Mum outraged after house viewers leave her flat a mess

The homeowner was annoyed to return to the flat she had tidied and styled ahead of the viewing just to find someone has undone all of her hard work inside the property

When you invite someone inside your home, you expect them to treat it with respect. So it's little wonder a mum has been left annoyed at her estate agent after house viewers "ran riot" in her flat. The woman, who carefully tidied her home before the viewing, was left stunned at the state of the property when she returned.

Not only were her bedcovers "crumpled" with the pillows rearranged, but she found scratches on her table and marks down her toilet, to name a few of her complaints. As she explained in a post to Mumsnet, the viewers' behaviour left a lot to be desired.

The homeowner claimed: "I'm trying to sell my flat at the moment and I'm not very happy with the estate agent. When I chose him, he told me he had lots of potential buyers in the area but only 2 people have booked a viewing after several weeks of being on the market. The first viewing was today and I did a lot of tidying and styling in the flat to prepare. When I came back, the flat was definitely not as I left it."

She then proceeded to list the several problems she encountered. Her list read: "Some marks in the toilet bowl, the toilet paper was moved and the neatly folded towel was left messily folded. My bedcovers were all crumpled and pillows moved. I left a ceramic tray with candles on the sofa table to look homely. The tray had been moved and the table now has several scratches on it. The hallway had black marks on the walls (I've got rid of them with water). The bedroom wardrobe doors and drawers were left open."

Explaining her upset with the viewers and her estate agent, she added: "He said the viewing would be for a couple with kids which could explain the hallway marks and bedclothes... although do people really let their kids jump on beds during viewings? But the worst one is the toilet. I suspect someone has used it and I'm not sure if it was the agent or the people viewing. I know none of this is serious, permanent damage, which I'm grateful for. But [am I being unreasonable] to be a bit annoyed about how the flat was left after the viewing?"

One Mumsnet user replied: "I wouldn't be happy either. It sounds like the kids ran riot and someone used the loo. I would mention it to the EA when they reopen after the weekend that you would like your property to be treated with more respect for future viewings." However, another said: "I think the toilet issue is not an issue - would you have refused to let them use the loo if you had been there?"

Someone else advised: "If I viewed a house and was refused to use the loo, I'd assume the seller was going to be an arse about other aspects of the transaction too. The marks of the wall, and the bed - by all means raise it. But don't raise the loo unless you want to give that impression."

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