What expectations do estate agents have of someone asking for a viewing?

lookstraightahead

Don't overthink it. At the moment sellers need all the viewings they can get. 

If you're a cash buyer there should be no reason whatsoever to be 'refused' a viewing (not that agents can make that decision)

Grizebeck

Your not a tyre kicker are you

RHemmings

Grizebeck said:

Your not a tyre kicker are you

If you mean someone who views properties they know they're not interested in, then no I'm not. 

Dustyevsky

Devongardener said:

I’d be pretty annoyed if I knew that people viewing my property were only there to see if they like that particular property type.  Have you any idea what it’s like when the seller has viewings booked and spend a lot of time and considerable effort getting the house ready ready in the hope of getting an offer?  

We’re finally just about to exchange after being on the market for 18 months

We viewed quite a few smallholdings, from 1 to 20 acres. Initially, we weren't  sure how much land we wanted, or what the potential benefits and down-sides might be, so it took time to get our heads around that and various rural areas. Naturally, at a given price point, it was a case of more land = less house, and vice versa, but the extra nuances of location also had influence. There was a lot to consider.

We knew what selling was like, as it took a considerable time to get our house sold in the downturn of 2008. We then had the hassle of renting for 9 months, because we'd still not found the right combination of house/land/location. That was roughly as we expected, though. It would have been nice to sell quickly and move straight to the 'best' property, but life's rarely like that. We certainly didn't lose sleep over speculative viewers; they were better than those who offered and then withdrew.

Noneforit999

The best thing to do is to chat to the EA, explain your situation ect.

We can't say whether a specific EA will think you are a time waster but with the market being not what it was 18 months ago, they may have more leeway anyway, especially if you are a cash buyer.

As a vendor about 18 months ago, viewings were a pain for us as we had a small child and a dog so we made it clear to the EA we didn't want one by one viewings or short notice ones as it just didn't work for us. Fortunately they did an open house, we had about 15 viewings in one day and got six offers but that was when the market was more buoyant. 

Bigphil1474

OP, I'd say with virtually every property being listed on the likes of Right Move these days , there's not much of an excuse for not seeing what the property looks like inside and out before deciding to view. I've looked at maybe a hundred houses in the last 6 months online, and have found about 10 which fit my needs, and will no doubt adjust that list when I'm ready to start physically viewing over the next few weeks.

MultiFuelBurner

RHemmings said:

Thanks everyone. 

I don't need a mortgage - I'm a cash buyer. The cash is ready. 

I haven't made any offers yet, that's true. But, these are all houses I could offer on. The house we saw second today, I really thought I would offer on. But, the exceedingly nice exterior hid considerable problems inside. 

BTW: I walk around nearly all properties I view before I view. It doesn't cut down the number a lot - too many parts of my city are pretty much all the same. The house I didn't like today looked absolutely fabulous from the outside and the area was fine. So, not having walked past that one wouldn't have prevented the disappointing viewing. 

I suspect if you are going back to the same estate agents you may be viewed as a tyre kicker.

We have had a few forumites recently who seem unable to push that "buy" button despite having the funds and suggesting on here that they are ready. Posting post after post of their dilemma, a couple of names spring to mind but haven't seen them recently so hopefully they have made the leap.

One thing to remember is properties don't looks as attractive in the colder months as they do in the warmer ones.

TheJP

RHemmings said:

Grizebeck said:

Your not a tyre kicker are you

If you mean someone who views properties they know they're not interested in, then no I'm not. 

Yet not a single offer from viewing 7 different properties. The thing is no house will be perfect, all houses will have some issues its how you weigh up what you want, what you can afford and what risk you are willing to take i.e. things need fixed but we can sort that out vs the costs far outweigh what we can afford. 

housebuyer143

TheJP said:

RHemmings said:

Grizebeck said:

Your not a tyre kicker are you

If you mean someone who views properties they know they're not interested in, then no I'm not. 

Yet not a single offer from viewing 7 different properties. The thing is no house will be perfect, all houses will have some issues its how you weigh up what you want, what you can afford and what risk you are willing to take i.e. things need fixed but we can sort that out vs the costs far outweigh what we can afford. 

I don't tend to think 7 is too many personally as long as you learn from each viewing. 
About 7 years ago we were intent on moving but had no clue what we wanted and couldn't judge room sizes from the Rightmove ad. We probably viewed 7/8 before we understood what we didn't want and what our money could get us. We didn't move afterwards 😆 
We waited another 5 years, got more money and bought a much larger house. Those earlier viewings though were invaluable to us this time around because we knew what we didn't want, which made looking for what we did easier. 

TheJP

housebuyer143 said:

TheJP said:

RHemmings said:

Grizebeck said:

Your not a tyre kicker are you

If you mean someone who views properties they know they're not interested in, then no I'm not. 

Yet not a single offer from viewing 7 different properties. The thing is no house will be perfect, all houses will have some issues its how you weigh up what you want, what you can afford and what risk you are willing to take i.e. things need fixed but we can sort that out vs the costs far outweigh what we can afford. 

I don't tend to think 7 is too many personally as long as you learn from each viewing. 
About 7 years ago we were intent on moving but had no clue what we wanted and couldn't judge room sizes from the Rightmove ad. We probably viewed 7/8 before we understood what we didn't want and what our money could get us. We didn't move afterwards 😆 
We waited another 5 years, got more money and bought a much larger house. Those earlier viewings though were invaluable to us this time around because we knew what we didn't want, which made looking for what we did easier. 

How long ago are we talking here? Did you make any offers? If it was 20-30 years ago then all you had was 2 pictures in the EA office. The technology available now means you can get a very good idea on what the house looks like, the virtual tour tool that many use is fantastic for this reason.