A fifth of home sellers admit to covering up property problems during the viewing process

The latest research from property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau, has found that one in 10 (13%) of home sellers have avoided showing a particular room to potential buyers during the viewing process, while 19% admitted to steering them away from a particular view such as a mobile phone mast.

The survey of over 1,000 UK homeowners to have previously sold a home, commissioned by House Buyer Bureau, found that as many as 13% of respondents have purposely failed to show potential buyers a room in their house while conducting a viewing. 

The top reason for neglecting to fully preview their property was due to using the space for storage at the time of viewing. Other reasons to make the top five for keeping a part of their property on the down low were the need for renovation, the fact it hadn't been cleaned, because the interior design was outdated or unappealing and, most mysteriously, because it was housing an embarrassing secret. 

The good news is that when it comes to our outside space, we're far less secretive, with just 2% stating that they had purposely avoided showing a potential buyer an outdoor area when viewing. 

However, almost a fifth (19%) of those surveyed said that they had purposely avoided showing potential buyers a view that was visible from their property that they didn't like, such as a mobile telephone mast. 

Perhaps more worryingly, as many as 8% came clean about attempting to hide a negative issue associated with the property itself. 

The most common cover up was water damage or mould, followed by cracks in the wall which could indicate subsidence, nasty smells from, for example, pets or smokers, windows or doors that didn't properly close and pest problems. 

Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: 

"We're probably all guilty of sweeping something under the rug in order to improve the appeal of our property during the selling process, but it seems as many as one in 10 would purposely steer a buyer clear of an entire room to avoid revealing what lies behind the door. 

While we're less concerned about the state of our outdoor space, even more of us would try to hide an eye-soar surrounding our property in case it makes a bad first impression. 

What is worrying though, is the number who admitted to purposely trying to conceal an issue with the property itself in order to get a sale over the line. 

If you do find that your home has been blighted by mould, subsidence or pest problems, you're far better off to spend the money required to remedy it, or to be upfront with potential buyers and negotiate on asking price. 

Selling a home is stressful enough as it is without having such weights on your conscience and the reality is that the buyer will inevitably find out, pull out of the sale and you'll be out of pocket and back to square one."