Honesty is the best policy for over 50s home sellers

What’s on your list when looking for a new home? Big kitchen? Spacious rooms? Open fire? Research by Saga Home Insurance, the leading provider of goods and services for the over 50s, today reveals that the age of the vendor should be a key consideration, as those aged 50+ are less likely than any other age group to lie in order to sell their home.

The survey reveals vendors aged 18 to 24 are the least trustworthy, with over half (55%) admitting that they would happily lie in order to sell their home. Over 50s are, by far, the most honest with three in four (74%) saying they would definitely not lie, compared to less than two in three (60%) of those aged under 50 who said the same.

Despite its light-hearted nature, the survey exposes a more serious issue around homebuying, with one in three (34%) under 50s admitting they would paint over a damp patch rather than investigating or rectifying the problem - a lie that could cost the new owners thousands to rectify.

Saga’s research serves as a warning to potential buyers of the importance of researching the area thoroughly, and visiting the property on different days and times. Half of those aged under 50 (50%) admitted they would deceive potential buyers into thinking there was adequate parking in their street compared to one in three (33%) of the over 50s. Furthermore, a quarter of under 50s (25%) would go as far as insisting on daytime viewings only, when other residents of the street are likely to be at work and the road clear.

In addition, one in three under 50s (32%) are more than willing to hide the fact that they have noisy neighbours compared to just 21% of the over 50s. One in four (24%) under 50s said they would strategically arrange viewings for when their neighbours are out, compared to 17% of over 50s. A sneaky one in twenty would even lie and comment on how lovely the neighbours were (5%).

Saga’s research comes as part of a bigger survey which also looked at the implementation of forthcoming Home Information Packs (HIPs) and whether people felt this would improve the home-buying process. This research showed that over half of over 50s (55%) are against HIPs and believe that the current process works well.