Viewing time

However, whilst one always has to be fair, there is a lot to be said for strategic viewing! Good agents will advise their clients to be selective when arranging a time for prospective purchasers to view their home. After all, only the person who has lived in the property knows when the best times of day are. Here are a few tips:

• Is your property on a school route? If so, during term time, it might be best to avoid the morning and afternoon drop-off and pick up times. If you are very close to a school, is it noisy during break-time?
• Likewise are you near a pub, sports ground, or factory, which can have crowds of rowdy people spilling onto your street at certain times?
• Consider which way your property faces. Bright accommodation and a sunny garden are great selling points, so choose times when the position of the sun is at its best. Perhaps a follow-up viewing is best organised for a different time of day to highlight a feature that might have been missed initially.

Nevertheless, do remember that agents and vendors alike have a duty of care not to misrepresent or mislead, so if there is an issue, such as predictable noise at certain times of day, then this should be disclosed. However, the importance of a good first impression cannot be overstressed, to the extent that many people will dismiss a minor inconvenience in light of having first fallen in love with their otherwise perfect home – hopefully yours!