We sure don't negate the importance of children taking part in the process...exploring new homes...choosing their bedrooms, checking out the yard and imagining the hide and seek games throughout the house...imagining therein lies the key word...as opposed to re-arranging the house to find hiding places.
Children left to their own imaginative investigation have been known to:
- Try out the whirlpool bath...climb in, turn on the water and jets to see if it "really works"
- Help themselves to the - Cookie Jar...Refrigrator contents...ice cream in the freezer
- Experiment with every toy visible in the bedroom and inside the toybox
- Removing and hiding toy batteries
-Flicking the garage door opener switch while another child "rides on the door"
- Saddling up the lawn ornaments and riding the deer on the lawn
- Picking flowers, throwing snowballs
- Dirty hands and Feet...on walls...floors...countertops...
- Not as destructive; my husband's favorite -exchanging orthotics in the agent's shoes...right for left..
The list unfortunately goes on....without a parental "Time Out" word...Please Parents....if you bring your children to showings, supervise them...teach them the meaning of respect for another person's property. You wouldn't want other people's children misbehaving in your home and causing possible damage...the sellers of the home you are seeing would like the same courtesey.
Consider getting a baby sitter for the initial showings and including children ...supervised at a later date to pick out their rooms...see the new yard...and be a "part" of the decision to buy a new home they will enjoy.
That is the truth isn't it? I have had this happen many times where parents are so into the home they do not have a clue what is happening with the kids and I end up sitting for the parents.
Parents can not concentrate on the details of the homesearch when they have to keep up with their children. I truly love kids ( being the perpetual grandmama) but getting a sitter or family member to watch them during a day of home viewing is the best idea. It is hard work finding the right home and you wouldn't bring your kids to work!
I have had such experiences too . I tell sellers to keep fragile things out of reach of young children.
Sometimes you want to say...keep houses out of the hands of children if parents can't begin to keep a watchful eye on them and "hands to yourself" while in other people's homes.
Absolutely! You could always tell the parents if they break it you bought it! The house!
I had to wait for over an hour for a family with five children all under 8 to show up the other day. When they got there, the children, as one might imagine were running everywhere in this brand-new house...all of them except the baby who was sleeping peacefully in the car seat until an "older" sister dragged her out of it, across the tile floor and proceeded down the stairs. A three-year-old dragging an eight-month old down the stairs. Did I say anthing? Not on your life...not when they jumped on the couch, turned on the TV, started pulling things off the mantle. I lost a very good commission once by gently "suggesting" to a child that her mother wanted her to stop running around the house and to come to her.
IMHO, children do not belong at showings. My parents never asked me where we should live. My, my, what a grouch I am.
We have said to buyers....we are responsible for the condition of the homes we show...BUT if your children damage or break the_____________YOU are responsible....and if that makes us the "bad realtors"...then it does and a few less gray hairs never hurt any realtor :) !
Sally
I had enough not too long ago and I told the lady that was with her kids to please keep them off the furniture. She got all huffy and said "Come on kids, we will go look at another home!" Imagine I would not let kids trash a sellers home. My kid certainly has respect and knows better because that was put into his head. Why is it so hard for others to instill those values into their kids?
Manners not taught in children do not show up in adults.
True Jay....the parents are usually less than courteous....and you can only hope at some point in time that the children will figure out that being rude doesn't work.
I've had buyers get huffy with me when I've asked their children to keep the grubby little hands off the walls and stainless steel appliances. But as Jay said, if their parents never had manners and respect for another's property, the kids are clueless!
True enough Laura..you end up not liking/tolerating the children...when it is of course, the parents who are at fault.