Buyer wants to come over

nicknameless

p.s. to my earlier post.  We are currently buying and going round this p.m. with a contractor to look at the garden for some work we want doing immediately after completion (they had a 3 week lead time to even come and look and quote).  Seller said fine come round and if we're not in let yourself into the garden yourselves, no problem.

We are deadly serious about the property, hence the request.  The reception to the request once again confirmed that they are deadly serious about selling, and happy to help us in that process.

AskAsk

m0bov said:

The EA should not even be asking to hand keys to the buyer, you'd need a "key agreement" drafted up by the solicitor, sounds like the EA is very lazy and unprofessional. How do we know the buyer want fabricate faults? Are they insured? Why is the EA not dealing with this?

they have taken the lazy route of handing keys to the builder and the buyer so they can come at any time during the day without making an appointment as they have other properties to sell and this has now become second priority as a buyer has already been found.  but they have at least asked for my permission and when I said the EA must accompany at all time, they have agreed to do this.

when we sold a flat a couple of years ago, the EA didn't even ask us for permission before handing out keys to all and sundry, hence the cause of the damage that I had already mentioned earlier.

Brie

We let a buyer with tame builder take 2nd, 3rd & 4th looks at MiL's flat but always with us in attendance.  I came to detest the woman buying but gritted my teeth and smiled a lot so that the sale would eventually go through which did happen about 5 months after offer. 

But if it's a quote for bathroom and kitchen the buyer can go into B7Q or W1ckes with the details from the EA and say "give me a ballpark figure to replace all of this with your finest avocado fittings" or whatever other style takes their fancy.  There will need to be a number of assumptions about water and gas pipes and electrics but the rest is cosmetic and will be based on the relative price of tiles and fittings and appliances chosen. 

AskAsk

Brie said:

We let a buyer with tame builder take 2nd, 3rd & 4th looks at MiL's flat but always with us in attendance.  I came to detest the woman buying but gritted my teeth and smiled a lot so that the sale would eventually go through which did happen about 5 months after offer. 

But if it's a quote for bathroom and kitchen the buyer can go into B7Q or W1ckes with the details from the EA and say "give me a ballpark figure to replace all of this with your finest avocado fittings" or whatever other style takes their fancy.  There will need to be a number of assumptions about water and gas pipes and electrics but the rest is cosmetic and will be based on the relative price of tiles and fittings and appliances chosen. 

if the survey flagged up faults that had to be rectified then I would agree for the builder to come round to see the problem and quote for the work and even for the buyer to knock off money for this and re-negotiate as it is all to do with the purchase of the property and how much is it worth.

however, giving a vague statement of problems in the survey but not saying what they are and coming round to get a new kitchen and bathroom quote is not something that is necessary for the purchase of the property.  he can do that when he has bought the property.  as a buyer, i wouldn't ask to do this but if i did, i would understand if the seller is not keen for it to happen before exchange and it certainly would not make me walk away after spending money already on solicitors and survey etc.

however, the general consensus seems to be that I shouldn't be so mean and I should let him and his builder come over for the quotes if he wants to get a new kitchen and bathroom.

Mojisola

Our buyer asked for several visits with tradesmen - it made sense to me that they wanted to get plans made and tradesmen booked so that things could progress as quickly as possible - but I was always there.

I wouldn't have handed the keys over, even though the house was empty.

sidneyvic

Why be difficult ? It is hardly a major problem, in fact you should make yourself available to show them and the builder around. I presume they are spending a considerable amount of money which they are handing over to you so why such distain for such a small request...
If I was the buyer I would be really put off and considering pulling out as you could be hiding anything as there is no logical reason for refusing this request apart from hiding something or just being difficult and in either case would be a good reason to pull out.

Megaross

I wouldn't be too bothered about allowing additional viewings.

I've viewed the current purchase in progress 3 times and I'm going back again to do some additional measuring up as I need to order materials, especially given the materials often take a while to come in these days.

It's not exactly a pair of shoes it's a major investment and a huge factor in quality of life - people should be viewing as much as is needed to do their due diligence and gain a complete assessment of the property and any costs. I wouldn't let a buyer view by themselves with the keys in hand, but letting the agent show them round or meeting them there? No problem.

Slinky

When looking for my first home to buy in 1990 I recall being given keys to a couple of vacant properties to go and have a look by myself.

When buying our current home we visited several times across the many months the vendor managed to drag the sale out over, once with a plumber recommended by the estate agents (we weren't local) following the survey which highlighted some damp issues (which the plumber failed to identify correctly), once to measure up for blinds and curtains, once to check everything was OK prior to exchange as several months had gone by. Estate agent was always present. She brought a laptop with her to do some work on whilst we did what we wanted to do.

dimbo61

Having done a huge refurbishment of an old house we had to visit the house with tradespeople and structural engineer.
Fitted new upvc windows 3 days after collecting the keys,
7 new steels put in after old fireplace and wall in kitchen/lounge removed from ground to chimney breast and pot 
complete rewire 
If you want to sell allow viewings but go yourself to make sure No damage occurs

Sistergold

The buyer has not asked for a reduction yet so there is really no need to give a list of surveyor flagged problems. The buyer might never ask for a reduction in which case the flagged items are for their own information. I don’t think the buyer needs to list yet what is the problem. There is truly nothing wrong with a buyer bringing a builder in(under supervision) to get a quote on what needs to get done. After this quote the buyer will be able to decide what they want to do, budget for the work, ask for a reduction or do nothing at all and just proceed with the purchase. Most sellers just want you to buy and discover the problems later. They are spending a lot of money in buying the property and need to be well aware of what they are getting themselves into.