means that it's overpriced.

G_M

I would never show my financials to the EA/agent. Why would I let him know I can afford more before/during price negotiations?

Yes I have funding - that's all you'd get from my FA/solicitor.

You want to sell? Themore viewerd through the door the better. Yes, some will be time-wasters, but it's a numbers game.

saajan_12

More viewers = more potential purchasers/offers to choose from, and bigger choice means the best one is higher / equal to that from a smaller pool.

This is an established principle in many industries. Shops allow the public to come in and see their offering. There is a cost to entertain more viewers, tidy up before/after them, but the benefit apparently outweighs the cost. Sure, some will just be there to window shop, some might be taking a very cursory initial look, willing to dig deep for the 'right' product.

ReadingTim

Get your estate agent to do the viewings, for example when you're out at work. That way, time wasters are only wasting the EA's time, not yours.

You can do the 2nd viewings, so you can meet and get the measure of your potential buyer.

6am

G_M wrote: »

I would never show my financials to the EA/agent. Why would I let him know I can afford more before/during price negotiations?

It seems that it is a best practice where I live to check the facts the buyer tells before removing the property from the market. If you make an offer but is unwilling to show the proof of funds, your offer will be accepted but the property will stay on market. Your FA/solicitor works for you. Why should I believe you or your FA?

Grenage

I believe it's common to show some basic proof of affordability before the house is taken off the market. A solicitor's nod is one way to do it, but we were happy showing funds in a separate account created for the transaction - plus AIP.

You'd generally not show them this information until they'd accepted the offer.

Bob_Bank_Spanker_2

6am wrote: »

It seems that it is a best practice where I live to check the facts the buyer tells before removing the property from the market. If you make an offer but is unwilling to show the proof of funds, your offer will be accepted but the property will stay on market. Your FA/solicitor works for you. Why should I believe you or your FA?

You think a solicitor would risk being dishonest for the sake of a few hundred quid conveyancing fee? If the solicitor confirms the funds are there, you can be assured they are.

ThePants999

6am wrote: »

Your FA/solicitor works for you. Why should I believe you or your FA?

Professionals like solicitors won't lie in a factual statement like "I have been provided with proof of the required funds", regardless of who they represent.

ThemeOne

I agree, get the agent to show people round, then you're not so involved.

If you're fed up getting lots of low offers, maybe you could discuss the "offers over £XXX" idea with your agent (there's been a recent thread about this) - it won't stop all low offers, but might deter some.

On the other hand, how long does it take you to say no to an offer?

MyOnlyPost

6am wrote: »

It seems that it is a best practice where I live to check the facts the buyer tells before removing the property from the market. If you make an offer but is unwilling to show the proof of funds, your offer will be accepted but the property will stay on market.

I think that is pretty much everywhere nowadays

6am wrote: »

Your FA/solicitor works for you. Why should I believe you or your FA?

This is my favourite quote on this site in a long time. I'm assuming you didn't put a lot of thought into that before typing. As others have said the implications on a solicitors reputation would be so severe that they simply would not lie about funds being in place