Previous occupant of my house

[NoGoAway]

I have NC for this as don't want it linking to previous posts I have made.

I have just returned home and found a note from someone who says they used to live in my house. They are asking if I would allow them to show the house to their daughter who was born here. They are staying nearby for the next few days. They have given the years when they say they lived here which mean nothing to me. I know how long the previous couple owned the house but not whether they lived here the whole time or rented the property out. My initial reaction was to ignore the note as I thought it was probably a scam of some sort. I then thought even if they are genuine and staying locally, I don’t want them in my house. There was a mobile number at the top of the note which I tried ringing to say nope not convenient, but the phone is turned off with no facility to leave a message.

I know IANBU to not want random people wandering around my house but is this a scam I haven’t come across before now? I don’t want to spend the next few days on tenterhooks every time someone knocks at the door and nervous of opening it.

😂OP is unkind and suspicious and sad. Get a grip FFS. She has NO obligation to let complete strangers mooch around her house. What an entitled and arrogant CF you'd have to be to EXPECT this.

I would not have a problem with this at all. The people who we bought our house from live locally and if they knocked on the door i'd happily show them round.

I used to feel just like that about a house I lived in...Would dream of it a lot.It was a very 'Ordinary' Victorian terrace in St Margarets, London {Ailsa Avenue}
the prunus tree mum and I planted is still in the front garden.
I had a tiny bedroom and was very happy there, nice kids lived in the road, and we could play safely.
Parents moved to a much bigger house with a large garden, but I missed the friendliness of the terraced street.

If you’re not suspicious of their motives but still won’t let them come by because you just don’t want strangers in your house then I’m just as depressed by how mean spirited and unfriendly people are.

As I posted upthread. My [partner is away this weekend so yes I am on my own so no they won't be seeing around unless they can wait until he is home again. Suspicious maybe but there is the wellknown scam of one person keeping you talking whilst the others go off and 'look around'

I had someone knock on my door a few years ago, saying she lived in my house as a child, and could she come in for a look? I said yes, but reluctantly. It took me ages to get her out; she sat down and pulled a copy of 'The Watchtower' from her bag, and talked at me about the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses for a long time.

could be a distraction by thieves?

why would you take the chance?

sounds odd that the phone doesn't have an answering service, I wonder if they just turn up and put you on the spot?

If it was a friend of a friend who had previously lived in my home asking then I would let them. I wouldn't let in total strangers especially when there is already a big ? over the name/dates given.

Valuing your privacy doesn't make you unfriendly or mean spirited. FFS.

I came home from a particularly shitty day at work to see someone pulling into our driveway. I had to park up the road, and was already on the back foot and a bit weirded out before they got out and introduced themselves as previous owners. They probably thought I was rude not to invite them in but the house was a tip and I was pretty much at the end of my tether before they nabbed my drive.

I don't think you should feel threatened or worried by this. I don't think it'll be a scam, and they have gone about it the right way by putting a note through rather than just turning up. But of course saying no is ok.

No of course she is not obligated to show kindness, no one is. They have asked, there is nothing entitled about that. All of the hostile and suspicious people in this thread seem to be convinced that they are terribly interesting and people would be looking at them and their stuff rather than just looking at a house and having some happy memories. People in general have a tendency to overestimate how interesting they are to others. They are probably the same types who insist on conducting viewings themselves when they sell their houses, so convinced are they that prospective buyers are going to nose through their belongings.

Nope. I don't let anyone in my house who doesn't have to be there.

A lady knocked on my door and said she had grown up in my house and her parents lived here for 45 years. She asked if she could come and see the house and garden when her sister was next staying. I agreed and it was lovely to hear how the house and garden had changed and what it was like growing up in it. She also showed me pictures of her parents in the garden in the 60s. I didn’t show them upstairs but just the downstairs. They were thrilled to reminisce about it and bought me some lovely 💐 . Nice to know previous occupants had been happy here.

I was sitting outside my neighbour's house a few weeks ago chatting to her when a car parked at the end of the road, several adults got out and looked in our direction, then one bloke came down and said that he had lived in the house about 30 years ago, and was back in the area showing his family where he used to live. It was fascinating to hear his stories, and she asked him in and showed him the ground floor and the garden. He was definitely telling the truth - he knew stuff that he couldn't have known any other way.

If previous owners came to mine I'd chat to them to make sure they knew about the house then would be happy to show them round. I'd love to know more history of my house!

I think if it means that much to them, and it clearly does for them to have written, then they can’t wait till you’ve tidied up or your husband is home or for whenever it suits you.

i always think if you are given the opportunity to make someone happy at little cost to yourself, you should take it.

Nothing terribly interesting, unless you are nosey and judgemental, about a house several decades of renovations on from when you lived there. Look at the outside (easily done from your sofa via streetview or my a driveby) but don't expect to be welcomed in with open arms into a complete strangers home.

People get up in arms about landlords accessing the building that they own which is their tenants home, so much so access/ quiet enjoyment is written in to law and rental agreements, surely this gives an idea of how much most people value the privacy of their home and the control they rightly have over it.

Ask them for some kind of evidence that they lived there.

Exactly this, knowing someone was happy in that house, it’s almost like your reward for doing a good deed.

I doubt anyone would ask to see inside a house they’d hated. Knowing your walls had heard laughter and known love and hearing the stories would be worth it for me. Obvs not for everyone.

There is a huge interest in family history and house histories. Quite often you will see a "celeb" on programmes like the One Show being taken back to their childhood home and sitting in their old bedroom or something. People on shows like Who Do You Think You Are will be taken to places where their ancestors lived and the present occupants are clearly more than happy to let them in.

You might not be interested in the people who lived in your house in years gone by, or your own family history, but thousands of people are. People regularly come to the UK from all over the world to trace their family roots and want to go to the churches where their granny was christened, walk the local high street, see the houses where people lived before they emigrated to Aus/Canada/US. Ancestral tourism is a huge, and growing, market.

Of course you don't have to facilitate anyone coming into your house but what's more likely - that it's some sort of elaborate scam to scope out what OP says is a very ordinary house to burgle it later, or that it's a genuine ex-resident. SOme people are just miserable and unprepared to put themselves out even just a little bit to make someone else's day.

Do any of your neighbours remember them? I’d say it wasn’t convenient if it’s a complete stranger.

Obviously I have no idea if this is a scam but ten years ago or so my son was doing a project on "my family" at primary school. We happened to be on holiday in the area of the U.K. where my grandmother lived when I was his age. She lived in a tiny mine workers cottage so I took him to show him the outside of the house and tell him what I knew about it and the memories I had of visiting my grandmother there. While we were outside the current occupant came out - probably a bit suspicious of us lurking outside. We ended up chatting and then were invited in for tea and cake and a look round the house.

I have had this happen twice in two different houses. The first was a man who was a bit pushy. I threw a seemingly casual question in about the garden and he answered incorrectly, so I politely ended the conversation. He returned later, and I refused again. I called the police, because he had been too insistent. They took a description and told me, in no uncertain terms, not to open the door if he came back again and to call them instantly if he returned, which he didn’t.

The second time, a neighbour was able to verify who the visitor was, and I was happy to let them in. Their partner had died recently, but they had lived in my house together for years. Seeing them go round was very moving. They were thankful to me and now send me Christmas cards.

Seriously? Take a look at my post if you can find it. OP is right to be concerned as it literally happened to my grandma and many other people on the same estate that day. A young woman pulled the "I used to live here" trick and was actually a sneak thief taking advantage of a lot of elderly people. She stole hundreds and hundreds of pounds in cash and jewellery from various houses that day. Thankfully she was caught but all of my extended family are now very aware of this scam. Without proof of who they are then how could OP know they're genuine or just burglars trying their luck?

I'd say no, especially if I was on my own.