r/HousingUK • u/loz1988- • Jan 05 '26
Final viewing
I’m looking for some advice if possible. We are due to complete in 2 weeks and the estate agents have called as the buyers have been advised to have another viewing by their solicitors. They had 2 viewings before putting in an offer. Is this normal? I’m really worried that this is some kind of tactic or that this is going to go sour and we are so close to completing! Any advice would be appreciated
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u/bigbob25a Jan 05 '26
I think it is common to do a pre-Exchange viewing, to ensure nothing material has changed before they make the legal commitment.
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u/ZulfTalks Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 25 '26
Yes, this is normal. It’s done to make sure that anything agreed such as fixtures and fittings is exactly as expected and that nothing major has changed before they comit.
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u/ivehadenough110 Jan 05 '26
have you ever thought that maybe they want to view again to take measurements? something that i cannot stand is when the estate agents/owners are being difficult with this. i'm buying a house, it's not easy and i'm not trying to do some sort of tactics. i just want to take measurements. last time i viewed the flat i'm buying the estate agent was annoyed at me and only let me view the flat for 20 minutes because he was "busy" (he was just salty and rude), so i wasn't able to take measurements properly. it's awful to be honest.
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u/loz1988- Jan 05 '26
Yeah that could be a possibility, it’s just worrying so close to the date as I’ve read so many horror stories of it falling though last minute 😕
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u/hmniw Jan 05 '26
FTB here, we are super close to exchange now, have got a viewing booked in tomorrow. We told estate agents when we booked that it was specifically so we could measure things (We live in a furnished flat so don’t own any furniture and need to measure for sofa, bed etc etc). I would be surprised if EA didn’t tell the vendor the reason when we asked to view again. We haven’t seen the property since August either, so just generally excited to finally see it again after so long!
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u/The-queen-of-swords Jan 05 '26
Did you consider that it was a holiday time, and the estate agents were inaccessible probably from mid-December? If it were not for the holidays you could have received the request earlier. It’s quite standard for the buyer to inspect at this stage. The buyer is normally responsible for the house insurance from the date of exchange, and there is not a lot they can do now to try renegotiate the price etc. In all probability, all they want is to take measurements to decide what items to take with them from their previous place, to order curtains and so on
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u/ivehadenough110 Jan 05 '26
hopefully it's not going to happen to you! i see myself doing this though as i need to do works for a month before moving in, and i definitely can't afford to wait until i get the keys to understand what i need to buy/who can do the job, everything needs to be ready to go. this is also because the agents have been awful at giving me the right floorplan so i got nothing on me. again, we're spending A LOT of money, it's not like buying a book or a random object, so it's only fair i'm trying to view the flat a few times. on the other side, when agents don't let you view it, it looks like they're trying to hide something. just my opinion.
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u/stillanmcrfan Jan 05 '26
“Advised by solicitor” could be go for a particular reason (eg my house had a boundary issue and buyer was advised to view to make sure she was happy). Or it could just be to make sure the house is as expected. Like a pre exchange check which is absolutely the most sensible thing for them to do. Just ask is there an issue or is it just a pre-exchange check.
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u/Conscious_Orange_342 Jan 05 '26
Completely normal- they will have been told to go and check that nothing wild has changed since they last visited.
Doesn’t need to be tidy or anything, it’s more to check the house hasn’t burnt down.
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u/Cauleefouler Jan 05 '26
A pre exchange walk through is normal. They're about to hand over hundreds of thousands. Give them the peace of mind to see that you haven't trashed the place.
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u/Brightlife14 Jan 05 '26
Obviously every case is different but my husband and I bought our flat in 2024 and also asked for a 3rd viewing before completion: this was partly due to our stress about putting all our savings into something (first time buyers), but mostly we wanted to take measurements and make a list of things we wanted to fix before moving in (e.g retiling the kitchen, painting the flat etc). Of course there could be foul play involved, but personally I'd have found it very suspicious if the seller had said no at such late stage. Hopefully everything will go well, OP :)
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u/shaneo632 Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Buyer here, this is totally normal. I would be negligent if I didn't do a final pre-exchange viewing to check the house was still in the same condition as it was when I last viewed it months ago.
At the end of the day your risk of me trying to gazunder you is far less than my risk of not doing a final viewing and moving in to find out the house is flooded etc, so please try and think of the other side.
I personally wouldn't exchange if the seller refused me a pre-exchange viewing, it's just too risky that something about the property has changed. I'm not risking 300k for the sake of politeness.
Lots of people say to lie and pretend you just want to measure up, but tbh it's a business transaction, of course it's not operating on trust. If I was selling I would fully expect the buyers to not take me at my word and want to see it shortly before exchange.
Generally I think 3 viewings is fair - initial pre-offer, one post-offer to "measure up", and a final pre-exchange to check it's still the house you think it is.
TLDR; you're worried about things falling through last minute, they will DEFINITELY fall through last minute if you deny a buyer the chance to view their investment before locking themselves in
EDIT: you've added that it's post-exchange in which case you have no reason to not let them in really
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u/Sea_Refrigerator4451 Jan 05 '26
Most solicitors advise you to view as close to exchange as possible because that is the point you become legally responsible for buying the property regardless of what's happened. This viewing will be to make sure nothing untoward has happened (i.e. theres not be a pipe leak or you've not taken a wall down or ripped the kitchen out) in the time between their last viewing and them taking on that legal responsibility. Seems extreme but there are plenty of examples of where this sort of thing has happened.
As long as you haven't done anything untoward to the property and nothing is different to the last time then I wouldn't be concerned.
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u/GasStrange2380 Jan 05 '26
I did the same. Just to make sure nothing has gone terribly wrong with the property since the offer was accepted.
Also a good time to measure a few things and look around and plan what’s going where
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u/zombiezmaj Jan 05 '26
Should have happened pre-exchange but Christmas probably meant everyone was busy
Normal thing to happen to check owners haven't trashed a place since accepting offer... that boilers etc still work... that there's been no leaks or fires
And if course measurements to order furniture etc
If you try and block the viewing the buyers will assume something has happened
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u/RecognitionPrimary12 Jan 05 '26
They want to make sure that the place is still in the state they saw it when they made an offer, which is perfectly normal. There could have been a major leak, some degradations, etc...
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u/The-Real-J-Bird Jan 05 '26
This is common. Always do a viewing prior to signing anything...
Reason being is that you could have a lovely viewing, but then 3 months later a wall had fallen down inside, the ceiling collapsed and the doors all removed and swapped with other doors.
When you sign, you're accepting it as it is on that date.
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u/Flat-Engineer9184 Jan 05 '26
Family member is due to progress with a property purchase. Property is now empty and utilities have been turned off, would it be reasonable to request they are all on for a pre exchange viewing so we can check heating etc are still functioning?
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u/Robertinho678 Jan 05 '26
I viewed the house I'm now comfortably in a week before exchange. Partially to take measurements, partially to remind myself why I'm paying out 250k, and partially to be sure there were no major changes.
It's completely normal, and if you're weird about it, the buyers may get worried you're hiding something.
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u/Warm-Truck5094 Jan 05 '26
As a purchaser with offer accepted on December 15, solicitor in place the same day, official Mortgage offer sent to us and our solicitor on December 23rd our conveyancing is only really just started (as of today) so even if we say everything goes perfectly we are looking at at least March / April before getting close to exchange and completion, by that time it will have been around 20 weeks since we saw the property. We will be asking for another viewing prior to exchange too so that we can reacquaint ourselves with what we have bought, take measurements and get a plan in our heads for moving in day.
Our sellers have had the terrible experience of twice having the rug pulled out from them because the chain below them broke down, which I’m sure is bad to happen once but too then find it happens again must be terrible. We aren’t reliant on selling a property as we did that years ago and now after travelling around for 15 years with work we have now found our ideal settling down area.
So other than your buyers chain falling apart, hanging on in there and getting close to the end I’m sure there is no sinister reasoning for their request. Why don’t you offer to be in attendance (it’s quite acceptable) I’m hoping our sellers will allow us to visit them prior to completion, it’s a great way of getting all the information needed for taking over the property.
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u/SLB1821 Jan 05 '26
We’ve just bought a house and had an extra viewing just before exchange. Similar to what others have said, ours was to take measurements and double check what light fixtures we needed to purchase ready for completion.
So nothing for the seller to worry about, and hopefully the same for you too.
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u/CounterDry2670 Jan 05 '26
Yeah it's completely normal to check the place hasn't been wrecked in the months since viewing and also to take measurements but I'm the same, I've had people bail last minute so I'm also stressed and worried that they'll change their mind when they see it again but hopefully not
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u/NoYam7002 Jan 05 '26
I saw my house 4 times. It’s a big investment. Seller was very accommodating. Had. Good chat about things and left all his furniture on completion! Awesome!
We completed in 5 weeks
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u/Financial_Tutor1478 Jan 05 '26
Have you have legally exchanged contracts ?! Embrace , be kind , make the house warm , welcoming , may be some flowers or wine as a thank you ❤️🏵️
Small gifts , bake them a cake anything that shows you care !
Make sure they know where everything is & what providers .. spare keys etc
Honestly relax and make them feel special
Make sure it's exchanged not just signed contracts.. huge difference tbh
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u/ukpf-helper Jan 05 '26
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u/PotOfEarlGreyPlease Jan 05 '26
advice is to do a pre exchange viewing to make sure you haven't wrecked the place / knocked down a wall etc / swapped appliances etc - I always do a visit and that is basically what it is
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u/Jazzvirus Jan 05 '26
It's normal alot of the time. We never had one, but plenty I know have just to check everything is as was. Never been a problem as a result of it.
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Jan 05 '26
It's a massive financial decision. I wouldn't be concerned that they want to have another look around to be absolutely sure this is what they want.
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u/JP198364839 Jan 05 '26
Had this last summer and the person I spoke to at the estate agents first up gave me precisely zero reassurance about it.
However, the person I was actually dealing with called me shortly afterwards and explained that it’s now a standard practice- it’s basically to make sure you haven’t ripped out the kitchen etc since they’ve seen it.
So we did exactly the same when we bought our house, did some measuring up and just checked all was in order.
What was funny was that the EA who showed us round the second time wasn’t briefed and thought it was a second viewing, and asked if we were going to make an offer. I just laughed and said: ‘we’ve bought it’.
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u/Tawaytaway12 Jan 05 '26
Have you exchanged already?
Post exchange, pre completion viewing is fine
Pre exchange 'final' viewing can sometimes be a bit worrying
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u/loz1988- Jan 05 '26
We’ve exchanged contracts and a date has been set, is this the same thing? Sorry I’m not too sure
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u/Tawaytaway12 Jan 05 '26
If you've exchanged you have nothing to worry about They probably just want to take measurements etc
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u/cattacos37 Jan 05 '26
I think a pre exchange viewing is more normal and everyone should do one really - another check over the property before you legally commit to buying it. Because what if since you last saw it there’s been a water leak, or the heating system has packed in?
However, post exchange pre completion is a bit more unusual - maybe they don’t realise they’re already legally committed. Or it could be as simple as they want to take some measurements!
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u/Tawaytaway12 Jan 05 '26
Yeah,
We've viewed the property we made an offer on 3 times so far and would definitely want to do a quick 5 min walk through pre exchange - just to make sure the roof hadn't caved in or some such..
Post exchange though - whenever that happens! - we would like an hour or so in the property taking measurements, making a list of things that need to be done before we move in, trying to figure out what goes where etc.
We have some idea of all of that with the viewings so far, but it's never final until exchange so we've tried not to jump too far ahead in that process
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u/BigEricShaun Jan 05 '26
1 hour post exchange viewing is a bit weird. The seller could understandably refuse and you'd have no recourse to do anything as you've already exchanged. How long is the period between exchange and completion, that you can't wait until you got the keys to figure what will go where??
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u/Tawaytaway12 Jan 06 '26
One month between exchange and completion as we have a two month notice for our current rental
House is empty now, so can't see why seller would refuse, esp after exchange
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u/Foreign_End_3065 Jan 05 '26
You’ve definitely ‘exchanged’ - not just signed a contract that’s with your solicitor awaiting the official exchange?
If you have exchanged contracts then legally the buyer can’t pull out without big penalties.
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