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Yes. In fact, a member of the same garden club that I belong to owned the house I currently live in. I am going to invite her to visit it before I put it on the market due to my recent heart attack. She has told me about some of the living arrangements her family had in the house ( 5 people in a 2 bedroom/1 bath house!) and I'd like her to see all the improvements I've made over the past 16 years. I'm sure that once I move she would never have the chance to see inside it afterwards, not to mention the extensive gardens I've planted will probably all be ripped out by the next owner.
I was invited by the new owners of my grandmother's house to visit after they finished remodeling. It was built in 1922 and they did a tasteful job. I was so grateful they invited me! Of course, they knew who I was. I know who owned this house before me and if they asked, I would have no problems. Strangers, not so inclined.
I actually did this. I wanted to show my husband where I grew up (different state.) I took him to the house. The current owner was very friendly and happily invited us in. Very surreal to see my old bedroom and all that.
DH and I knew the owner of our first home we bought 45 years ago as we sold it to them! They found out we would be in town and invited us over and it was just delightful to see the familiar layout but many updated features.
We particularly enjoyed seeing how the backyard was so private due to the hedges we planted. It was great fun for all of us. Having a stranger come to the door would probably be another issue, though, unless there was some relevant connection.
I have done that. One old house has been sold four times since we left. I have gone back and talked with the new owners, and if they were interested gave them a room by room history of the house. I did a lot of research on the house, restored it and while restoring it, discovered the architectural history.
What they seem to love most are stories about how that dent got in the wall (my daughter luging won the stairs in a diaper box during the Olympics when she was about 7 years old), or pointing out the yearly height markings of our kids on the back of a closet door.). They sometimes do not like it when I tell them the tin ceiling was installed by me in the 1990s or the beautiful ceiling medallion around the light fixture is actually plastic but was hand painted by a local artist who they can meet if they wish.
Most of the people who lived in our house are dead. But we did get one family member who showed up and we gave them a tour. Because our house was on HGTV, we get a number of people pull into our driveway and just sit there looking at it. Sometimes if they are nice and the house is clean, we will invite them in for a tour. Mostly though they just sit there and if we approach their car, they leave quickly. That bugs me. It is odd we still get people, the show was in 2006. They stopped airing it years ago, but I think they might use it as filler for the 3 a.m. time slot sometimes. One day my wife got a call form a lady in Georgia who wanted a picture of her to give to her beautician so she could get the same haircut. If you are antsy about privacy, do not go on TV.
When we have parties, people who have not been in our house often ask for a tour, so we end up giving three or four group tours though the day (we mostly have outdoor parties).
The house I grew up in until I was 8, I have walked by a few times, but never went up and knocked. I am not sure that woudl be appreciated, it is a tiny brick house from the 1950s. the neighborhood has decayed. The house is not well maintained. We moved out in 1971, so I do not remember it much anyway. The house I grew up in the rest of the way, I do visit regularly and walk around and nostalgiaize. My dad does not seem to mind, he is happy to have visitors. .
I've never had the chance to do this but I once did a search on my grandparents' old house and to my shock it was for sale with many pictures online. It had been remodeled but the fireplace was still the same. So odd to see that house online.
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