strangers going through your house thats being built

[720L]

A rant: We are building a house right now. People WE DONT KNOW keep driving up to it and going through it without asking!! I think this is so rude! I would never do that without asking the owner and if you don't know the owner--DONT go through it without asking the builder!! We have places not finished that are only covered by plywood that go straight down to the basement. Nosy people drive me crazy!! End of rant.

 

[cynsaun]

We are building, too, so I can relate. How close are you to having doors with locks put on? No one can get into our house now without the keycode on the lockbox.

Good luck!

 

[Lil_Tink]

How rude!

 

[720L]

Probably a few more weeks till locks get put on. I can't wait.

 

[ElizK]

That's half the fun of building in a new neighborhood! I know people went thru ours, and we certainly went thru others. Still do, occasionally. It's interesting to see other floor plans, compare them to ours, etc. Sorry it bothers you. Probably not a thing that you can do to stop it, unfortunately, until the locks go in.

 

[Michie]

Put a no tresspassing sign up That is what most homebuilder that I know do. buuuuttttt.....aslo builders and some realtors will tell people "oh drive by such and such house being built and just walk through, it's ok." Most builders want as many people veiwing their homes as possible.

 

[Blondy876]

That's terrible. It's your house and your money that's building it, no one should just wander thru. What happens if someone gets hurt? Are you then responsible? I would be angry too. Are the people going thru the house going to be your new neighbors? If so, good luck.

 

[rkrivas]

I feel in-between (and maybe a little hypocritical!) on this issue. When we were having our house built in a new development, I didn't get that bothered if people who were also having houses built in the development looked in our house -- they could get an idea of things that could be done or potential issues, etc...

However, I did find it annoying if people who already had a house went through just to see how big our rooms were, etc...

 

[Southern4sure]

In our community, the contractors leave the houses unlocked all the time. I have seen doors wide open and lights on. I know during my walks at times I close the doors to these homes because the a/c is going full blast most of the time and it also keeps out rodents and critters. I'd hope someone would do the same for me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have to agree with ElizK...I am in #2 new build (although this one was an inventory).
I haven't gone through houses here but in our old neighborhood everybody went through the houses. Most of the time it is how we got to know people and the kids would play together.

This time around, eh, don't care. I would rather go through a display.

 

[SplshMtn99]

We've gone thru houses when I can tell it's a builder building it. Like when it is an entire neighborhood being built.

If it's just ONE house being built in an existing neighborhood, then we don't walk thru.

Condo developments - we always walk thru.

With our upcoming build, we walked thru AS MANY of the homes / condos this builder is doing so we could anticipate / change as many things as we needed. I even took pictures. And we've needed to refer to those framing / elec / pluming pictures ALOT in our planning stages.

If YOU own it right now, lock it & put up "no trespassing" signs. If the builder still owns it, he wants the advertising.

 

[JESW]

Are you going through a builder or actually building it yourself? Around here it's an unwritten "rule" that if a house that is being built isn't locked up or doesn't have a NO TRESSPASSING sign up, then it's fair game to walk through. The builder WANTS people to walk through so they can see what the house looks like. We walked through several of the homes in our neighborhood as they were being built - both before and after ours was built. Partly because we wanted to see the different options the builder had - and partly because we are nosey! I have no intention of moving, but if I am out with one particular friend and there are homes under construction - without a lock and without a sign - there's a good chance we might go in. Until you close, the house still belongs to the builder, right?

Sorry that it upsets you...I wouldn't have liked it if people walked through our home once we had carpet and other flooring in and our cabinets and such, but by that point it was always locked..

Jill

 

[Sandy22]

Everyone walks through houses around here. Not if it's a house being built by itself by a private contractor. But it's fair game if it's in a new development and the door locks aren't on yet. The builders encourage it to generate new sales. And at that point, they are still the legal owners.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

How far along is your house?

if it isn't under lock and key yet - what is there for them to see that would bother you?

My DH used to work for a builder and they really encourage this practice - they want prospective customers to see their work and get ideas -

I think you might be in the minority of people who find this rude - I wouldn't think twice about walking through and unlocked house that is being built

 

[disykat]

I wouldn't drive out to look at a house, but if I lived in the neighborhood and was walking by I would. My kids and I went over and looked at the house that was being built next door every couple of days. It was very educational. We even got books at the library about the construction process. One of my sons is very interested in architecture and home plans and spent hours perusing his favorite book "1001 home plans" that he requested for his 8th birthday. When someone bought it before it was finished, we stopped going in, because in my mind that was the point it became private property. It never occured to me we were doing anything wrong.

 

[DVCLiz]

My mother was the queen of this - she inspected every renovation in her neighborhood personally. She'd walk by and make friends with the workers, then ask if she could "just sneak a quick look" at the house, "because I'm thinking about doing that to my house." (Fat liar!!) Once she was caught by the homeowner - a nice young girl, Mom said, who introduced herself!!!! I said, "Mom, she thought you were a nutcase and she warned her children about you!!" I think once the people moved in she drew the line and stayed away, but anything under renovation was fair game!!

Soooo embarrassing.......

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I didn't think you could walk through a home being built. I always thought it was tresspassing. I wouldn't like someone walking through the home I was building.

Who's responsible if someone gets hurt? Do people steal stuff out of the home when it is being built? I know things here are expensive and people are stealing wood and stuff. Is the builder still responsible? If so, he probably would pass that cost on to the customer.

 

[lil mermaid]

I go into all the new houses that are being built in our subdivision, and so do all of my neighbors. I know they went through mine, too. What is there to be so upset about?

 

[diznygirl]

I think it's rude too, and I would never do it. I understand that there is no way to prevent it tho. There is a house being built here that has a piece of plywood nailed over the opening every night. I would love to see inside - it's a big Victorian - but only with permission.

I talked with one person while our house was being built and when we described where our house was, they said "Oh yeah, we've been in that one." I didn't say anything - but my DH and I both were shocked.

 

[Michie]

I didn't think you could walk through a home being built. I always thought it was tresspassing. I wouldn't like someone walking through the home I was building.

Who's responsible if someone gets hurt? Do people steal stuff out of the home when it is being built? I know things here are expensive and people are stealing wood and stuff. Is the builder still responsible? If so, he probably would pass that cost on to the customer.

This is why most buildres post a NO TRESSPASSING SIGN. But...every builder I know, if you ( a person interested in having a home built) call their "number" they will tell you to go ahead and walk thru their homes, that it will be unlocked between such and such time, blah, blah....