It's neither legal nor illegal. Real Estate agents can do whatever they please if charing a viewing fee weeds out those who may have wasted their time then if works for them . . . great. From the buyer's angle though, not many people would be willing to pay a fee to view property which they may not like. For that reason, while charging a viewing fee isn't illegal, it definitely is bad for business.
Yep, I have real estate agents calling me so that I see their properties, so it doesn't make any sense that they would charge, the last time I checked the offer was still way superior to the demand.
One thing that is a must when showing a property to anyone is to make sure any who want to view a property have a prequalification letter of some sort - either a prequal letter from a lender or a verification of funds from an institution for a cash buyer. This way the seller or selling agent doesn't waste time showing to those who are in no way qualified to buy. And anyone who IS qualified to buy will likely already know this ahead of time. If not, they shouldn't be offended by a request for such documentation.
I am completely unfamiliar with anyone charging to show a property. I have been dealing with real estate for about a decade and haven't heard of this. I wouldn't even consider paying to view a property. There are plenty of properties begging to be purchased right now, so I would not entertain such a request.
I think that it depends on your region. Where I can from, one can go from building to building looking for the ideal rental for them. No charges are incurred for viewing the premises. That said there are several agents who can direct you to the kind of premises you are looking for a small fee. This is not charged by the owner of the rental. These agents help the person looking for a place to rent by saving their time because they know the location of available rentals.
Where I live we need to schedule a time with the real estate agents to check the properties, but it's a free visit, they even keep calling us for us to see new apartments.
