Respondents to a Linkedin poll have given the thumbs down to a new website charging prospective homebuyers £30 for property viewings aimed at weeding out time-wasters.

Matt Hoy, director of estate agency at Bradley Hall, posed the question ‘Would you pay £30 for a viewing?’ and garnered more than 3,600 votes: 88% of respondents said no, while 12% said yes.

ViewRabbit claims to be the world’s first pay-to-view property platform that lets agents offer sales and lettings viewers the opportunity to see properties early for £30 to minimise ‘no shows’.

It also asks agents and their vendor clients to honour paid-for viewings even if a strong offer is received for the property before their appointment has been completed.

Better results

Hoy (pictured) says for those popular properties that attract a lot of interest, the seller would do better to exhaust all viewings, get a proper picture of what the market is prepared to pay, and ultimately net a better result.

“For me, that would probably mean not charging people to view. Regardless of who views first and who pays to view I think the property would still sell to the best bidder,” adds Hoy.

“The chronology of viewings is more important to the buyer than the seller. You’re paying for priority access, nothing more.”

Sean Hooker, head of redress at the PRS, has warned agents using the recently-launched service that they could be in breach of the Tenant Fees Act and face prosecution.

He says: “This service may sound good in theory, but like taking reservation fees when an offer is taken, it could be fraught with danger if safeguards are not put in place to comply with the law.”