To think this was an outrageous request from our landlord and to be a bit suspicious?

[pinkowl]

We rent our house and have been here for 3 years, so it is very much our home.

Some background. The landlords aren't buy to lets, they inherited this house and we are the first tenants. Before letting they completely refurbished the property - new bathrooms, kitchens, windows, carpets, roof extension, the lot. They did it themselves to a high standard and it's lovely. I can imagine that they're proud of it (relevant)

We have a good relationship with them. They're not local but come down to see family sometimes and tend to use the opportunity to do any maintenance that needs doing. Recently they've been sprucing up the exterior.

Onto the outrageous request! She text me yesterday and explained that she was coming down with a girlfriend who knew the house as it was before, and would love to see what it looks like now. And could they come round today so the friend could have a look round the house.

I feel pretty disgruntled. This is our home and of course I don't want a complete stranger traipsing around looking at it out of curiosity. Surely as a landlord once a property has tenants, you leave them be unless there's a real reason. We have annual inspections with the leggings agency which is bad enough, but obviously accept as being part and parcel of renting.

I also feel a bit paranoid. It seems such an unreasonable thing to even ask that I'm concerned there could be an ulterior motive. Perhaps the friend is an estate agent who could cast an informal eye. I'd like to think that if they had plans to sell that they'd be upfront, but you never know.

They do have photos of the house as they were used in the original advert - can't they just show the friend those?! Why would the friend herself want to impose upon strangers in their home?!

I politely replied that it wasn't convenient today. But should I be concerned?

'The previous owners of our house were in our area and popped in to show the family round and i was delighted to show them round the house they used to live in.'

I really hope you don't advertise this type of naivete in your real name in your real life often, because this type of idiocy is a potential burglar's dream! Just because you're silly enough to be 'delighted' to allow a group of strangers into your home and give them a tour of it, doesn't mean the rest of the world is so daft.

A mate of mine just bought a house, too. It had been inherited from the seller's mother. He didn't bother to have post forwarded to his address and told her he'd just 'pop round' every now and again. She declined. Because it's not his house and she's not his secretary.

Most people find opening your home to strangers an ill-advised thing to do.

I don't get too attached by renting a house that meets all my functional needs but that I don't love.
It's a mistake to rent a house that you fall in love with. Iv done it once but never again as the landlord sold up!

The concept of a basically decent landlord being 'amazing' is pretty much akin to that of a basically decent husband (cooks now and again, clears up after himself, is capable of looking after his own children) being 'amazing' and the wife being 'soooo lucky'. And the roots are the same - the power differential, boosted by the frankly appalling legal status (or rather lack of it) of the tenant.

Are you in the UK? Because if my tenants stopped paying rent and wrecked the place, I would have to spend thousands evicting them and getting MY property back. Your analogy is very poor. I'm a bloody marvellous landlord. I've responded to calls no matter what time, I've gone up and fixed stuff as soon as I know there's a problem, as I am supposed to do. Tenants have all the power in this country IMO.

As a ll, I wouldn't dream of making this request that the OP has had. It's bizarre, I think. Much as I'd love to show my parents the place when they come down, I wouldn't even do a drive by, because I absolutely won't annoy my tenants.

I don't get too attached by renting a house that meets all my functional needs but that I don't love.
It's a mistake to rent a house that you fall in love with. Iv done it once but never again as the landlord sold up!

This seems like a rather pessimistic approach to life. Do you choose a so-so partner in case they leave or pass over the dream job because you worry you might get made redundant?! I can't imagine looking back on my life and thinking I wish I hadn't lived in that lovely house for 3 happy years because the landlord ended up selling.

Christ OP! If only you'd had the forethought of foregoing all those take out Starbucks you could have saved enough money to put down a deposit to buy a house and do it in the right order... fml

Niamh
I assume you don't have children / School aged children?

If your child's school / friends / catchment / nursery was dependent on being in a particular property or thereabouts, I expect you would have a rather less blasé attitude.

Pinkowl prepare for the worst and you can only be pleasantly surprised 😂

I am generally a positive person with a sunny outlook but I just don't see the point getting attached to something that isnt mine.

When dh's dgm died, fil renovated the property out and rented it out. The tenants invited all of us for dinner as he understood how special a place it was the family and wanted to show they were taking good care of it. I thought that was lovely. Would it have been that inconvenient and troublesome to have the people round for half an hour?

Bbcessex your assumption is an incorrect one.

Then I am astonished that you seem so blasé

I havent read all 258 posts. But years ago we took my now ex ILs back to where my ex FIL grew up. part of a huge family celebration of big birthdays. His niece had arranged with the current owners for my ex FIL and other family members to visit their old home. They so loved it. I decided not to intrude and waited outside as did other non close family members. So I dont know how the new owners felt but I have always thought how kind it was for them to basically let total strangers into their home. Perhaps this is similar.

MissEliza that's not the same.

The tenants invited you so it was totally on their terms. It would have been arranged in advance so they had plenty of time to get the house as they wanted to present it. It was their invitation so they wouldn't have felt worried or paranoid about the purpose of the visit. They were also obviously the kind of people who didn't mind strangers in their home. None of which applies to my situation

I think a partner or a job is different to a rental property.
I think perhaps I'm just not all that sentimental, if also never had trouble finding an affordable and suitable property bit then I'm not picky

'And who are all these people who pop in and view houses they/their aunt/childhood friend used to live in? I've only ever seen this in movies on Christmas 24.'

Exactly! I could fill the ears of a few of the schemers round here, they'd be willing to put on quite the show of people who used to own the place or 'this was granny's old place' to get the lay of a house to burgle, convenient for finding where the keys to the car is kept so they can nick that, too.

I don't open the door to strangers who 'pop round', though, but am thankful for this council property based on all the wankers who think renters are just glorified peasants renting a roof for the night.

FWIW, if I book a hotel room for the night or a self-catering cottage for a week and the proprietor wants to come in for a nosey, I wouldn't throw the door open and welcome them with open arms, even if it is 'their' property, as someone pointed out, so is your house if you still have a mortgage, would you be okay with the bank's agents 'popping round' to have a tour because they felt an attachment to the floor plan, because after all, it's the bank's property until the mortgage is paid?

I only meant that the description of these people who seem to have been decent enough for 3 years is a bit over the top. And yes, until you pay for your property in full, it's not yours, it belongs to a landlord or your bank. Hardly a ground breaking discovery.

Umm . not quite. You own the property, its yours, your name is on the deeds. However the building society or bank have a charge on it which simply means if you don't keep up the terms and conditions of that charge or mortgage then they have a the right to sell that property in order to secure their money on same which when they they have sold it they are obliged to give you any surplus back.

But in law you do "own" it, its just that there's a charge on it!.

And who are all these people who pop in and view houses they/their aunt/childhood friend used to live in? I've only ever seen this in movies on Christmas 24.'

Happened here once. A car pulled up outside saw it on the CCTV sauntered out in the front drive asked him if he was looking for someone or was lost, said that he lived here many years ago when it was shared and rented.

Had quite a chat with him and it turned out he lived here and met his wife whilst she was sharing it too. But not a very happy ending to this tale they married and moved out and lived happily for many years had children etc.

However one night they had an argument she drove of in her car a bit worse for drink went round a curve too fast and killed herself. He said that he always wanted to come back here as the happiest best thing that ever happened to him was meeting her and here was where it all began. Poor bastard:-(

I really do hope that your land lady is not on Mumsnet as I'm pretty sure she could identify herself from the comments on here.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of her request (not demand) I would imagine she would be pretty upset at what is being said one here, she wasn't being unreasonable to ask the question, she wasnt being unreasonable when she accepted the response, she didn't push for you to change that response, so why is she being vilified.

From the vast majority of what you have said over the past 3 years she has been a fabulous LL improving the property for you, maintaining the level of rent and not giving you any fears over your tenancy and now she is being slated for wanting to show off her work to her friend, I think it's perfectly natural to want to show friends your accomplishments

Well if she is on MN what would she read

1. That we think they are decent LLs
2. That we love living here and have no plans to move

That would hardly be terrible for her to see

I once had a German couple on the doorstep, wanting to look around our house - they'd been tenants many years previously while we were living abroad.
Maybe OK if you're a tidy house-work-y type. I am not, it was a mess upstairs, plus I was in a tearing hurry to get out and find some more curtain material to exactly match the piece I'd just managed to get black marker ink on. So it was sorry, but a hurried and apologetic Nein.

Many decades after he'd stayed at a great aunt's seaside house as a child, Dh managed to find it again, and having seen him looking and heard the story, the owner invited him in. Very kind of her, but he certainly wouldn't have expected it - a random strange bloke - not that he looks particularly dodgy, but I don't suppose your average psychopath does, either.

Yeah, they might also notice that you think they have ulterior motives and that you are suspicious of them.

Also that thing about 'friend tenants' and 'blurred boundaries' could give them food for thought.

Food for thought how?

I highly doubt they're on MN anyway though. They don't really fit the demographic and contrary to popular thought, not everybody is on here

They're not "lucky to have you" because you pay your rent on time and look after the property - ffs that's just adhering to the terms of your tenancy agreement and there are hundreds upon thousands of tenants willing to do the same. We have several let cottages and all of our tenants' adhere to their tenancy agreements, I don't consider us "lucky" for that!

Frilley it's them that said that! If they feel lucky to have us as tenants then that's their prerogative!
You have several properties so perhaps it's a bit different - they only have one and their very first set of tenants turn out to be long term, house proud and reliable. I can see why they would feel lucky. They could easily have ended up with a series of 6 month lets, each an unknown quantity

As it was an inherited property they might have grown up there and it could be an old pal who wants a trip down memory lane and LL has said how nice you are and she would ask if it's possible. Weird but possible.

Could be EA with a view to sell.

Who knows?