A new breed of informed buyer is driving agents mad, says ISABEL MORTON.

RECENTLY, WHILST walking my dog, I saw a couple acting rather furtively on the pathway outside a house, which was for sale.

As I approached them I realised that they had a measuring tape stretched out between them.

They appeared to be measuring the front boundary wall.

The tape measure wasn’t long enough and a relay-style passing of it ensued. When the “tape” dance was over, they carefully recorded the results in their notebook.

Curiosity got the better of me. I couldn’t resist. Why?

Simple really. They were comparing the measurement of the “road frontage” with another house, which was also on the market and situated further down the same road.

They were also quite happy to tell me that they had spent St Patrick’s Day “following the sun” around the houses and had taken photographs of both gardens to compare areas of shade and sunlight.

You see, despite the fact that the properties are situated on the same side of the same road, the road curved and therefore the orientation isn’t precisely the same. (If you see what I mean?)

Their investigations revealed that off-street car-parking would be restricted in the house on the bend in the road because it has less road frontage than the house on the straight part of the road.

On the other hand, the house on the bend has a much wider rear garden than

I was sorry I ever asked.

I feel sorry, too, for vendors must be exhausted keeping everything in their homes in tip top condition for the duration of a sales period, which can now extend to months, even years.

Prospective buyers are taking their time and have no qualms about viewing everything on the market and making numerous repeat visits. Needless to say, both estate agent and seller must accommodate them. They can hardly refuse a prospective buyer a viewing, even if it is for the 11th time.

Sutton auctioneer Joe Kelly of Property Team JB Kelly says he is worn out with them: “They nearly have me on Zanex. The dread of my life at the moment is those BER certificates. They expect me to have one in my top pocket.

“It’s a head wrecker as they are standing in a period house with no insulation, single glazed windows and open fireplaces so the BER certificate is heading for an ‘F’ grade anyway.”

He went on to explain that buyers are always concerned about the electrics and worry about having to rewire a house. They don’t appear to be half so bothered about the plumbing although they are very fussy about the colour of the bathroom suites. “If the bathroom suit is white – I win. If not, I have a problem. They hate avocado or pink,” said Kelly.

Orientation is another problem. “I may as well go home if I can’t find one sunny spot in the property where I can stand and talk with the buyer – with the sun shining in my eyes!”

John Newcombe of Newcombe Estates in Castleknock agrees that would-be buyers are pickier than ever.

“They knock on walls, stick screwdrivers through wallpapered walls and even remove skirting boards looking for damp. It’s a nightmare. And parents of first-time buyers are the worst. They come along to give their children advice but … one parent told me that the house was sinking and started rolling coins along the floor trying to prove that the property had subsided.

“Of course, once you see the clipboard, you know you’re in trouble and will be there for hours. They generally have a list of prepared questions and you can see that they have gone through it all before in at least 20 other houses. And some bring a compass to confirm the orientation. I’ve often thought that, if I could pick up a house and move it, I’d be a wealthy man!”

Iain Finnegan of Finnegan Menton said that the new breed of informed property buyer is “wearing him out” with their running commentary on the economy and their insistent questions on the reasons for a property being on the market in the first place.

“The number of times I am asked: ‘Have they gone bust or are they just divorcing?’ They then ask: ‘What was the price?’ Followed by: ‘What’s the price now?’ . Followed by: ‘And when will you be reducing the price again?’ They know their way around these days; they have all watched ‘Duncan’, and go around sucking their teeth and knocking on walls and tapping things.”

But, as Finnegan says: “We’re not complaining. It’s better to have know-alls viewing properties than no one at all.”