To think it’s normal to take your kids to a house viewing?

[HouseMover2024]

Friend is trying to sell her house and has taken issue with people bringing their children. In her view, they should arrange childcare and it’s inappropriate for them to bring children. If they do bring their kids she thinks they should be left in the car with parents taking turns.

Friend doesn’t have children. She can’t relate to the fact that childcare outside of work time isn’t particularly easy to find.

Part of her reasoning is she has animals she says it’s not practical to remove and is worried a child might get bitten.

I have an opposing view and actually have taken my young children to viewings. I ensure they are respectful and take their shoes off/don’t touch anything. But it’s not always practical to arrange childcare especially at weekends. When my home has been on the market I remove my pets for viewings.

They’re intertwined because she says children can’t visit as the dog might bite them.

Everyone gets those letters and every agent says that 😂

@Lampslights who’d have thought agents like and encourage people to sell!

We used to take turns. One of us stand outside with the children while the other viewed, and then swap. Or just have one of us go the viewing and report back afterwards. The estate agents did not seem keen about children attending viewings. At that time, it was very competitive to buy a house in our area. Many offers on each house so it felt right to keep in good favour with the estate agents.

I never took mine to a viewing, because I didn't want the added stress of watching them. I needed to view the property with a clear mind, without interruptions. I have a dog with a bite history, I would expect some viewers to bring children. I would remove the dog for all viewers.

^ One entitled child coming right up!

OP, it depends on the age and also if the child can behave and not touch any of my stuff! That goes for adults too.

I hate house showings!

My experience of buying a house has been last-minute open houses with a 15-minute viewing slot. Kids had to come with us to every one as we didn't have childcare on tap. It's ridiculous to think a family shouldn't be able to view a family home.

And houses on our road and the neighbouring ones sell very quickly.

Wholeheartedly agree. Think it’s hugely unrealistic to be able to get childcare at the vendor’s convenience.

In my neck of the woods right now, decent homes appropriately priced are sold in 24 hours. My DD is trying to buy (1st time buyer) and has liked 4 houses enough to consider making an offer, but all have been in multiple offer situations and under contract within 2 days. She hasn’t even had a chance for a second viewing. There is no inventory at all, so every time a house comes on the market, loads of people want it!

And there hasn’t been an owner in sight! It’s highly unusual for an owner to be present here. It’s always EAs. It costs 6% of the purchase price to sell your home, so they do the sale and marketing.

😱Sorry, but your friend is an idiot and should remove the dog for viewings. What if it bites someone? Ridiculous. I’ll be removing mine when we come to sell. All signs will be gone, beds, bowls will be shoved in cupboards, dogs will go out/be in the car.

As for kids, as long as they’re being carried/behaving, I couldn’t care less. I’d be cross if they were allow3d to pick up stuff/put sticky fingers on glass etc.

I’ve never sold my own but I did tons of viewings for my landlord when he wanted to sell the house. Most people brought kids and honestly most of them let them run riot all over whilst they looked at the property. I was so worried about my deposit being withheld for the smallest of things (because landlords gotta landlord) so I ended up chasing children all over whilst trying to shout answers to their parents.

I also had to childproof bloody everything because things got broken or went missing after say half of these types of viewings.

It was bloody awful. I know you can’t insist on kids not being present but you should be able to rely on the parents parenting them. Sadly not in my case.

(I did get my deposit back but I had to argue over stuff that the kids damaged which was a pain in the arse to boot.)

Dog shouldn’t be there though. That’s a bad situation waiting to happen.

So what do you suggest someone does with the kid(s) whilst viewing a house then?!

That assumes you drove to the viewings and then parked at the house. The houses we viewed the parking at the house already had the vendor and agent parked there, no on-street parking available, so we walked therefore no car to sit in.

Viewings were in 15 min slots back-to-back with others either side so there was barely time to get round the whole house and garden once, let alone swop over and do it twice.

Far easier to go round together with one of us always holding child's hand and be able to point things out and discuss as we went round.

But ultimately it depends whether the vendor really wants to sell or not. If you're selling a family home then you surely expect a family to buy it?!

I recall years ago taking ours two, about and 9 at the time, to view houses. One afternoon we took my mother to visit a cousin of hers who had moved and we naturally were shown around the new house. Our 9 year old asked what the rates were and how much gas and electricity bills were, she was disappointed that we weren't thinking of buying it!

Actuality as a young adult, she’s far from entitled, what it has taught her is inclusion is important, and the family unit. I guess it depends on your outlook on life. Our family is clearly very different to yours.

First viewing, it was just dh and I, any second viewings we had, we did take the kids. It will be their home too.

Also find it weird your friend is there with her pet doing the viewings herself. Adults dislike and can be scared of dogs too.

I dob care, it's not my problem

A long thread discussing whether it's appropriate to take children to view a house but not addressing a dog that bites?

For reals?

@Maray1967 of course you do, that's not a marketing ploy at all!

You'd select your purchasers to suit your neighbours, based on seeing them at a viewing?

How do you identify mad axe murderers and stop them from buying?

I cannot believe anyone is this ridiculous. to refuse a purchase because you think the children won't be right for your. neighbours.

So funny

A family tradition of cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Some traditions need to be forgotten!

But you've given me so many laughs!

This is SO WEIRD. Children are little humans who are also might end up living in that house.

Moving house is a massive traumatic thing if you are little, and sometimes its beneficial for kids to feel like they are, in part, are making a decision and not just a piece of furniture taken from one place to another. They can have a look, be involved and have an opinion!

That's a problem with people who think kids and animals are the same. Taking your cat to viewing - weird. Taking your young child - normal.

We took our dd to the second viewing but not the first. I don't think it's fair to take them to a first viewing as it's confusing for them, they might assume that will be the house they end up living in when really we did first viewings for about 10 properties. But for the second viewing we were serious and made an offer that day (and we did end up living there). DD was 4 at the time and she was cautious and respectful, but DS is a toddler now and would have been harder to control (he was a baby in a sling then, these days he would have tried to run off).

The disdain some people have for children is so saddening.

Every time we moved the prospective buyers always brought their children. If you are buying a family home often the only time to view is weekends, and children will be home and want to view too. I doubt we would have sold if we'd said adults only for viewings