Volunteered to do the Viewings

thriftytracey

Our buyer has withdrawn because we haven't found anywhere yet.  It's been six weeks and in the location we want to move to properties have just dried up.

The EA contacted two buyers from the first lot who made offers originally and two of them have restated their offers, considerably lower than the first buyers.  I got the impression the EA did not want to conduct more viewings as it takes up a whole day.  I said we would discuss it.

Last night we were then contacted by someone we know whose friends saw the property on RM and "desperate" to view and contacted the EA who said there had been offers and gave the impression no more viewings.  I called the EA today and said we could do the viewings if necessary.  They immediately agreed and are going to contact other interested parties for possible viewings at the weekend.

I feel a bit nervous doing the viewings only because it doesn't seem to be the norm and it has been 25 years since we last moved.  Obviously usual Covid precautions will be followed.

Anyone else doing this?  Our EA is not Purple Bricks or similar but a local High Street firm charging the usual fee.

We thought it best just one of us conduct the viewings.  Should I let them look around themselves or accompany them from room to room?

grumiofoundation

We viewed a couple of properties where the vendors did the viewings* - 1 of which we ended up buying. 

We found no negatives being shown by vendors rather than EA. If anything we preferred it as we got a bit more info about the history/quirks of the properties than if the EA had been doing and could get answers to some questions there and then.  

Vendors showed us round room to room but let us look round each room ourselves.

*this was last summer, just after lockdown eased to reallow viewings, so the viewings were quite hands off anyway even with EAs. 

youth_leader

I had to do some of my viewings, and typed out a useful sheet for viewers - Council tax, oil usage, shared sewage tank details etc. I also printed out the floorplan for them, and guided them around, I wanted to watch what they were touching.

One viewer took photos without asking my permission, decide if this is acceptable to you.

I didn't allow them access to the loft. 

Davesnave

Your EA works for you, but like the government they have another priority....themselves!

In the longer term I'd want to ditch the EA, but as that's probably not possible right now I'd do the viewings. It's quite a normal situation in some areas and some people have more aptitude than others for it. Having been on many owner-led viewings, I'd say don't rush, don't try to fill all the silences with chatter, take the people round at their pace, ask if there are any questions at the end  and then let them look again on their own while you get on with something.

Personally, I don't mind doing viewings, but no way would I discuss price during them. That's for the negotiator.

catclaires

We did all our own viewings - 18 in total over one weekend in April, which was a bit crazy! It actually all went fine and felt more relaxed than I thought it would. We also weren't sure how much to accompany people but played it by ear a bit. Our downstairs is all open plan, so we let people in and then just sort of hovered towards one end of the house to give them space while they looked around but at the same time to be available if they had questions - back door was left open so that they could go into the back garden, and some went out by themselves, but we did end up coming out with others just because we were chatting to them and they were asking questions at the time, so it probably does depend on the individual people. We left everyone to go upstairs by themselves, which seemed to work well (the layout up there isn't very spacious, and we felt we'd be crowding people a bit if we followed them around).

We were slightly dreading it and wished after originally agreeing the dates/times that we'd just said to the EA that we'd go out for the day and leave them to it - but it really wasn't that bad at all, and we met some lovely people. It was a bit tiring, but we felt it was beneficial because we could answer people's questions more fully than the EA would have been able to, and we were also able to 'sell' the area by telling them about the things we genuinely love about the house, good local paths (we're on the edge of countryside), nice neighbours and so on. We ended up with several offers at the end of the weekend, so it all felt worth it - and we really liked the people who (fingers crossed) are buying it, so that was nice too as we felt happy to be selling to them. Good luck!

user1977

This comes up here often. It seems to be a bit of a regional thing, in Scotland it would be odd for owner-occupiers not to do their own viewings. Usual practice is to give them a tour and then let them wander round by themselves if they want a more in-depth look.

RJM90

I’d be a little concerned at how little the EA seems to be prioritising you considering you’re paying them. I understand they must be so busy right now but still, you shouldn’t feel obliged to accept a smaller offer.

We sold our property using an estate agents called Strike (no cost to sell - they make money off up selling and recommending products). We did all our own viewings. Literally just showed people round and highlighted the main features and answered questions. I wouldn’t worry too much about doing it yourself - I’d go for it. 

If you’re not in a rush to sell I’d even consider looking at someone like Strike and restart the process - that way you can show them round and not fork out however much the original EA would take.

fishfingerbutties

I did one of the viewings for selling my place, as the people viewing wanted to view quickly and I happened to be at home. It was fine, I let them wander round and look and then said happy to take any questions. Actually had a really good chat with them! 

Personally as well the other way round I don't mind sellers doing their own viewings. I'm moving long distance and it's actually been way more helpful to be able to ask some questions about the locality than the agent who has to keep saying I'll ask the vendors and get back to you. 

If it's a one off here and there, I wouldn't worry too much.

pinkteapot

I've always done the viewings - never the EA. And when buying I *hate* EA-conducted viewings - they don't know anything about the house. Vendor can answer far more questions. In my life I've probably viewed 20-30 houses (lots of moves over the last 15 years) and only 2 or 3 have been done by the EA, so EA viewings aren't the norm in my experience... Maybe it varies by area?

I always start by showing people round, downstairs then up. Point them into a room and let them enter first - feels less crowded for them that way. Then, I say "Do you want to have another look round by yourselves?" and they almost always say yes. Leave them to it. That's the only weird bit - you end up sitting awkwardly in the garden/kitchen trying to look like you're not listening to them.

One thing to be prepared for - though it probably won't happen. Twice, I've had viewers try to make offers direct to me at the viewing. I've just said "Thank you, but I do prefer to deal with offers through the estate agent I'm afraid, so if you could talk to them that'd be great." First time it happened it really threw me as I wasn't expecting it. I think very few people would do that but just in case - don't accept an offer because you're thrown! EA is better at negotiating than you.

Dave_6

I did my own viewings earlier this year (only 5 though), it seemed easier as I was working from home and I felt confident I could really sell some plus points of the house and location.

Do it right and you can sell your home much better than some of the agents can, information about the local area, good neighbours, plus points of the house that might come across more genuine than an agent using the usual lines.
It gives you a chance to build a rapport with a buyer which might become valuable further down the line if there are delays or points things become stressful.

The downside, I viewed other houses where the sellers also did their own viewings and some should have avoided it at all costs.
They focussed on all the negatives of the house, which was great that they were honest but was also off putting and obviously didn't give the best impression.

For the majority of the viewings I left them to it and just said to take their time (something you don't always get when an agents doing the viewings, especially right now)


It's not for everyone but if you feel confident you can point out good points of the house and generally like chatting to new people it can go well.

cattie

I've always done my own viewings when selling properties & tended to acheive quick sales. Personally I think the seller is in a far better position to point out the positives & be able to answer any questions the prospective buyers may have.