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.

A house is a home for the whole family. If the kids are not toddlers and know how to behave then they should absolutely be involved. My youngest is Autistic and had he not viewed the house with us to know the layout and what the house would be like moving would have been far more stressful. However because he saw the house he was able to help plan his rooms layout before hand to help him adjust.

I don’t think it’s appropriate to take them, no.

Mine always came - it's a weekend, nursery is closed. If they couldn't come, I couldn't see that property.

Absolutely fine to bring children to a house viewing. She should take the dog out and let the estate agent do the viewing.

We're selling at the moment and take the dogs out whenever there is a viewing because they would bark the house down at strangers invading their territory.

That’s my issue too, I’d never have moved!

I wouldn't really want to take my kids if possible, what if they fell in love with the house but it didn't work out?

Would probably want to show them house once definite.

But absolutly ok to take kids imo.

But i've never been to a viewing with either the owner or any pets present.

I wouldn't think it was an issue to take children if I couldn't get childcare. We bought our house before DDs were born and we did several Saturdays in a row where we had a few viewings. We wouldn't necessarily be able to arrange childcare for that now.

If she has a dog with bite history, why is it around any viewers, adult or child?

I’ve just kept my toddler on my hip.

@Lampslights your young kids got a say in buying a house? Well that confirms something for me.

Exactly this! We took our children to view every house we had interest in buying and our children actually chose our dream house we bought 9 years ago.

@WeAreWarriorsWeAreWarriors I was thinking rabbits/guinea pigs etc in cages and kids sticking their fingers in.

@ OP. I think it's better not to take kids to first views. But if you must, then have the decency to keep them with you (not running off into other rooms) and not touching stuff.

We did some viewings while DD was at school and took her for some weekends viewings. We always took her for the second viewing if we were thinking to make an offer. She was almost a teenager and we wanted to know her opinion.
We took her for viewings when she was 3 and actually her excited reaction at a one viewing confirmed that it’s the right house for us. She always behaved well and was closely supervised.

At all houses we viewed dogs were removed for viewings. A few times we encountered cats but they always were friendly. Several times EA mentioned that the owner took their dog out for the time of viewing .
I can’t imagine leaving my dog for viewings- it’s so stressful for both parties. Your friend is so wrong.

I took my just 3 year old to more viewings than I took my husband to! Estate agents love a weekday viewing, so on my none working day while husband was at work and eldest at home, we would view the houses. He went round with me and took a book to look at for if the agent and I were in a long chat. I don't understand why that would be a problem. If he was rude or badly behaved then yes that would be a problem but rudeness and poor behaviour can be displayed at any age.
In terms of kids views, they didn't carry much weight but I did want both kids to see the house and know the layout and where the bedrooms / toilets were. I find it tricky to visualise stuff from words and pictures so maybe that's a "me" issue.

It never occurred to me not to take my children to house viewings. Of course they were appropriately supervised. No, they didn’t get a say in whether we bought it.

Most of the people showing us round the houses also had their children there. Because they -lived there?

How is it even possible to arrange childcare for random ten minute slots usually arranged with little notice?

I just write that I left my eldest at home. She was 5, she was at school. Error, sorry!

She shouldn’t have a dog with bite history around viewers at all.

We didn’t take ours to first viewings when we moved as we have the luxury of family childcare. The vast majority of people who came to view the family home we were selling had children with them.

What does it confirm? Of course we behaved as a family and asked her opinion if she liked it, even if she was too small to really know. We have nought and sold 5 times, she’s viewed all of them with us each time. Never once had an issue.

I don’t understand this post at all - how would your friend even know if children came to viewings? Surely the estate agent does all this? When we’ve sold houses we all had to vacate, including pets and the estate agent did the entire viewing. This is 100% the norm here (in Ireland).

It’s totally up to the vendor as to who does viewings. Friend does her own so she can supervise.

Still remember a young child running his car up my cream walls and parents saying nothing. So I’d say it depends if they behave or not.
And I do have children and they would have been in trouble in their own house!

We took ours. 6 and 10 at the time. They can both behave themselves and yes, I want to be able to discuss it as a family, even if we (the adults) are the ones making the decision.

Anyone can do their own viewings if they want.

I don't think kids should have a say. It's such a tense time and sales fall through all the time or it might be the house of their dreams but you notice there's a bail hostel next door.

Okay, so the owner’s dog bites.
Do the potential buyer’s children bite?

Bringing children as you have no childcare... fine.

But to show them a potential house... no. It wa 6 months from viewings to completion for us. They had more important things to think about.