You just never know what lies beyond the front door. On very rare occasions, whether during property viewings or post rental inspections, you can be greeted by the unexpected.
In true Halloween spirit, we’re taking you through some of the many horror stories estate agents across the country have shared.
Look out below
Cellars are a rare commodity to have in a UK home. Most are either converted into their own ground floor dwelling, or homeowners instead opt for a garage. They’re so rare in fact that when we open a door, we don’t expect there to be stairs leading down. Sadly, one estate agent fell foul of this trick.
During a house viewing, everything was going as planned. The prospective owners were happy, and it felt like another day at the office. But, once it came to showing the final room, the agent missed their footing, and found themselves at the bottom of the cellar stairs.
They were unharmed, but you can never take your eye off the ball.
Escape room
A lot of preparation goes into arranging the viewings and gaining access to the home, that leaving is taken for granted. But for two unlucky agents, they found themselves stuck on the wrong side of the door.
After bidding the prospective buyers goodbye, an agent and their manager made sure to lock up and secure the home before they left. All they needed to do was walk out the back door and leave via the back gate so they could lock it on their way out. Unfortunately, getting through that gate was easier said than done.
The gate had become stuck, with no movement after many attempts to get it open. Leaving through the house wasn’t an option as the back door locked automatically, and they had left the keys inside the property for the owner.
The only thing to be done was to escape through the hedged fence. The gap beneath was big enough for them to crawl through to freedom, and their next appointment - brushing the mud and twigs off their clothes as they went.
Exterior troubles
Horror stories aren’t limited to being inside the homes. A poor agent managed to buy their first car, one they had saved for months to be able to purchase. Proud of their achievement, they used it to drive their prospective buyer to their house viewing. Sadly, as the buyer attempted to get out of the car when they arrived, the door scraped along the concrete curb with a sickening screech - only to be wedged open.
The agent had to drive forward slowly to loosen it, worsening the damage to their brand new car in order to close the door.
Free entertainment
Lock ins are more common than you think, and sometimes escape isn’t as easy as crawling under a hedge. One agent and their prospective buyer found themselves stuck in a property for more than three hours as the electronic gates to the property broke down.
Naturally, there’s nothing that can be done besides waiting for the company to come and repair it, but when you’re stuck with a client, switching off and relaxing isn’t an option. For three hours, the agent had to entertain and calm the buyer down to keep them happy while they waited.
The world of real estate is usually fairly normal, but every once in a while, it can become one that’s full of surprises. At Urban Village, we’re grateful not to have come across anything like these, but we still leave our office on our pink bikes wondering what the next viewing will bring. Usually it’s happy smiles and talks of next steps, but sometimes an unexpected situation can make the day one to remember.