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Would it be considered rude to just knock on the front door of a house I'm interested in buying and asking for a quick look around? (It is for sale - not just a random house!)
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 16:25
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Or to ask when it would be convenient to look around?
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Why not contact them through the selling agent?
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Because the same estate agent is valuing mine tomorrow and I've told him the reason I want to move is to get closer to work, not because I can't stand the infernal racket of the main road behind the house and the screaming children next door.
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>> Because the same estate agent is valuing mine tomorrow and I've told him the reason
>> I want to move is to get closer to work, not because I can't stand
>> the infernal racket of the main road behind the house and the screaming children next
>> door.
>>
The Agent doesn't give a flying fig why you are selling, he is instead looking at his bonus from two sales, one of which he already has a perspective buyer for - You.
You don't think he is going to tell the prospective buyers of your pad "Ah yes, the guy is selling because he can't stand the infernal racket of the main road behind the house and the screaming children next door" do you?
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>>
>> The Agent doesn't give a flying fig why you are selling, he is instead looking
>> at his bonus from two sales, one of which he already has a perspective buyer
>> for - You.
>>
It's complicated, but yeah, since the valuation might be used towards a part-ex I'd quite like it to be as high as possible.
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>> It's complicated, but yeah, since the valuation might be used towards a part-ex I'd quite
>> like it to be as high as possible.
>>
I would expect that if you part ex they would use a chartered surveyors valuation, not the word of a local agent.
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You can put your contact details and expression of interest via letter box.
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Our house was NOT for sale when someone did exactly that - eg knock on the door, said they were interested, could they look around......Told them to go away...(politely)
Last edited by: madf on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 16:30
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If you ask the owners to make an appointment for a convenient time to visit I don't see a problem.
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I still don't see a problem in contacting the agent. He will not care why you are moving and will just see potentially 2 sets of commission coming his way.
If you approached the seller and did a deal I would be pretty certain that the selling agent will a) find out and b) seek to recover their lost commission
A friends wife is in the property legal game and tells me agents keep a very close eye on what has sold and has it been on their books. Not ultimately your problem, but could be an issue for the seller
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Depending on contract with EAs, if a vendor sells directly (ie customer not introduced by EA) then seller may not be liable for EA fees.
So direct contact can be beneficial.
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I think in this case the EA would see it as their board introduced the buyer to seller
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A friend of mine tried to sell his house for 4 years! When he took from the agent to sell on his own account they said they would still want their commission if it was sold within 6 months, even if it was to somebody they had not sent round to view! Buried in Para 6.b.iii in the T & Cs
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On the other hand, depending on the agreement with the estate agent, if you switch EA, you might still owe the first one their commission too! It depends.
When we were buying a house and selling ours, we agreed a deal with the EA for a reduced fee because we were buying a house they had on their books.... except we pulled out of that in the end but still paid the reduced fee.
I take it from this thread, this property is not really closer to work and therefore the reason for selling will become apparent? Not that the EA cares why you are selling.
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When we first bought our house, there was a single guy next door who was often away on business, a young childless couple the other side of us and a retired couple behind us. Bliss !
Now, there's young families in all those properties. All of them have a mixture of kids and their ubiquitous sodding trampolines. If I'm sitting out back I seem to be plagued by small ( and some not so small ) children incessantly bouncing above fence height and grinning at me from all angles. Couple that with their chuffing rabbits and guinea pigs which drive my dog to distraction.
There used to be a computer game where you thump gophers on the head with a virtual mallet as they pop up randomly. I fantasise about having a real mallet to deal with the trampolinists...
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 16:55
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I fantasise about having a real mallet
>> to deal with the trampolinists...
VICTOR! Your back! Excellent.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 17:03
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Here - www.halloweenishere.com/gophergame.html
First go got me to level 15 by the way ( just to set a benchmark...)
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 17:28
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Second go level 18. Must stop...
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>> Here - www.halloweenishere.com/gophergame.html
>>
>>
>> First go got me to level 15 by the way ( just to set a
>> benchmark...)
benchmark? Pffftttt 22 on my first go.
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Don't click on this then. I've lost hours of my life on this... www.digyourowngrave.com/flight-of-the-hamsters/
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>> Don't click on this then. I've lost hours of my life on this... www.digyourowngrave.com/flight-of-the-hamsters/
Fabulous
259 feet first go.
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>> Don't click on this then. I've lost hours of my life on this... www.digyourowngrave.com/flight-of-the-hamsters/
No danger of that - "The site you have attempted to access, has been blocked due to its content being deemed to violate The Company's acceptable internet usage policy" :o
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22? Old man's reactions. 24.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 17:52
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there are old pilots, and bold pilots ............
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>> When we first bought our house, there was a single guy next door who was
>> often away on business, a young childless couple the other side of us and a
>> retired couple behind us. Bliss !
>>
>> Now, there's young families in all those properties. All of them have a mixture of
>> kids and their ubiquitous sodding trampolines. If I'm sitting out back I seem to be
>> plagued by small ( and some not so small ) children incessantly bouncing above fence
>> height and grinning at me from all angles.
I recommend you runfer d'hills!
;-)
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>> Would it be considered rude to just knock on the front door of a house
>> I'm interested in buying and asking for a quick look around? (It is for sale
>> - not just a random house!)
>>
I don't see why it might be considered rude, especially if it has a "for sale" sign outside telling all passers-by that it's for sale. When you're trying to sell your house you have to expect a certain amount of inconvenience. In fact it's unlikely that you would sell the house without experiencing inconvenience at some stage. If you knock on the door it might gain you a time advantage over any other prospective buyers, so I would say "Go for it.".
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Since you are presumably responding to an Agent's "For Sale' sign or an entry on "Right Move'' or such the vendor is going to end up paying the agent commission. They are therefore quite likely to refer you to the agent if you enquire at the door.
That would certainly be my response. If you are going to end up paying the agent's bill you might as well let them do some work.
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Oh, FF - you've only been there a few months, too.
That's suburbia for you!
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Yes another move will be costly - but he needs somewhere he can be happy. And get sufficient sleep. He could be flying one of us somewhere soon!
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>> They are therefore quite likely to refer you to the agent if you enquire at
>> the door.
>>
>> That would certainly be my response.
At the moment the property market is stagnant ~ lots of properties for sale but few buyers. It would be daft to do anything which might annoy a potential purchaser. If someone knocked at the door they would undoubtedly eventually end up going through the estate agent, but it's best if the initial contact between the seller and the buyer is cordial.
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>> At the moment the property market is stagnant ~ lots of properties for sale but
>> few buyers. It would be daft to do anything which might annoy a potential purchaser.
>> If someone knocked at the door they would undoubtedly eventually end up going through the
>> estate agent, but it's best if the initial contact between the seller and the buyer
>> is cordial.
The market is split ATM. Stagnant in much of the country but far from it in London and SE. I suspect Aylesbury(?) is in latter zone.
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Perhaps a haggle is in order with the estate agent, along the lines of: "If I buy this house you have for sale, will you reduce the commission which you charge me for my own sale?"
Never hurts to ask.
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The absolute worst neighbours to have are those with dogs, whose wretched beasts are left outside to bark all day.
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>> The absolute worst neighbours to have are those with dogs, whose wretched beasts are left
>> outside to bark all day.
Tell Nigel, I am sure he will quickly knock up an agenda for you.
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>> >> The absolute worst neighbours to have are those with dogs, whose wretched beasts are
>> left
>> >> outside to bark all day.
>>
>> Tell Nigel, I am sure he will quickly knock up an agenda for you.
Down to your usual standard, I see.
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No old boy, down to yours.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Sep 13 at 09:41
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Eh? Seemed like a reasonable comment (about the dogs); didn't see the need for the 'Nigel' comment myself.
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Well why not? we always get a link to some nigel statement about everything else.
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>> Well why not?
I get it - you have a (very) secret admiration for Roger and his beliefs, so you post snidey little comments like that to bolster your 'anti' persona when in fact you know it's going to get people on his side. Clever :)
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>> >> Well why not?
>>
>> I get it - you have a (very) secret admiration for Roger and his beliefs,
>> so you post snidey little comments like that to bolster your 'anti' persona when in
>> fact you know it's going to get people on his side. Clever :)
Dont over complicate stuff.
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Yeah but if you just leave a red face you're accused of being gutless.
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thats too simple - and anonymous.
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>> The absolute worst neighbours to have are those with dogs, whose wretched beasts are left Iutside to bark all day.
Not quite as bad as those left Inside to bark all day.
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>> >> They are therefore quite likely to refer you to the agent if you enquire
>> at
>> >> the door.
>> >>
>> >> That would certainly be my response.
>>
>> At the moment the property market is stagnant ~ lots of properties for sale but
>> few buyers.
Thats is not the case. Since March the property market is in fact quite buoyant, certainly in FF's area.
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tinyurl.com/b7oq2nm
"Nothing outside central London will sell this year unless the price is right; it really is that simple," says Gideon Sumption of Stacks Property Search."
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Mr Gideon Sumption is now looking foolish. That was written in January Tell him to talk to estate agents in Surrey, kent, even in Stamford in Lincolnshire where my friend has just sold and bought.
And you should have read my reply where I said SINCE MARCH
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Sep 13 at 09:27
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>> And you should have read my reply where I said SINCE MARCH
>>
Pardon me for having been SO REMISS!
Last edited by: L'escargot on Fri 13 Sep 13 at 09:29
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>> tinyurl.com/b7oq2nm
>>
>> "Nothing outside central London will sell this year unless the price is right; it really
>> is that simple," says Gideon Sumption of Stacks Property Search."
1. Estate agents are always right. Oh yes.
2. This article is dated January this year. The world has changed, changed more than you could believe.
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>> "Nothing outside central London will sell this year unless the price is right; it
>> really
>> >> is that simple,"
What a meaningless statement, the price is right if someone is willing to pay, houses only ever sell if the price is right.
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"but it's best if the initial contact between the seller and the buyer is cordial."
I wasn't suggesting that you should be rude . Just politely refer the chap on the doorstep to your agent.
As a matter of fact the market may be stagnant in Lincolnshire but its certainly not in Norwich and its roaring away in London
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>> As a matter of fact the market may be stagnant in Lincolnshire
Depends what part. South Kesteven, the Bournes, basically the south of the county is now quite active.
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Once interest rate goes up (may not be that far away), price will fall again.
Lower interest, mortgage backing by govt, newspaper articles etc. are all just to prop the bubble little longer.
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>> Once interest rate goes up (may not be that far away), price will fall again.
maybe not, its not that long ago that there was rampant house price inflation and high interest rates. In fact it could be said that the recent past ultra low interest rates are not the norm.
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>>>would only see me on one evening next week "when he's doing viewings"..... House has been crossed off the list (unless he alienates so many potential buyers he becomes desperate to sell in six months)
The house we've been in for almost 2yrs now had a seller like that.
Husband was always away so wife did the viewings. She came across as a bit odd and within a minute of you getting through the door she would say she didn't want to move and leave her "little" house then unload a vitriolic spiel about his company moving them against her wishes. She sat/stood in your way during the viewing and gave the whole thing a negative vibe. In truth you were actually lucky to get through the door as she refused many viewings the agents tried to arrange.
Also the rooms were painted in dark colours and furnished in a drab old fashioned style.
Apparently all of this gave several would be buyers the creeps as they associated the odd feel with the house rather than her.... and so couldn't see past it to visualise themselves in the place.
Excellent for us as we were able to buy almost without competition.
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>> Excellent for us as we were able to buy almost without competition.
But with a huge decorating budget! Got it all done yet?
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Sep 13 at 10:16
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Well we kept the rental on for 6wks after buying this place so I decorated all the rooms myself with it empty which was a huge help having no furniture or carpets to trip over.
Struck lucky with the paint too as one of the sheds had a 2 for 1 offer on Crown the week we completed so bought £300 of paint for £150.
After our previous "Fourth Bridge" old place of 17yrs quite a luxury to have this all done and a maintenance free 2yrs to date.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 13 Sep 13 at 10:40
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Don't think there is a river "fourth" with a bridge over it :-)
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Well with the upkeep of the old house it might as well be compared with a fourth Forth bridge.
Should have got it right as our in between houses landlord had vacated the place we rented to live for some years in Scotland as one of the new crossing bridge engineers.
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>> Don't think there is a river "fourth" ........
There's a Fourth River though. www.fourthriver.com/
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>> Well we kept the rental on for 6wks after buying this place so I decorated
>> all the rooms myself with it empty which was a huge help having no furniture
>> or carpets to trip over.
The best part is having an empty HOUSE. All the tasks can be competed logically.
All the rooms - strip paint
All the rooms - strip wall paper
etc etc
None of this faffing around doing stuff piecemeal. And no dogs or dog hair in the way.
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>>>The best part is having an empty HOUSE. All the tasks can be competed logically.
Indeed. Rip up the existing flooring, make a mess chopping in a dozen new double sockets and fitting four extractor fans. Sweep up, make good, rub down and paint.
Man arrives to fit flooring then it's ready.
Simples.
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>> Would it be considered rude to just knock on the front door of a house I'm interested in buying
We didn't knock on the door, we simply put a note through the letterbox of two houses that we subsequently bought. We were aware that one was going to be put up for sale, the other had been up for sale, but the agent's board had been taken down.
In both instances we were referred to the respective agents.
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Fursty, before you get too deep into buying a particular house I recommend that you park near it at varying times of the day and week to find out whether there are any problems associated with the location.
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Don't forget to ask BOTH the vendor AND the agent if there are any specific problems, either in the house itself, or with the neighbours or neighbourhood, which for YOU would make it a no-no.
A lying answer is cause for post purchase action!
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>>Don't forget to ask BOTH the vendor AND the agent if there are any specific problems, either in the house itself, or with the neighbours or neighbourhood, which for YOU would make it a no-no.
A lying answer is cause for post purchase action!<<
This seems to be covered very well these days by the various questionnaires that originate from the buyers' solicitor.
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...but do they ask "Are there barking dogs/ four screaming kids next door?" for instance.
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No they don't, but I doubt very much whether anyone would find themselves in hot water for being less than honest about their barking dogs or screaming kids, unless written complaints had been made.
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>>>I recommend that you park near it at varying times of the day and week to find out whether there are any problems associated with the location.
Very important and something many don't do. I've a contact who's just selling a £600K house after a short time as "they didn't notice the road noise on viewing". No you wouldn't have on a Sunday morning spending most of the viewing inside behind double glazing.
We usually park the car a few streets away and walk the dog several times about an area... in the daytime and at pub closing time.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sat 14 Sep 13 at 15:25
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This scouting out the neighbourhood business sounds nightmarish. I never did it in my house-changing days. Perhaps it's sensible though in many areas.
The noisy nippers here are in the house with us, or bounding high in the air from the trampoline just outside with excited screams. On the whole their presence is more of a pleasure than a pain, except when they wake me up early by thundering about upstairs or keep interrupting when I am hurrying over some long-delayed bit of journeyman labour. But they aren't here all the time, and I even come to miss them after a while. Being a grandparent has its downside but it's a lot less arduous than being a parent.
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>>I recommend that you park near it at varying times of the day and week to find out whether there are any problems associated with the location.<<
Good advice, indeed.
Something else worth looking at is the electoral register. Especially if one is looking for a largish property and would prefer not to live next door to a HMO.
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>> Something else worth looking at is the electoral register. Especially if one is looking for
>> a largish property and would prefer not to live next door to a HMO.
>
We are Bi, Gay and transgendered friendly on this site, less of that stuff please.
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HMO - Houses in Multiple Occupation
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NO, shirley not.
< Sigh > another humour bypass
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Posted for those who disn't know what the acronym stood for.
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you can empty a room at a party Dave.
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Only if I've had beans or onions beforehand.
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>> Something else worth looking at is the electoral register.
And ask the vendor the age and occupation etc. of the immediate neighbours.
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And whether they were circumscribed at birth.
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That is why you live where you are Dog only the birds and the bees.)
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We're even thinking of going 'the whole hog' Dutchie, and getting a BIG greenhouse for grow ya own, and even putting up a 15ft x 6ft x 3ft wood store to burn logs in future instead of coal.
Dunno yet though, these things have to be thought about and planned.
Did you happen to see:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b036f8nw/Britain_on_Film_Series_2_Messing_About_in_Boats/
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>> We're even thinking of going 'the whole hog' ............ putting up a 15ft x 6ft x 3ft wood store
The whole hog? That sounds more like a Dog kennel than a wood store!
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The market here (Bristol / North Somerset) has picked up a lot over the last 6 months. Where we live boards are often going from for sale to sold in the week. May be town specific but local agents and surveyors were reporting a surge in interest.
A house exactly the same as ours sold a few doors down the road last month. The agent knocked on our door to ask if we had thought about moving as he said he had 4 buyers all after the last one so could sell ours today if we wanted.
My thoughts were that it was probably just a marking ploy but apparently he didn't ask any of our neighbours
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>>That sounds more like a Dog kennel than a wood store!
Spose I could always put a couple of doors on it and let it out for £300 pw.
www.timberdownforestry.co.uk/log-store/
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Good film Dog,first time I arrived in the UK was 1955 different world then.
Last edited by: Dutchie on Sun 15 Sep 13 at 14:49
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>> We're even thinking of going 'the whole hog' Dutchie, and getting a BIG greenhouse for
>> grow ya own
No potatoes though dog :)
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>>No potatoes though dog :)
Might try some sativa though ;)
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Well, that was fast. House on the market last Saturday, accepted offer today for £215,000. Bought for £205,000 eighteen months ago so quite happy. My offer was accepted this afternoon, though not for the one I originally was after. Found a nicer one in a better location for the same money.
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Good result in today's market - about break even, after exes, I guess. :-)
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Well, I didn't pay stamp duty when I bought it so it's effectively covering the tax on the new one (though how a blanket 3% on the entire price is supposed to be reasonable, I don't know). Mortgage is the same in real terms (the £400/month increase is nicely offset by the fact I finished paying off my student loan last week).
Certainly in the past a new build home lost money in its first year so overall quite happy. Decided I'd be prepared to spend £10k to get a better location, and this one has a quiet path in front of it, fields behind, parking for three cars, and no main road. And a 5th bedroom, which will be formally rechristened "The Music Room". Or possibly "The Drawing Room".
I'm not entirely sure what a drawing room is, exactly, but it sounds good.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Thu 3 Oct 13 at 23:50
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>> Good result in today's market - about break even, after exes, I guess. :-)
Todays market down south and other areas is buoyant. As FF has proven.
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>> >> Good result in today's market - about break even, after exes, I guess. :-)
>>
>> Todays market down south and other areas is buoyant. As FF has proven.
>>
Certainly buoyant at the "just still in England" end of the M4 - anything in a good position / good school catchment area sells within a week. Those that don't either have compromises or have been put on the market by chancers at over the odds.
Same here for rental - our new neighbours are renting and told us that by waiting to view they had missed a couple of houses so agreed on this one before viewing
Last edited by: mikeyb on Fri 4 Oct 13 at 19:20
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>> Certainly buoyant at the "just still in England" end of the M4 - anything in
>> a good position / good school catchment area sells within a week.
It's like that here too, at least for 4/5 bed family homes. We're in the catchment of a good school and if you get price right you'll sell without even putting a sign up. House over road changed hands on that basis eighteen months ago - around the £230 mark.
OTOH there's one in a separate part of same development been on market for a year and a bit. Like the house mentioned above the current owners bought it as a new build in 98/9.
Trouble is he's asking well north of £300k. Its a bigger place with a downstairs study and small extension but those add £40k to real value not £100k. Either he's trying it on, he's over mortgaged or he needs to buy out his wife.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 4 Oct 13 at 19:50
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Trouble with living in an older house is that your neighbour's prices give you no clue as to your own. House next door, last sold for 180k. One on the other side last sold, at about the same time, for just under 500k. Neither bear much resemblance to ours in terms of size, ground or layout.
I've seen online valuations from zoopla and so on but don't believe a word of it. Way too optimistic. An estate agent valuation means in my experience months of nagging to get you to sign up. Oh, well, perhaps best not knowing until selling time I suppose.
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My old Dad used to pick his price (too high) and sit and wait...he always prevailed strangely enough. Funny old world.........
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House buying etiquette - Old Navy
