Potential Buyers don't even have house up for sale yet

mr_stripey

Thanks for the responses. 
I will let them view, maybe provide some usefull feedback in any case.
But would keep it on the market until they are in a position to proceed!

Jonbvn

I think it depends. If the market is buoyant (like now) then you can afford to be selective in whom you allow to view. Of course, when the market is not buoyant, the reverse applies. This may also vary by area and price.

scottishblondie

We did it this way round too - we were only willing to move within a very small area for a house that was exactly what we wanted, which was very specific.  Once we saw the house we prepped ours for marketing, and once our offer was accepted we put it up for sale.  Had our offer not been accepted we had no interest in moving, so it just made sense.  I'm given to believe this is quite comon in Scotland, though, so perhaps that is why it's more accepted.

Melaniep101

We're in the process of selling/buying and we had quite a few viewings with people who weren't on the market yet.  I did feel a bit annoyed at these "timewasters" and begrudged the time and effort cleaning the house from top to bottom for what I perceived as unproceedable buyers.
We ended up accepting an offer from a family that viewed our place, went away, put their's straight on the market and sold quickly.  Don't discount people who aren't on the market yet - we had plenty of tyre kickers but these were mostly people who were sold and looking for a unicorn.

FinallyStoppedLurking

Melaniep101 said:

We're in the process of selling/buying and we had quite a few viewings with people who weren't on the market yet.  I did feel a bit annoyed at these "timewasters" and begrudged the time and effort cleaning the house from top to bottom for what I perceived as unproceedable buyers.
We ended up accepting an offer from a family that viewed our place, went away, put their's straight on the market and sold quickly.  Don't discount people who aren't on the market yet - we had plenty of tyre kickers but these were mostly people who were sold and looking for a unicorn.

The house we are in the process of buying had a similar situation. They found a house they loved and then decided to sell theirs. We viewed it and made an offer before it even went to market.

Thinking about it, there is probably an argument to be made to say that someone marketing their house because of yours suggests a high level of interest. You can always specify they market within a certain time frame and if you think it won't sell (over priced, not nice etc) you can always got back and turn down their offer.

Falafels

Melaniep101 said:

We're in the process of selling/buying and we had quite a few viewings with people who weren't on the market yet.  I did feel a bit annoyed at these "timewasters" and begrudged the time and effort cleaning the house from top to bottom for what I perceived as unproceedable buyers.
We ended up accepting an offer from a family that viewed our place, went away, put their's straight on the market and sold quickly.  Don't discount people who aren't on the market yet - we had plenty of tyre kickers but these were mostly people who were sold and looking for a unicorn.

My eventual buyer had her house on the market, but the sale had just fallen through. She wasn't proceedable then, but she most certainly was when she came back a couple of weeks later! Given the rate at which nice properties are going at the moment, I'd be prepared to let someone view even if they hadn't sold yet. 

(I also think the discipline of keeping my house neat, and not accumulating any more 'treasures' has been good for my soul!)

Marvel1

I would let them view, they put offer in you like, accept but I will still accept viewings until they have an offer on theirs, so they best get moving.

FinallyStoppedLurking

Marvel1 said:

I would let them view, they put offer in you like, accept but I will still accept viewings until they have an offer on theirs, so they best get moving.

If you are still accepting viewings you'd not really accepted the offer. 

badger09

It really depends on how keen you are to move, and how easily your house will sell. 

We were very keen to move from our home of the last 20 years, as maintaining garden and various 'water related' features is becoming too much for us. It is a niche house, so not easy to sell. Our EA always gave us the option not to allow people to view until they at least had their homes on the market. We didn't refuse any viewings and had only 1 time wasting/nosy local family who didn't even go through the EA!.

The offer we accepted was from a couple who 1st viewed before they were proceedable, but who sold less than a week later. Hopefully, all going through. 

It was always ready for viewings, so very little additional effort was required. Husband wasn't impressed by my ban on curries and (his) kippers for the duration though .

youth_leader

Funny you mentioning curries badger09 - my daughter was upset I banned garlic the night before viewings.