Home » News » COVID-19 news » Estate agent takes down Facebook post about ‘doing a viewing’ following negative comments
Agencies & People

Estate agent takes down Facebook post about ‘doing a viewing’ following negative comments

Well known agency figure Sam Ashdown said her buyer was technically homeless and in temporary accommodation and that the property involved was an empty newbuild, underlining industry confusion over guidelines.

Nigel Lewis

An estate agent has taken down her Facebook comment about ‘doing a viewing’ over the weekend after negative comments from fellow agents.

Sam Ashdown, who established a successful luxury property agency in the Lake District three years ago, posted on the social media platform that she had completed ‘a viewing on this beauty’, a four bedroom detached £1.25 million house (pictured).

She went on to say that the viewing was by a cash buyer for the vacant build. And referring to the Coronavirus lockdown on estate agencies, she said: “I’ll be opening up and then closing down when they’re gone”.

But after signing off that she had her ‘fingers very tightly crossed’ for a sale, irate agents complained underneath her post.

One agent, who asked to remain anonymous, approached The Negotiator directly to complain that her post “was bad enough but bragging about it on Facebook was a disgrace”.

Another agent commented on her original post that he believed doing a viewing for even an empty home is outside government guidelines of acceptable reasons for leaving home unless they are a key worker – e.g. buying food or medicine, daily  exercise, caring for someone or going to work they cannot do at home.

“As we agents are not members of the buyers or sellers’ household, we should not be meeting [them] in public.”

In response to the criticism, Ashdown said the buyers were living in temporary accommodation, needed to move home and were ‘technically homeless’.

But despite their anger over Ashdown’s post, many agents said they knew competitors in their areas who were conducting viewings, and that the government needed to give much clearer advice to agents on what they are, and are not, allowed to do.

Read Sam Ashdown’s response to the criticism here:
‘Housing viewing furore agent stands by her decision’.

Read more about viewings during the crisis.

April 6, 2020

One comment

  1. Homeless? Buying a £1m+ property? Couldn’t they wait just a few weeks more?
    No excuse!

What's your opinion?

Please note: This is a site for professional discussion. Comments will carry your full name and company.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.