Estate Agent Refusing to Show us Property because we are not in a position to proceed

elsien

I had it happen to me a couple of years back.
I hadn't put my house on the market because I only planned to move if I found the right house. Owners had a property they thought (and needed) to sell quickly and didn't want to wait around for people like me to have to start the selling process from scratch although I anticipated mine would sell reasonably quickly.

I can see their point of view but it did leave me in the position where I couldn't view houses in order to make a decision, and I didn't want to put mine on the market on the off chance then mess buyers around by withdrawing.
All a bit of a catch 22.

kingstreet

WeB wrote: »

I guess I should reconsider putting ours on the market first.

Are you saying that not only do you not have a sale on your property, it isn't actually on the market yet?

WeB

kingstreet wrote: »

Are you saying that not only do you not have a sale on your property, it isn't actually on the market yet?

That is correct. Might seem strange for some, but I would never sell my home without having found a suitable new home.

I might question some implications, but I accept them.

Surrey_EA

WeB wrote: »

That is correct. Might seem strange for some, but I would never sell my home without having found a suitable new home.

I might question some implications, but I accept them.

Do bear in mind that what might prove to be a suitable house for you to purchase may also appeal to another buyer who is already in a better position.

Essentially, by operating in this way, you are likely to be restricting yourself from the opportunity of buying the best houses in the market of the type you are looking for, as the really good ones will go to people already under offer or in rented.

Thrugelmir

If the EA is conducting the visits. Perhaps they don't want to waste their valuable time either.

Little point in window shopping. Either you wish to move or not. When you've sold is the time to choose a house to buy, not before.

agrinnall

WeB wrote: »

Might seem strange for some, but I would never sell my home without having found a suitable new home.

It's your decision, but it's likely to mean that the number of properties you can view is limited, as you have already found. Personally I believe the exact opposite, and I have never looked for another home until I've accepted an offer on mine (and in fact I have always had a gap between sale and purchase where I have rented for a period of between 3 and 15 months, with the money from the previous sale sitting in my bank account, making me a more desireable buyer).

WeB

Thrugelmir wrote: »

If the EA is conducting the visits. Perhaps they don't want to waste their valuable time either.

Little point in window shopping. Either you wish to move or not. When you've sold is the time to choose a house to buy, not before.

I respectfully disagree, as I feel it is a generalisation which doesn't apply in my case.
I do wish to move, but am not willing to a) go back to renting and move twice, b) limit myself to the handful of houses available to me at the exact time that my house has sold. Due to commitments I am limited to about a 2 mile radius around a certain location, which is difficult enough as is.

As I said, I am willing to accept the implications.

SeasideSally

Surrey_EA wrote: »

Essentially, by operating in this way, you are likely to be restricting yourself from the opportunity of buying the best houses in the market of the type you are looking for, as the really good ones will go to people already under offer or in rented.

This is why we're moving into a rented place, so we can approach vendors with the cash in the bank when everything is signed and sealed. In the time it took us to get our house ready to go on the market, all but one of the properties I liked the look of got one of those SSTC stickers.

kingstreet

WeB wrote: »

That is correct. Might seem strange for some, but I would never sell my home without having found a suitable new home.

I might question some implications, but I accept them.

So you find somewhere.

You can't make an offer; or if you do you won't be viewed as proceedable so best you can hope for is your interest will be noted and someone who is in a position to proceed can come along and buy, making your offer pointless.

You have to at least be on the market to be viewed as a serious contender.

The market may be a bit stodgy at the moment, but the time for accepting an offer and waiting for your buyer to market and find a buyer hasn't arrived yet.

ReadingTim

WeB wrote: »

I respectfully disagree, as I feel it is a generalisation which doesn't apply in my case.
I do wish to move, but am not willing to a) go back to renting and move twice, b) limit myself to the handful of houses available to me at the exact time that my house has sold. Due to commitments I am limited to about a 2 mile radius around a certain location, which is difficult enough as is.

As I said, I am willing to accept the implications.

So you're willing to shoot yourself in the foot, yet suggest it's mad for someone else to also shoot themselves in the foot...?!? Ye gods....:wall:

Putting your own place on the market at least shows you're serious, and the EAs are likely to treat you accordingly. It would therefore be a good compromise to advance the situation; and is a long way from receiving an offer, let alone accepting it, and having "sold" your house.