Would you consider this weird? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Would you consider this weird?

I drive by my old residential building we owned for a decade. If nothing more than a trip down memory lane. It was a good 10 years and that place set me up to where I was able to buy now. If any of the tenants were outside I’d say hello, but not go out of my way to reach out as it could be weird.

Our old townhouse I drive by when driving home from Etobicoke to Mississauga simply because my parents bought it as an investment property. Never met the tenants so can’t even comment. Place seems in order.

And my parents are still in the same house they bought in the early 90s. They just rented it out while we lived as superintendents in another place (rent was included in the salary).
 
A friend lives in a historic house N-E of Toronto. Occasionally some old timer will wander onto the property and start a conversation telling of family visits there. They sometimes show or give him old pictures of the place with Model T Fords parked beside the house.

My first family is now a Home Depot so once Covid lockdowns are over I can visit anytime I want. As far as someone wanting a tour of my place there would have to be a unique reason. I haven't lived anywhere special so I have no reason to want to bother anyone to see one of my old places.
 
The owner of the house we moved into after we sold the house in question (and I lived in for 5-6 years before heading out on my own) contacted me about 4-5 years ago - Out of the blue one day I got a message on Facebook asking if I was familiar with the address.

He asked me to come and vouch for the fact the house was 2 units previous to a bylaw that came into force 5 or 10 years back. I guess bylaw finally caught up to him (it had been rented as 2 units, not a single family home) and he needed help getting grandfathered.

Long story short, I did as he needed (it was kinda technically setup as 2 separate units when we lived there, although I "lived" in the basement, it was never rented...but it easily could have been) and in turn I got to go back into the house again to check it out - at least downstairs - apparently the upstairs half was rented by a bit of an eccentric fellow with some minor hoarding tendencies who was not interested in an unnecessary visit.

My mother would have been horrified at the overall condition of the place (It wasn't terrible, but she the June Cleaver sort) although for the most part it was almost exactly as it was when we lived there. Probably best I didn't get to see upstairs, that was her domain and she was really particular about it all - to see it run down would have changed the image in my head I left with.

It was kinda cool (I hadn't been in that house either for 10-15 years), but that house never held the same sentimental value as the one I posted this thread over.
 
Some of my best friends/riding buddies/the last house we bought/and the current land we live on, were all because we knocked on a strangers door mostly asking about the neighbourhood, who their home builder was because we liked their house, or etc. They all invited us in and rest is history.
Skip the letter. Try again with the current owners for reasons already stated. If no luck, try again with the new owners (and bring the photos, etc).
 
I am not a very social person so your letter (if I saw it) would have been ignored. If you showed up at my door you would have probably received a blank stare and a no. I would have zero interest in anyone that had lived their previously. If I had just moved in I would not want to know what had been changed. I would also have no answer to any questions as to why (since I just moved in!!). If I had lived there for awhile I would, again, refuse to answer why something was changed. I didnt like it obviously or I wouldnt have changed it.

It is my home now. My place to escape the rest of the world when I want/need to. I dont care to hear about your memories. Weird request?? Probably not but not interested in entertaining it.

Thats just me though.
 
I just recalled an odd "Showing". We were just touring easter Ontario and were walking around a small town. My wife noticed some nice details on one house and complimented the lady that was doing some gardening. One thing led to another and we got an inside tour and an invitation to dinner.
 
mimico_polak said:
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Like you said @PrivatePilot maybe they had a bad day. You never know. But now that they’re moving out they may actually even give you a date when it’ll be empty.
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What have you got to loose. If I got the letter I'd let you in especially if you had some vintage photos of the house in it's past life. Likely even offer you a beer.
 
The sites that show selling prices also usually have the photos from the last sale(s) or even listings that did not sell. That was enough to get me where I was going on the home I grew up in, I really didn't need anything else or a visit.
 
@PrivatePilot
You know that we are all curious minds and will want to know what the outcome of this is.

We want pics of you in the house when you go and visit. ......... or else it didn't happen. ;)
 
I have 2 home stories. In the early 80s I rented a 6000sq foot house on 30 acres in Gormley that was built by the inventor of the red Velcro-like lint brush.

In 1985 he offered me the place for $299k, about 3x the price of a starter new build in Stouffville. Was out of my price range. 20 years later I bought a business, the owner had a pic on he desk of the house, turns out she bought it. I bumped into her today outside the house.

About 4 mos ago I joined a new company, the sr guy in Canada lived across the street from my current house when he was a kid. He showed me pics of him swimming in my pool from the late 70s.
 
not weird at all to request a brief viewing

we owned a house built in the 20's awhile back
turned out it was built/owned by the village doctor back in the day

a nice family came knocking one day, the wife's grandfather had been the doctor
we were happy to let them see how the house and property had changed

and who wouldn't want to know a bit of the history of the house they live in?
 
Life got in the way and I never pursued it. I might have missed the boat honestly, especially if it was a 30 day close. Maybe I'll message my real estate friend and see if he has any insight on closing day and I could pop over then.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Life got in the way and I never pursued it. I might have missed the boat honestly, especially if it was a 30 day close. Maybe I'll message my real estate friend and see if he has any insight on closing day and I could pop over then.
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Could just knock on the door one day, explain your reasoning and politely ask. What’s the worst that could happen?


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I think I'd just leave the letter I wrote along with maybe 1 picture that dates the house and our time there (There's a 1970's GM van in the garage with the door up, and my sisters 80's Chevette in the driveway, LOL) and see if they'll reach out to me in return.

Honestly, the more I've thought about it, the more I recognize that just showing up isn't really cool. Honestly, if the people we bought our house from 21 years ago showed up on our doorstep unannounced and asked to come inside to see the house, I'd probably say no. But if they dropped off a letter, explained things, and I was able to reach out and setup a date and time (when the house is clean and tidy versus the usual family whirlwind) I'd probably be cool with it, and happy to share some of the changes we've made, etc.

No pressure that way either vs the pressure of just standing there in the moment.
 
It's not strange.

My mom sold a big house three years ago. We were there for 9 years. I always wonder if I could ask the new owners if I could see the house.

It was sad to move out from there. Had some good memories there.
 
I saw the realestate listing for our old family cottage a few years ago. It had been modified and renovated so much that I could barely recognize it....gone was the simple cottage and the (OK, admittedly dated) wood paneling, and in was modern finishes and drywall. Even the cedar ceiling that I know my dad loved so much was gone.

Lots of great memories there as well, but I'm not sure they'd even equate anymore walking through a building that is so different from what you remember that the only recognizable spaces is the bathroom and bedrooms.
 
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