In the event you rent or buy a home based on a virtual viewing?

September 19, 2022

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Estate agents are increasingly offering video tours and virtual viewings to buyers and renters as they turn to tempt them into making offers during the coronavirus lockdown.

With the home market on hold and in-person house viewings suspended, many agents are providing online viewings instead – but can you buy or rent a house you’ve never seen personally?

Here, Which? explains how online viewings work while offering suggestions about the key things you should think about before receiving view a property virtually.

Virtual viewings take presctiption the rise

The government’s stay-at-home measures mean people can’t currently complete on house purchases, but estate agents are finding innovative ways to market homes in the meantime.

Earlier this week, Rightmove introduced an ‘online viewing’ label on listings, allowing agents to promote homes that include video tours.

We spoke to two from the UK’s biggest estate agencies, Foxtons and Savills, about how they’re adapting their professional services.

Foxtons told Which? it presently has more than 1,000 video tours available, while Savills claims virtual viewings have doubled in the space of a week.

Savills says video conference calls on the likes of WhatsApp, Facetime and Zoom are its most widely used option, as they allow the seller to own buyer ‘a bespoke, real-time video tour’ and answer questions. Pre-recorded videos can be emailed to customers, but ‘lack the interactive nature and immediacy of the live viewing’.

Foxtons says its specialists are providing advice to clients on how to conduct their very own video tours, and that its branch managers happen to be been trained in video editing.

Are buyers and tenants making offers?

Both estate agencies say buyers are earning offers despite the lockdown, though many are doing this susceptible to an in-person viewing after the lockdown ends.

NAEA Propertymark, a trade body for auctions, told Which? that while offers are now being accepted, buyers ‘will aspire to begin to see the property in person before they agree to the sale to determine where it sits in the street, what’s on each side and it’s condition’.

ARLA Propertymark, addressing letting agents, says renters are also proceeding with caution.

It says: ‘Many tenants are agreeing move dates for once the lockdown continues to be lifted. Some are agreeing short-term contracts to allow them to decide later when they such as the property enough to stay for many years.’

Video viewings: how are people protected?

NAEA Propertymark told us that buyers will seek follow-up in-person viewings before committing as ‘a video won’t necessarily touch on any negatives from the property, it'll only highlight the positives’.

With this in mind, we expressed our concerns to Savills and Foxtons about buyers and renters getting the full picture.

Savills told us that it'll highlight any issues it's conscious of near a property, such as noise problems or local planning permissions, and customers also needs to make their own enquiries and use tools such as Google Street View. It says customers should submit questions or concerns following a viewing on paper before they sign anything.

Foxtons said its teams cooperate with both parties to make sure everyone has all the information.

Update: advice from The Property Ombudsman

On 30 April, The Property Ombudsman published advice for agents on video viewings.

It said that for sales, video viewings should be used as a ‘filtering exercise’ and heavy buyers ought to be supplied with an ‘offer agreed subject to viewing’ notice.

For letting agents, it says it is ‘always advisable’ for that prospective tenant to see the home in person, but that its code of practice does allow some exceptions.

Agents should offer customers a download of the viewing and it on file in the event of a dispute, and in instances where a seller or landlord is recording the viewing themselves, they should be ‘reminded from the responsibilities upon them’ under Consumer Protection Regulations.

Five tips about online viewings

We caught up with buying agent Henry Pryor, who shared his some tips for buyers and renters considering virtual viewings.

Always make any agreement having only seen a house via video, 'subject to a physical inspection'.
Try in order to save a copy associated with a virtual tour, either by recording it or by downloading a duplicate. Never be afraid to ask for a copy in the agent, landlord or seller.
Always try to obtain a live virtual tour rather than a pre-recorded, edited version. You ought to be in a position to ask questions and give directions. While the production value may be lower, you'll probably obtain a more honest impression from the property.
Don't forget to inquire about to see outside. What do neighbouring properties look like? How busy may be the street/road? What state may be the garden?
Virtual tours are of help marketing aids but don't forget the only individual who will want to rush you may be the agent. Unlike viewing an advertisement for something online or on television, it's very difficult to return the item or enable you to get money back when it's a house or a flat.

Are people permitted to move home at this time?

Even if you do agree an offer to buy or rent a property, the government’s guidelines mean you should delay moving into the house until the current stay-at-home measures happen to be relaxed.

Buyers and sellers

The government advises that individuals should only move home throughout the lockdown if they’ve already exchanged contracts and are getting into an unoccupied property. When the rentals are occupied it says ‘both sides should interact to agree a delay’.

In circumstances where an agreement can’t be reached, it says parties are required to follow its social distancing guidelines.

Landlords and tenants

The government’s guidance for landlords and tenants bans in-person viewings throughout the lockdown. It states that ‘nobody should visit the property to conduct viewings, or anything else which is not urgent and health and safety-related.’

It also confirms that renters must only relocate ‘unavoidable’ circumstances where a contract can’t be reached to delay until following the lockdown.

Landlords whose tenants are can not pay rent have been offered mortgage payment holidays, and tenants happen to be protected against eviction during the combat the coronavirus.

What can one do to prepare to buy a house?

If you’re contemplating buying or selling later this season, there are some steps you are taking how to get ahead from the game, from learning about your mortgage choices to beautifying your home.

Some estate agents are also offering virtual valuations to provide sellers an idea of what their property may be worth. Savills says video valuations give sellers a jump as well as an indication of price, and can need to be backed up by a face-to-face market appraisal following the lockdown ends.

If you are considering selling, it’s best not to take an excessive amount of notice of valuations and house price data at the moment. Using the market on hold, it’s impossible to supply specific information, and house price indices could be very volatile.