Access to house for tenant viewings

[reinanz]

My husband and I purchased a house and we've been waiting for weeks to get access to the house so we can find a tenant (the property is currently vacant) and the current owners don't want to give us access, the reason we are getting is something about the lawyer and "liability". I don't know what I'm supposed to do, how can I find someone to rent the property by our settlement if I can't get access (settlement is in 2 weeks!), the agent is also extremely useless, once he got his deposit he stopped answering our emails and not giving a damn about helping us out. I would've thought agents should try to leave a good impression on both buyers and sellers since I could be a potential client in the future!

Does anyone have advice?

[elguapo]

The agent works for the vendor, if the vendor doesn't want to give you early access what do you expect them to do?

[reinanz]

The thing is I don't think the agent has even bothered to ask them, he keeps giving me excuses about how he can't contact them because they're in the UK, they haven't bloody moved to the desert it's a first world country with access to phone and internet.
I'm just wondering if anyone's had this issue before and how they've resolved it.

[speights boy]

I'm just wondering if anyone's had this issue before and how they've resolved it.

My guess would be by having access as a condition in the S & P agreement, and negotiating some arrangement before going unconditional.

[PTILoveYou]

If there are no clauses in the S & P allowing you to show potential tenants before settlement, ie early access, then you don't have the legal right to do so.

The vendor has exercised his/her rights not to allow you early access, and that's fair enough.

Next time use your agent and not go through the listing agent.

[reinanz]

We've offered to settle a few days earlier if we get access from now, agent thinks they will agree to this. Good solution if anyone else has this problem.

[Keys]

Read what you signed. Don't moan if you don't understand what you sign.

[reinanz]

Read what you signed. Don't moan if you don't understand what you sign.

Wow very valuable feedback there, does being rude make you feel special?

[Maccachic]

If the owners are in the UK, who is going to give you access do you expect the vendors agent to do it for free?

[elguapo]

Wow very valuable feedback there, does being rude make you feel special?

To be fair you have been quite rude to this agent who didn't give you the special treatment you wanted despite him not being in any position to provide such and what looks like you badgering the hell out of them. You are also rather dismissive of the vendors rights to abide by the contract and provide access only at settlement.

You have then accused someone of being rude when all they have given you is some helpful advice. If early access was such an important issue, write it into the contract, if it isn't, don't expect it to be provided on demand.

[BigDreamer]

It is unfortunate but a learning experience for you, I hope. In future, if you need to have early access to the property prior to settlement then it needs to be stated on the S&P as a clause. In most cases, the vendors wouldn't mind letting you access early given that it is vacant. However, the vendor you are dealing with is not one of those, unfortunately.

[Wayne]

To be honest I wouldn't give you early access unless it was negotiated in the S&P.
What would happen to me if you left the house unlocked by accident and the place was trashed.
Especially if I was overseas - just asking for something out of my control to happen.

And, yes, the place could get broken into and trashed but I can only control the things I can - and access is one of them.

[Keys]

What would happen to me if you left the house unlocked by accident and the place was trashed.

I would suggest that you would be pleading with your insurance company to get them to pay (which they wouldn't) and also trying to enforce the settlement of the contract (which the OP would try to cancel)

Just in my rude opinion of course. Don't take it as gospel.

[td91]

Tough luck I'm afraid.
Wait till you have the house in your possession and start advertising. Most tenants don't like viewing houses when they're occupied anyway, it was a general response when I managed my own rentals. Not feeling comfortable opening wardrobes or cupboards or having a decent look at rooms because it's still fully occupied. Better off just leaving it till it's vacant, take the photos of when it was for sale, put it up on trademe, put an available date up and state clearly in the ad "No Viewing until XX/XX/XXXX please phone or email to register your interest and you will be contacted with a viewing time" best way to do it if you want tenants asap.

[Davo36]

Yeah the OP certainly comes across as self-entitled. Blaming everyone but herself for not understanding the usual procedures.

Look, you just shouldn't give early access to someone - unless you really have to to sell the place - the risk is just too great. There are a hundred different things that could go wrong, each of them with very low probability, but who's prepared to take the risk with so much value involved? Why would someone potentially lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because the purchaser wants them to do so? Settle early if you want access.

So a learning experience as others have said.