Opening viewing - concerns for my house

Dial Hard

Bigus wrote: »

no wooden floor can withstand damaged or sometimes even good stilettos .

We're not talking about damaged stilettos, the OP has basically said the floor marks if it's even so much as looked at. Which is (rightly) going to be massively offputting to a lot of viewers.

Reminds me of the time my mother put an unsealed oak floor that couldn't be got wet into one of the bathrooms in our house. Looked gorgeous - for about a week :rolleyes:

Heffc

thanks for the feedback all. As always with these things, people have very different views!!

Gubbie, you're dead right on those blue booties, with a pair of high heels, they won't make any difference. A lot of wooden floors gets pock marked with high heels, I see it all the time in other houses, restaurants etc. Some people have no issue with it, its just something I don't like.

We mentioned to the EA a while back so just need to revisit that conversation and see how best he thinks we should deal with it. I'd much rather do private viewings for a host of reasons, but I think to give ourselves the best chance we probably need to do the open ones unfortunately.

thanks again all for feedback :-)

Repetto

I'd have no problem taking off my shoes if asked - in fact I viewed a house recently and did same, as did everyone else. Everyone feels differently about an issue like this. To me it's normal not to wear shoes indoors, but I lived for years in Germany where it's a given you remove shoes before entering a house, and now I hate the thoughts of outdoor shoes inside, yuck! But that's beside the point. If you don't want people wearing shoes, specify it to EA and if it turns out to be off putting to potential purchasers I'm sure he/she will let you know and you can re-assess. Agree though it would show that you mind your house well, which would be a plus for me.

Rasmus

I would have no issue removing shoes for the viewing, but if the agent explained it as a major issue, I would consider bidding below what I may have offered without the un-usable walnut floor. (In other words, it may put people off a bit).

iguana

Heffc wrote: »

A lot of wooden floors gets pock marked with high heels, I see it all the time in other houses, restaurants etc. Some people have no issue with it, its just something I don't like.

So was your OP an exaggeration and it's only stilletos that are the problem? In that case I wouldn't say a word about your floor being easily damaged or you'll make what sounds like your own fussiness appear like a very off putting and expensive issue to potential buyers.

In all honesty there isn't a chance in hell I'd ask buyers to take off their shoes. What's the point in having an open viewing if you do so in such a way that it makes even 10% of the viewers uncomfortable. It's shooting yourself in the foot.

When I sold my old house, the first thing I did was go to B&Q and buy a bottle of wooden floor laquer polish. You just mop it on, it takes a few minutes to do and a few minutes more to dry. Makes your floors look freshly varnished. I put that on half an hour before every viewing and there was never a scuff to be seen. A way better option than making people feel my floor wasn't fit for purpose.

CassieManson

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

First world problems.

I wonder how much this floor has decreased the value of your house by. IMHO no one in their right mind would buy a house with a floor they cannot walk on.

I agree, its not much of a selling point. Personally I hate being asked to take off my shoes when I visit someones house. It is not very hospitable. I would not chose to buy a house where I would have to inflict this on my guests.

Could you put rugs down to cover the floor and reduce the impact of shoes?

SpaceTime

Wearing pointed heals into someone's house is just damn rude in my opinion.

A few years ago a 'friend' of mine walked into my house with stilettos on and actually cracked 5 tiles in the bathroom and left puncture marks all over the place. Cost a lot of money to fix and she could see nothing wrong with it.

I'm talking maybe 15 stone per stiletto point ...

You might as well just take a chisel to the floors.

Sunny Dayz

OP is there any way you could put large rugs over the walnut floor? Beg borrow or steal a few from your friends and neighbours for the few hours of the opening viewing. The rugs would hopefully cushion the floor from shoes and heels. Dunno what excuse you could have though for putting them all down as it would look like you are trying to hide something underneath...

The_Conductor

Also- remember- you are selling the house to someone. If the walnut floor gets scratched- its their problem. With respect of the walnut floor- while you may love it- unless you find a similar lover of walnut floors- its an albatros- and getting precious about people walking on it- throws up the question- do you really want to move- you appear to be far too attached to the property........

You have to look at these things in a cold and clinical manner.
Do you want to sell the house- yes or no?
How can you make potential purchasers most likely to offer you the best possible price for the property?
Are there any weird things- like your walnut floor, walls painted burgundy or black, weird wallpaper, exposed telephone cables along skirting boards- etc etc etc- little things that you might notice if you went into someone else's house, but that you are oblivious to in your own home?

You are not protecting your floor- you are protecting a floor that you imagine has a value to someone else. Realistically- this may very well not be the case- this is something you have to be bluntly cognisant of.

Personally- I'd rip it up and put down rough terracotta tiles- they're easy to clean and don't take much care.

Perhaps you may find someone who loves the floor as much as you do- however, and despite what you may imagine- its an acquired taste- most people most certainly do not go for that sort of thing.

SMJSF

Marks, scratches and dents happen. you should have gotten laminate if you don't want it "Damaged".

mrmitty

People spit and blow their noses and the dogs poo on the streets and then we walk on these same streets with our shoes.
When you enter my house I'll ask you kindly to remove your shoes for that reason.
If you can't show that minimal amount of respect for my home then you're not welcome in it.
It's a hygiene thing.

aido79

If a prospective buyer is really serious about buying the house then shouldn't they be concerned about damaging their future floor and therefore take their shoes off not just out of respect for the op's wishes but also for the fact that a damaged floor might soon be their problem and something they will have to look at everyday if they buy the house?

seventeen sheep

aido79 wrote: »

If a prospective buyer is really serious about buying the house then shouldn't they be concerned about damaging their future floor and therefore take their shoes off not just out of respect for the op's wishes but also for the fact that a damaged floor might soon be their problem and something they will have to look at everyday if they buy the house?

That's what I'm thinking. If I was attending the open viewing, and strongly interested in buying the house - and if I actually loved the look of the walnut floor - it would kill me to watch a perfect new floor being marked and scratched in front of my eyes, I'd nearly be telling the other viewers to take off their shoes myself! :O

I think most people realise that a floor like that won't last for years - but even if you were planning to replace the floor at some stage after moving in, at least it would be nice to be able to enjoy it in good condition for the first few weeks/months/years after moving in, until you get around to replacing it.

Also, no need to mention the walnut floor when asking people to remove their shoes. Plenty of people have that policy in place purely for hygiene reasons. You will have several stangers traipsing germs from the street and from public transport etc into every single room in your house - I'd be inclined to ask them to remove their shoes even if it weren't for the floor!

And so what if they think you're being over-the-top or germophobic etc - they won't have to live with you; it won't put them off buying the house if they want it enough.

Riverireland

seamus wrote: »

Yeah, it attracts tyre kickers, but it makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, not least because it saves you having to get the house ready for a load of viewings. An open viewing when the house first goes up for sale means that everyone who's even remotely interested has a look. Otherwise you're having to polish up the house for the first 2/3 weeks to accommodate random viewings from people who are only half interested.

Builders use them a lot now when working on houses. I'm sure you can get boxes of 50 of them in Woodies or something.

Well if you walk around your house with no shoes on (like we do), then there's nothing wrong with such a floor, though personally I wouldn't bother because you will still occasionally drop stuff, and a soft wood floor will look stupid after a year of that.

I see what you're sayings Seamus but I would still not hold an open viewing again for the following reasons.

You can not sell or give individual attention to a large group of people. People would find it difficult to get individual attention from the estate agent.

Parking, most areas can not accommodate an extra 15 or so cars particularly on evenings or weekends so it suggest that parking is normally an issue.

Most 3 - 4 bed houses would look cramped with all the extra people so you're not giving the House the best chance.

Everyone has had a good look on the internet. If the are actually interested they will turn up for a proper viewing. The seller just needs to deal with the inconvenience or risk not maximising the value.

I could list many more but I'm on a phone...ðŸ˜

lawred2

SpaceTime wrote: »

Wearing pointed heals into someone's house is just damn rude in my opinion.

A few years ago a 'friend' of mine walked into my house with stilettos on and actually cracked 5 tiles in the bathroom and left puncture marks all over the place. Cost a lot of money to fix and she could see nothing wrong with it.

I'm talking maybe 15 stone per stiletto point ...

You might as well just take a chisel to the floors.

jaysus how big was yer wan?

lawred2

Personally speaking; I hate open viewings. And they usually turn me off the property.

by the seaside

seventeen sheep wrote: »

If anything, it would make a good impression on prospective buyers that you obviously have taken such good care of the house.

I don't think it would be an unusual thing to ask. Perhaps you could buy a few cheap pairs of slippers from Penneys or similar to have by the door, just in case anyone might be uncomfortable walking around the house in their bare feet.

Good idea re slippers. Or those disposable blue plastic overshoes they have at my swimming pool for the changing room (which split over my size 12's but that's another story.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Disposable-Overshoes-pack-100/sim/B003BV8TL2/2

I am in UK but you'll know Irish retailers that do similar.

SpaceTime

lawred2 wrote: »

jaysus how big was yer wan?

Very!

username000

mrmitty wrote: »

People spit and blow their noses and the dogs poo on the streets and then we walk on these same streets with our shoes.
When you enter my house I'll ask you kindly to remove your shoes for that reason.
If you can't show that minimal amount of respect for my home then you're not welcome in it.
It's a hygiene thing.

People masturbate, use the toilet, handle animals, handle animal poo, blow their nose, dont wash their hands, handle money, you get the money as change in a shop.

At least you dont use your hands on the floor and unless you are eating your dinner off the actual floor the hygiene argument just doesnt stand up.

by the seaside

username000 wrote: »

People masturbate, use the toilet, handle animals, handle animal poo, blow their nose, dont wash their hands, handle money.

Not at my open house viewing, they don't

mfceiling

Jesus lads do some of you live in your houses or do you hover outside and look in the window!! A house is a home, and if you have a family you will have marks on the floor, grubby hand prints on walls, dirty clothes on the floor, streaks on your windows, toys under sofas, pictures stuck on doors in the kitchen...not to mention if you have a dog - god knows what you will have then!!

Your "good" floor will be someone elses floor when you move out. What will you do in your next home? Anti bacterial wipes at the door, no visitors allowed?

We moved into a new house about 6 months ago and already the floors are marked, the walls are covered in little hand prints and the dog has had a wee on practically every floor downstairs but it's home and when you close the front door behind you it doesn't matter what the floors are like.

realdanbreen

Heffc wrote: »

I hope this doesn't sound too ludicrous but here goes....

Hubby and I are hoping to put our house up for sale in the coming month. Part and parcel of that these days is having a couple of opening viewings.

We've put a lot of money into our home since we bought it, always with a view of making it attractive for a sale. The flip side of that is that I'm VERY protective of it. I have always had a no shoe policy in the house which has had no exceptions no matter who is calling - one of the main reasons for this is a very expensive walnut floor we put down on the ground floor which marks if you so much as look at it, let alone walk on it with shoes (never again). We might get away with mens shoes and runners but any sort of heel at all will mark it, end of.

Has anyone any advice on how I would manage this for an open viewing - the logical side of me questions if i can reasonably expect people to take off their shoes but if we don't the floor will absolutely get destroyed??

I realise this might sound like such a trivial thing to some readers but its genuinely a worry for me...

How much are you looking for the house?

by the seaside

mfceiling wrote: »

Jesus lads do some of you live in your houses or do you hover outside and look in the window!! A house is a home, and if you have a family you will have marks on the floor, grubby hand prints on walls, dirty clothes on the floor, streaks on your windows, toys under sofas, pictures stuck on doors in the kitchen...not to mention if you have a dog - god knows what you will have then!!

Your "good" floor will be someone elses floor when you move out. What will you do in your next home? Anti bacterial wipes at the door, no visitors allowed?

We moved into a new house about 6 months ago and already the floors are marked, the walls are covered in little hand prints and the dog has had a wee on practically every floor downstairs but it's home and when you close the front door behind you it doesn't matter what the floors are like.

That's fine for living in a house, but you might want to keep it smart looking if you want to sell it.

I'd be looking for a reduction in asking price tbh in order to replace the floor if the floor isn't able to take shoes. Most people want to wear their shoes in the house and not damage the floor.

K.Flyer

lawred2 wrote: »

...
that's why it's been stated that her floor isn't fit for purpose..

O.P.'s house, O.P.'s rules, take it or leave it.
The floor is fit for purpose, O.P. just doesn't want it getting marked or damaged, thats their perogative.

So say someone goes to look at a buying a new Landrover Discovery from someone and its sitting there all nice and shiney in mint condition. Can they tell the seller that its not "fit for purpose" because the seller won't let them test drive it down through a river and into a forest in case it gets damaged or scratched?

mikom

Only one thing for it..........

The_Conductor

Ok guys- less of the comedy please.

cpoh1

username000 wrote: »

People masturbate, use the toilet, handle animals, handle animal poo, blow their nose, dont wash their hands, handle money, you get the money as change in a shop.

At least you dont use your hands on the floor and unless you are eating your dinner off the actual floor the hygiene argument just doesn't stand up.

When you have young kids playing on the floor and sticking their hands in their mouths every 2 minutes every little measure helps in keeping a place clean.

Sometimes you have to respect other peoples wishes when entering their home. Personally if I was buying a house and the owners wanted people to remove their shoes I would take it as a sign that the place was well looked after by the people living there and wouldn't take offense.

iguana

cpoh1 wrote: »

When you have young kids playing on the floor and sticking their hands in their mouths every 2 minutes every little measure helps in keeping a place clean.

This is way off topic but I have a two year old who spends most of his life on the floor with his cars and as I want him to have a functioning immune system I don't go overboard on the cleaning. Kids who live in overly sterile environments have hugely higher rates of allergies and childhood infections. While obviously you don't want your child to live in filth, getting dirty is an essential part of childhood growth.

K.Flyer wrote: »

O.P.'s house, O.P.'s rules, take it or leave it.
The floor is fit for purpose, O.P. just doesn't want it getting marked or damaged, thats their perogative.

But that's the thing. When you are selling your house that's the very, very last way you want your prospective buyers to feel. When your potential customers come to see what could be their future home, the best way to sell it is to make each and every one of them feel at ease. It's why every competent sales agent advises their clients to depersonalise the house before selling it. To get rid of most of your knick knacks, put away most of your children's toys, take down most of your family photos if you have a lot of them, etc. You want the house to be a neutral, almost blank canvas that the prospective buyers can visualise as their own. Because as funny as it sounds, some people really can't see beyond the residents' stuff to picture it as their own. And if they can't do that, they won't be willing to part with what will most likely be an enormous part of their income for the next 30 years to buy it.

lawred2

K.Flyer wrote: »

O.P.'s house, O.P.'s rules, take it or leave it.
The floor is fit for purpose, O.P. just doesn't want it getting marked or damaged, thats their perogative.

Sure.

But they want the house to become someone else's house.