Opinions, Please

coffee drinker · ‎03-21-2010

Out of curiosity, I rode by the house I lived in as a kid -- almost 60 years ago. It was for sale. Checked it on-line and it appears someone is flipping it. At the time the house was very small and it still is, but things have been done to update. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but would love to call the real estate agent, tell her my story and that I do not have any intentions to purchase, but would love to see what's been done. What would you do?

Nonametoday · ‎03-09-2010

@coffee drinker wrote:
Out of curiosity, I rode by the house I lived in as a kid -- almost 60 years ago. It was for sale. Checked it on-line and it appears someone is flipping it. At the time the house was very small and it still is, but things have been done to update. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but would love to call the real estate agent, tell her my story and that I do not have any intentions to purchase, but would love to see what's been done. What would you do?

@coffee drinker

After 15 years from my mother's death, I walked up to the door, rang the bell at the house I lived as a child and where my mother lived until her death, and asked the owner if I could see it. It had been changed from the living home I grew up in during my mother's illness to accommodate her and the nurses, and I was happy to see the nice changes. Although the changes were different from what I might have done as I would have kept it true to the period, it was very nice looking and well kept.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

I'd let it go. Realtor are very busy people and don't have time for curiosity seekers. If it's for sale and is being flipped, there may be updated photos posted on the listing. That's where I saw the updates on my childhood home.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

FrostyBabe1 · ‎05-09-2016

I'd check the realtor website or realtor. com for the listing and see if there's an open house scheduled. If so, there's your opportunity to see the house. If they ask you to register, you can always decline. But I certainly wouldn't waste the realtor's time asking for a showing when you have no intention of purchasing.

~The more someone needs to brag about how wonderful, special, successful, wealthy or important they are, the greater the likelihood that it isn't true. ~

KathyM23 · ‎11-20-2010

I moved from the state where I grew up and was back visiting my brother. We were riding around the area "sight seeing" We went to the town I lived in, past my old school, etc. and then to the block I grew up on. We parked across the street from the house I grew up and lived in for 25 years.

Trying to decided if I wanted to go in and see it. I knew I could have as the couple that bought it and were living there was a couple I went to school with and were friends. Decided I did not want to go in. Wanted it to remain how it was in my memories.

nana59 · ‎05-12-2012

i've wanted to visit my grandmother's house....it's not for sale...but i would love to take a walk down memory lane.... i loved being there with her...unfortunately it's now a dangerous neighborhood.......

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

Many years ago before the Internet back in the 1980s. I drove past my old house. It's about an hour away from where I live now and I happened to be in the area.

I pulled up to the front and there was someone out on the driveway. I pulled the window down and told them that I used to live there. My parents had sold the house about 10 years before. They were friendly and I was surprised when they invited me in to see the house. I went (not sure if I would do that today) but I got to see the updates and remodeling that they had done.

It was really nice of them to have done that!

How badly do you want to see the house in person? Do you think that you would be satisfied with seeing photos online? If not then go check it out. I wouldn't say that I'm just looking. I would just say that I was interested in the house.

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

@coffee drinker : I would not knock on someone's door and ask for a tour but my brother did that in order to see our childhood home and also my Grandmothers home. As for me, I looked it up on Zillow (new owners did a great job of updating it!).

Carol Diane · ‎04-27-2015

@KathyM23 , I'm with you. After my dad's death, 2 men bought the house, gutted most of the inside and redesigned it. They asked my sister and me if we wanted to see the finished product. My sister did and went for a tour. I remember the story my parents told me of when they were on a beach in Florida and designed their dream house in the sand. My father was a builder and by that time, very successful. I wanted to remember that house the way they dreamed it and my whole life til I got married living in it with the best memories. Nothing was going to take that away from me!

wildcat fan · ‎03-23-2010

This thread reminds me of Miranda Lambert's song, "The House That Built Me." I get weepy everytime I hear that.

I agree with those who encouraged you to just check for updates on the internet. There ought to be some good photos to give you an idea. If after that you still want to see it in person, I guess you could call the realtor. You don't have to disclose that you don't plan to buy it, or you could share your story and just ask if the owner would care if you saw it even though you don't plan to buy it. I too would be afraid of wasting the realtor's time. There was a house that I wanted to see that was listed in my hometown, but in the end I just stuck to the internet photos because I knew I wouldn't be buying it and didn't want to get anyone's hopes up or waste anybody's time.