A house-hunting Asian couple have told of their shocked and anger after they were banned from viewing a property by the seller who branded Indians ‘time-wasters’ seeking a ‘day out’.
Sareena Suman, 34 and her 33-year-old husband Ajay were refused a viewing of the £375,000 detached house and told ‘there are many other properties you can waste people’s time on.’
They spotted the four-bed house in Birmingham on online estate agent Purplebricks’ website and immediately fell in love with it.
But when they messaged vendor and mother-of-three Claire May, 40, asking for a viewing, her response left them speechless.
She told them: ‘I am no longer taking viewings from the Indian and Asian community who are not serious buyers. But just look around properties for sale…as a day out.
‘There are many other properties you can waste people’s time on so I suggest you go view one of them.’
The only information available to Mrs May when she denied the pair a viewing was Sareena’s name.
Sareena Suman, 34 and her 33-year-old husband Ajay were refused a viewing of the £375,000 detached house and told ‘there are many other properties you can waste people’s time on’
Picture of Great Barr home in Birmingham that the Suman’s wanted to view before vendor and mother-of-three Claire May, 40, refused them permission to even look at the property
Since Mrs May banned the Indian couple from viewing her home, Purplebricks stopped marketing the property. A recent picture shows the Purplebricks sign in a skip
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Sareena said: ‘It has made me question if everyone is thinking that about me. Do they describe me as ‘That Asian girl’? Is my colour or my race a thing to describe me or stereotype me?’
Sareena and Ajay – both British-born Indians – have been married for ten years and want to move so they can expand their family.
MailOnline found the house at the centre of the racist message unoccupied when we called, with the Purplebricks sign discarded in a skip on the front drive.
Neighbours in the street – many of whom are Asian or black – said they were surprised at Mrs May’s response.
Now using her maiden name Claire Devine, the Irish-born mother-of-three had lived in the property with her children and former husband until two years ago, but has now moved to Sutton Coldfield, four miles away.
When MailOnline called at her new home, Mrs May denied being racist and said ‘there’s a lot more to the story than you know.’
‘I’m not the slightest bit racist,’ she said.
Brought up in the border town of Strabane, Co Tyrone, Ms Devine is one of six children born to Peter and Maureen Devine.
Sales trainer Sareena was in disbelief at the response and said she has gone through a rollercoaster of emotions since receiving the racist message.
The only information available to Mrs May when she denied the pair a viewing was Sareena’s name. Pictured: Ajay Suman, left 33, with Sareena Suman, 3
Picture of the response Sareena received from Claire May. Neighbours in the street – many of whom are Asian or black – said they were surprised at Mrs May’s response
She said: ‘I had to read the message 15 times before it sank in. At first, it was laughable and I laughed because I didn’t know how to feel. And afterwards the sadness kicked in and I got upset.
‘Now, I’m not as angry as I was because I’ve come to terms with it but it’s just the shock I can’t get over. Where we live currently there’s a minority of Asians and it’s made me look at everyone differently.
‘I’ve never felt like that before. I’m now conscious about what I’m saying and if someone is looking at me, she added.’
The property was particularly special to 34-year-old Sareena because it was near her family home where she grew up.
The property was particularly special to 34-year-old Sareena because it was near her family home where she grew up. Picture of of Sareena Suman, Ajay Suman with baby Saint
The Suman’s chose not to respond to the seller but reported them to Purplebricks.
The couple have two children and have had to sit down with their eldest son, six-year-old Jhye, to explain racism to him.
Sareena added: ‘I’ve always taught my eldest that words are just words.
‘But I found that I had to have that conversation about racism with him.
‘The whole experience has made me scared for him.’
Sareena is scared that her five-month-old son Saint will experience racism as he grows up too.
She is particularly wary about moving back to Great Barr – despite its sentimental value to her – because she is now aware of the type of people who live there.
Ajay encouraged Sareena not to fire off a response back to Mrs May because he felt she wasn’t worth the energy.
A Purplebricks spokesperson said: ‘The sentiments expressed in this message are completely opposed to Purplebricks’ views and values.
The couple were prevented from going inside Mrs May’s home and couldn’t seen the kitchen
They were also stopped from seeing the bathroom (pictured) after Mrs May’s intervention
‘As soon as we saw this comment, we told the vendor that we wouldn’t sell their house and refunded their fee.
‘The house is no longer on the market with Purplebricks.
‘We also contacted the buyer to express how appalled we were by this message and apologise that they’ve had this experience.’
It comes two months after MailOnline exclusively revealed how gay couple Luke Whitehouse and Lachlan Mantell were refused a viewing on another Purplebricks house because of their sexuality.
The Christian owners Luke Main and Dr Joanna Brunker quoted passages from the Bible and said they could not sell it to ‘two men in a partnership.’
Luke and Lachlan – who have been together for eight years – had fallen in love with the house in Coulsdon, Surrey.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk