"Buyers" who don't even have their house on the market

Horizon81

My house is up for sale at the moment. I'm in a cold market if that makes any difference (the quiet North East England) but the house is priced fairly and there's been a handful of viewers in the first week. The agent have sent round a few different types of viewer, but the most common type is those whose house isn't even on the market (and they're not cash buyers either).

I did ask are these not just timewasters but the agent assured me for the sake of a 20 minute viewing it was worth letting them have a look round. Nothing ventured nothing gained and all that. Houses rarely come up for sale in my estate so the optimist in me is thinking I may be tempting viewers who hadn't necessarily thought about moving till now, hence theirs not being on the market.

Nevertheless the pessimist in me just thinks timewasters. I certainly don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face but at the same time, how can a buyer be even semi committed to moving if their house isn't even on the market? I've never sold before so don't know how normal this is. Should I refuse these types of viewers or just go with the flow?

Red-Squirrel_2

Some people will only move for the right house, then when they see it will get their own on the market and try to sell quickly. These are rare but they do exist.

I'm sure some of them are timewasters too, but its completely your decision if you want to let them view or not just on the slim chance of getting a genuine one, the estate agent doesn't get to decide!

Squirtle17

How much are you being put out by having viewers come round? I agree with your agent, there's not really a downside to letting people view.

hc25036

We were that 'timewaster' - our situation is that our house will sell fairly quickly and we didn't know how long it would take to find somewhere suitable in the area we want to move to. We didn't want the risk of having sold and having to move out into temporary accommodation.

It's difficult on both sides... We are now on the market.

PasturesNew

I've put mine on the market... a week ago.... until I can measure the excitement that's brought to the market I won't pick up the phone to do a viewing.

As it turns out, I've had no viewings so far, so have simply compiled a watchlist on a spreadsheet so I know what I'd like to look at once anybody's vaguely interested in mine.

The agent says "for the sake of a 20 minute viewing" - trouble is, you don't just check your watch and pop out do you? You have to clean/clear, tidy away, reorganise some stuff/furniture/bits and bobs, wipe everything down .... then find somewhere to go to and "hide" for 30 minutes... slap bang in the middle of your day when you'd rather just be vegging out in PJs, scoffing biscuits and watching telly

Indeed, it might even change what you can eat, due to the timing of it - and the mess/mayhem or smell your preferred meal would've caused. No salty bacon stewing in the SC for 6 hours .... nor curries.... should you fry food as that's a lot of fat to continuously have to clean down around the hob area .... in fact, the time of the viewing + the tidy up might mean your meal today will just be a bag of chips sitting in the car up the road for 30 minutes

KazJenn

We were that time waster too. We had full intentions of moving but procrastinating a little. Particularly as our search radius was limited. Within 10 days we had viewed the house twice and put our house on the market as the right house incentivised us to get a move on.
I agree that as long as you're not being ridiculously inconvenienced it's worth letting them view.

Horizon81

Thanks for the swift replies. All make sense. PasturesNew you're right it's way more than 20 minutes all in, but that's to be expected and I'm getting the tidying-up routine honed! I don't mind the inconvenience if there's ultimately a chance of a sale, I just fear people are having a lend. I suppose it all comes down to 'you never know'. If in 6 months it remains unsold I may be kicking myself for refusing these unproceedable viewers who later on came to be proceedable.

Guess I'll just suck it up, and keep on entertaining anyone who's interested!

Horizon81

KazJenn wrote: »

We were that time waster too. We had full intentions of moving but procrastinating a little. Particularly as our search radius was limited. Within 10 days we had viewed the house twice and put our house on the market as the right house incentivised us to get a move on.
I agree that as long as you're not being ridiculously inconvenienced it's worth letting them view.

I totally see your point but if you loved the house so much, then I imagine other potential buyers would do too... and if theirs is under offer or at least on the market then you risk losing out for your procrastination (unless your existing house is so amazing you know it will sell immediately).

lisyloo

in fact, the time of the viewing + the tidy up might mean your meal today will just be a bag of chips sitting in the car up the road for 30 minutes

Can this be got around by suggesting a time thats convenient to you, perhaps a time when you are out and not eating at home and fits in with your cleaning schedule.


A serious buyer would be flexible around times.

ReadingTim

Get your EA to do the viewings, for example when you're at work. That means it's their time which is being wasted with unproceedable buyers, not yours. That's part of what you're paying them for.

PasturesNew

ReadingTim wrote: »

Get your EA to do the viewings, for example when you're at work. That means it's their time which is being wasted with unproceedable buyers, not yours. That's part of what you're paying them for.

As I understand it the agent is doing the viewings - but the OP has to tidy up and vacate the house when it turns out the people viewing haven't even got theirs on the market yet ... so you feel you're becoming a tourist attraction.

Nobody lives in the house advertised on the website... their stuff's usually all over the place, washing up undone/drying, washing in the machine or on the line being watched in case it rains, dossing about catching the latest episode of the telly, pile of washing ready to go into the machine... to get the house looking how it did in the photos is an hour ... and then you have to pack the entire household up and bundle them outside into the car and "hide"....

It takes more than the 20 minutes' viewing time - the viewing time doesn't affect the agent, or the viewer, they just have to turn up, walk round and leave.... their pants are still on their bedroom floor all that time... and last night's washing up is still on their draining board.

Getting a viewing is an emotional rollercoaster too, as you hope this is "the one".... then it turns out it's not.