Viewed houses today

Jami74

My partner viewed houses today.
One house, the one we hoping would the one, was so filthy and smelly (animal faeces on the floors) that he left quickly and didn't bother to take pictures or measurements. I knew it would need cleaning and decorating based on the pictures, but apparently it was a lot worse in real life with damage to the floors and walls.
I'm trying to get my head round why anyone would put a house up for sale and then show it (with a weeks notice) in that state. It is even a premium listing with one agent. 
Before we view any more houses, what sort of red flags should we be picking up from the adverts? 

twopenny

There aren't really any red flags in the adverts. EA hope someone will view who is prepared to deal with the problems. Even when showing you around they won't give a clue. They are working on behalf of the sellers - not the buyers. It could be someones dream location/layout and they would be prepared to deal with it.

A number of times I said 'why wouldn't anyone clean up before putting it on the market?'

The only thing I can think of is 'needs updating'   

cymruchris

It could be a probate property after someone has passed away where the family don't live locally, and they've just paid someone to clear out the contents. The estate agents should have informed them of the state and asked them if they wanted it cleaned up, but they might have said 'sell it like it is' - to which they will possibly receive less offers, or even no offers. One advantage where a house is in poor condition but easily remedied that someone just wants rid of - is that you might get a better price agreed as a result. Or they could be living in cloud cuckooland and expect top dollar in its current state.

eddddy

You can ask the estate agent at the time you're arranging a viewing, if you want.

You could say you had a nasty surprise at a previous viewing, and you want to know if there's anything you should know before turning up for this viewing.

prettyandfluffy

The estate agent will probably ask you for feedback following your viewing, this is your opportunity to be honest.  Having viewed many houses over the years I can only remember two where I was so appalled that I gave negative feedback; one I described as "an absolute tip" and the EA agreed.  The other one has a bathroom (the only bathroom) so vile that I wouldn't even go into it, I suggested the EA find a more tactful way of telling the vendor that.

ProDave

It's not just people selling houses.  As an electrician I visit a lot of houses and there are plenty of people living in a house as the OP describes with animal mess and smells everywhere.  To some people that is "normal" and they just don't see or smell it.  Very sad.

If it is your dream house, put in a low offer, but don't expect to move in on completion day.  Book some temporary accomodation and storage and a skip to be delivered on completion day for all the carpets etc to go in, then you can start the job of cleaning, or pay someone to do the worst of it.

sheramber

We viewed a houe that was so dirty my children said 'I am not coming to live here'.

Another had child's scribbles all over the walls. The owner commented  there was no point in him  doing anything about it as they would they just scribble on them again.  the youngest  was about 10 years old.

mark_cycling00

Yes estate agents work for the sellers and its very important to know that. They're not necessarily nasty people but they are being paid by the seller to achieve the best price and simplest sale.

They also don't want to acrue huge costs doing endless viewings either. I've called up agents in the past who've given me all the bad points about a property and asked me if I'm still interested. 

They do use jargon to explain the negatives without offending the seller. These terms can be useful to know. It's like newspaper orbituaries where "he was a sociable man" means "he was a raging alcoholic".

So "this architect designed house is a stunning and unique example of ..." Is a compliment.

"This unique house" when talking about a 3 bed semi means it's weird and probably with badly thought out extensions 

"Opportunity to create a beautiful home" means it's awful as it is but can be made nice 
"Renovation project" or "investment opportunity " is way worse.

In some ways it's a good thing that estate agents will still try to represent and work for people with mental health issues, this prevents them from being exploited by even worse people.

Jami74

The estate agent didn't turn up, an occupant (assumed owner) showed him around. We're by no means experts but it sounds like it will need a lot more than a deep clean and lick of paint so as first time buyers we'll be passing it by.

Pau_Marzek

We saw one house that looked OK on the pictures but oh my...pet smell, mud and infestation. Walls painted only half height.  I had to leave cause I felt dizzy. And cameras everywhere. Smell was so bad, I could swear there was a dead body burned underneath...

NameUnavailable

I've seen instances where a couple are separating and having to sell up, the one who doesn't want to move doing everything possible to deter potential buyers......