Problems being offered viewing slots

Wat_Tyler1968

Hello all, first post.

We've recently entered the housing market as First Time buyers. We're currently tenants, but could move more or less immediately if we found the right place to buy. There are numerous properties in our price range in the area of London in which we wish to live. We have an Agreement in Principle for the mortgage to cover this move. We have registered with numerous local estate agents. They are very, very good at bombarding us with emails offering properties we either cannot afford, or have too few rooms. However when we express interest in viewing something that is suitable - and by that something we would probably want to put an offer in on if it is in fact as advertised, it is almost impossible to see it. We have tried to see 8 properties, and been able to see exactly one, and that was because it was registered with a tiny independent estate agent. The other 7 we are unable to either arrange a slot, despite persistently expressing an interest, or the viewing is cancelled at short notice, only to be re-offered to us a few days later.

It's almost as if nobody wants to do any business. I can understand the market is a bit wonky, but what do you expect if buyers cannot even get to see a place? If this goes on, I might as well start supporting the Communists.......... 

cheeky-peach

The only advice here, sadly, is:
1) Wait it out
2) Keep persisting
3) Give up entirely

The market is a bit crap at the moment and it sounds like you are already doing what you need to be doing to be in for a good chance. As long as you are very flexible with viewing slots and are booking viewings as soon as they are available, not sure what else you can do. 

Wat_Tyler1968

cheeky-peach said:

The only advice here, sadly, is:
1) Wait it out
2) Keep persisting
3) Give up entirely

The market is a bit crap at the moment and it sounds like you are already doing what you need to be doing to be in for a good chance. As long as you are very flexible with viewing slots and are booking viewings as soon as they are available, not sure what else you can do. 

I'm currently at 2, but its getting tempting to move to 1 or even go straight to 3. Where I am the rental market is unsustainable and rents are dropping and dropping and there seems to be loads on the market. People are leaving town in droves and at some point these flats will have to go on the market and the agents will be whining that nobody will buy them. No wonder some people book several viewings at once and only turn up to one with agents behaving the way they do.

On the plus side, one agent who is not on my personal Gulag-list has just offered me a slot to view 2 flats, one of whom we are potentially very, very keen on. 

AFF8879

London, generally, is a total buyers market right now so I find this quite surprising!

JCarmello

When you say that you were unable to arrange a slot, is that because you weren't available for the slots they had?
Often they'll arrange with the owner to do a day of viewings. It's better for the seller (who they work for, notionally) because it means they only need to prep the house once, and if there are multiple viewings, then it can put some urgency on those who do go to view it.
I don't think there was a single property we were unable to view in London that we tried to over the past 6 months so I find this quite strange.

MsACam

AFF8879 said:

London, generally, is a total buyers market right now so I find this quite surprising!

Please let me know which area of london you’re looking at because it’s definitely not buyers’ market in the zone two London I live in!

MsACam

Agree with JCarmello - viewed dozens of properties mainly at short notice (not many london houses stay on market past first week) so I can’t understand why you’re having issues. 

jenni_fer

We're not in London but have experienced similar a few times. A property went on the market sometime after 10.30 this morning. I emailed around midday to arrange a viewing on their launch day to be told there were none left, they'll do viewings a few days later if it's not already sold.

Crazy situation.

And yes, I know phoning would have given us more chance but we were out for the day somewhere with no signal.

AFF8879

MsACam said:

AFF8879 said:

London, generally, is a total buyers market right now so I find this quite surprising!

Please let me know which area of london you’re looking at because it’s definitely not buyers’ market in the zone two London I live in!

Bow E3, I managed to complete on my sale a few weeks ago but the market was being flooded with properties and >80% on Rightmove were reduced 

JCarmello

AFF8879 said:

MsACam said:

AFF8879 said:

London, generally, is a total buyers market right now so I find this quite surprising!

Please let me know which area of london you’re looking at because it’s definitely not buyers’ market in the zone two London I live in!

Bow E3, I managed to complete on my sale a few weeks ago but the market was being flooded with properties and >80% on Rightmove were reduced 

I would agree in East London that there are a lot of properties on the market that are being reduced... but they are of poor quality and over-priced.
A few decent ones have come on since 30/6 but most of them were on previously and must have collapsed.

yllop1101

Where its a sellers market in your area you need to have instant listing email alerts on and call straight away. I brought in April and prior to that would check rightmove obsessively throughout the day including at weekends. Working from home made it easier to do.
It's mad but it's how it's done!