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

Horizon81

armchaireconomist wrote: »

I live in semi-rural North East and do on occasion check what's for sale. If something came up perfect for me in an estate I like I would go view without a doubt, despite not having mine up for sale. I would never view for the sake of it - would I be a "time waster"?

Don't be so sure that all sellers would even afford you a viewing. Some definitely wouldn't. On the face of it, yes you could be considered a timewaster. You're taking your harmless internet checking to the next level by arranging a viewing while you still have property to sell that isn't even marketed*. Nevertheless, if your finances are in order i.e. you have enough financial margin/borrowing power/desire to borrow that means that the exact price you achieve for selling your existing house isn't crucial, then that's more of an attractive proposition. But of course if the house is so attractive to tempt you (in a position of not even on the market), then there's a strong possibility a buyer in a better position also feels the same.

The problem for sellers is that it's nigh on impossible to discern those viewers who are keen to buy but havent advertised their house as they want something very specific, against those who aren't really sure about moving, are just testing the waters, having a speculative look about.

* Handy list of terms here:
https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/house-selling/buying-selling-houses/

Clutterfree

We had no intention of moving but saw a house we liked online (we wanted a period property that was habitable but needed work), went to view, loved it and then put ours on the market. Lived here two years now.
If the vendor had thought we were timewasters we wouldn't be living here.
Yes you do get the odd nosey parker but if you class everyone who isn't marketing their house as a timewasters you could be missing out on a future purchaser.

oystercatcher

Well I have been a 'time waster' . Not on the market but just liked the look of a property nearby . Looked around it , fell in love. Put ours on the market priced to sell and it went pretty quickly and the whole move went through really smoothly.

Same thing to the people who used to live next door to us , they wanted a bungalow but there weren't many in their price range so when one came up locally they looked, loved and amazingly the owner agreed a price and took it off the market. So neighbour put theirs up for sale and it sold within 3 days for exactly what they hoped for and the whole move went through really smoothly.

With both these moves we were only looking to move to a certain type of property which didn't come up very often so if we had put ours up for sale first there may have been nothing to move to and the chain would have fallen apart , So if we hadn't been able to view due to 'wasting peoples time' then the move would never have taken place !

As for all the 'not being ready , knickers on the floor twaddle' for goodness sake grow up! If you're trying to sell your house then live tidily and clear up as you go so the place is always ready to be looked at !

That being said the first sale mentioned above was sold to the couple who came and looked at the house when it was an absolute bomb site as I had a friend come around in tears in desperate need of a cuppa and a chat so instead of spending two hours sorting the place out, her child and my three (all aged under 6 years!) ran riot while I sat and listened and managed to bundle her out just before the viewing!! The couple who looked round loved the place and they DID have a sale agreed luckily !!

YoungBlueEyes

I agree with trailingspouse and oystercatcher, you keep your house tidy so it's not a bother if someone (anyone) wants to view.

When this place was on the market it was my full time job. Before the EA came round to take photos I spent 3 days doing a full clean, and I don't mean knickers on the floor or yesterday's washing up type nonsense. I washed everything that I physically could. I hired a Rug Doctor and did all the carpets and rugs. I washed every wall with hot soapy water. I cleared out/gave away/stored with neighbours about 80% of our stuff. Then daily it was just a normal top-to-bottom clean and tidy, twice a day if necessary. And then we lived like that til we found a buyer, because things can go wrong, and I didn't relish having to do it all again from scratch due to laziness and letting it go.

We accepted all viewings, even doing a few myself (which I didn't particularly want to do but it wasn't as bad as I feared!). AFAIK we didn't have any that weren't proceedable, ("having a lend" - haven't heard that for years ) but we never asked. We just trusted the EA and it's come good in the end

Fingers crossed it does for you too.

bertiewhite

We gave up turning our house into a show home every time a viewing was arranged and only made a special effort for those we knew were in a favourable position to buy. We figured that if a viewer wasn't even on the market then once they WERE in a position to buy, they'd be back for another viewing maybe months down the line anyway by which time they would be on our "show home" list.

KazJenn

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).

I agree that it was a crappy plan and one I wouldn't recommend! Our house did sell within a week of being on the market but due to the vendors daughter having a panic about paying the care home fees. She had suddenly reduced the asking price by 30k a day or so before our house was put on the market which attracted a cash buyer. The cash buyer actually had no substance and the sale collapsed within the first 2-3wks but that's beside the point. We were indeed at a disadvantage due to not being ready.

Davesnave

There's no such thing as a timewaster test, so it's pointless worrying about it.

We're sitting pretty now, thanks to 'timewasters' who weren't on the market. They viewed, said nothing and came back later, fully proceedable.


If certain other people had followed through with their purchase in the intervening period, we might have bought something else. Those were the real timewasters. We love 'em!

BrassicWoman

I wanted a ground floor flat on a specific estate. They don't come up often but they take a while to sell. I was selling a 4 bed family home on the same estate and they sell in a few weeks.

I viewed, was sold within 4 weeks, and bought the flat.

So. It depends.

RedFraggle

We were that viewer last year. We liked it, got ours on the market within the week and sold it in 36 hours. I am sat in the house we viewed when ours wasn't on the market.

mr_auspicious

We are selling to people who weren’t on the market 5 months ago when they viewed our house. We had over 30 viewings and dropped the price. The way the market is in North London at the moment selling a house is a long game. It’s likely to become even more so until things have settled down after Brexit. I don’t think if you’re selling you can afford to be fussy at the moment