Barefoot viewing -shoes off to inspect?

[Glucose]

Does anyone else hate to have to take their shoes off to inspect a property? Arthritis makes it difficult sometimes to bend and remove shoes. I suppose I could wear thongs, but that's a bit dangerous for driving.
Anyway, if I get to an open house and they've got a little sign saying "remove shoes before entering" or something similar, I turn right around and go on to the next house to look at.
Mostly when I have just ignored the request and entered anyway (in my soft soled clean shoes) nothing is said, but a couple of times, the agent, standing there like a great big pillock in his socks, has pointed to the sign and asked me to remove my shoes, to which I have replied
"Well, if the floors are so delicate that they can't be walked on, then this will not make a very good rental property. There are plenty of other houses for sale, so I'll go and spend my money elsewhere."

 

[The Y-man]

Pretty common here in Melb in Winter - gotten used to it. I wear easy to remove/wear shoes when inspecting.

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Petal]

I would say it has originated from the old adage that some people do the wrong thing and everybody has to step into line (no pun intended!!)

Some people probably go to these open inspections with big muddy boots traipsing through the house leaving their paw prints everywhere so instead of telling them to take them off the RE finds it easier to tell EVERYONE to take their shoes off.

Mind you some people are just funny about walking around in their house with no shoes. I have never understood it myself.

I never want to own a house where I have to take my shoes off or ask someone else to. Too much of a pain!!

 

[wylie]

I am always tempted to go home with a nicer pair of shoes than the ones I arrived in

Wylie

 

[Simon]

I have a dodgy back and just ignore those signs. To date noone has ever mentioned anything to me - I do wipe my feet though.

If you have a problem like arthritis then just ignore it. I suspect it is as much to invoke a feeling of the house being something special as an attempt at keeping cleaning costs down. At the end of the day they want people through and you are doing them a favour by turning up!

 

[softmonkey]

worth mentioning there are many cultures who respectfully ask that you remove shoes when entering house ... i hear many stories of big dumb westerners take a perverse delight in ignoring such polite requests and written signs and traipsing all over the house in their big shoes as a way of saying "har har i am better than your culture"

tis sad really

 

[Simon]

worth mentioning there are many cultures who respectfully ask that you remove shoes when entering house ... i hear many stories of big dumb westerners take a perverse delight in ignoring such polite requests and written signs and traipsing all over the house in their big shoes as a way of saying "har har i am better than your culture"

tis sad really

We are talking display homes here not Mosques ...

Good one mate. Have you really heard many stories or is this just another case of PC rearing it's ugly head.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

We are talking display homes here not Mosques ...

Good one mate. Have you really heard many stories or is this just another case of PC rearing it's ugly head.

Hi Simon,

I used to date a Japanese chick and everyone had to take their shoes off at the door, no exceptions. I agree that it is a sign of disrespect when someone whose home you are entering has asked you to remove your shoes and you don't comply.

If you don't want to respect someone's request, don't go in the house.

Mark

 

[phil]

I just think it's a mark of respect for that individuals property. Nothing more, nothing less.

Phil

 

[HeXa]

I agree with the others.... if sign says "please remove shoes before entering", then I do so. I tend to wear comfy sneakers anyways, so slip on and off just by standing on the heel.

I used to live in China and what softmonkey said applies to ALL big dumb people, not just westerners.

 

[Kristine..]

Personally, I dislike removing my shoes. I hate walking about in my socks and picking up germs and dog hair and then putting my feet back into my shoes.

Oooo-aaaah! I can feel all the germs crawling around in my shoes - I have to go home and change my socks. Yuk!

It's worse than going bowling, and wearing those yucky bowling shoes which have been on 10,000 feet. We wear shoes at home, or slippers, but if I am looking through a house, I am not going to leave my shoes at the front door when I am certainly going to want to inspect the rear garden as well.

Yes, by all means see it as a sign of 'respect', but I see it as being 'precious' and actually disrespectful towards the buyer. The only time I saw any reason for it was when the floors in one brand new house had only just been polished. Even then, they provided no chair to sit on and this was when I was obese and I simply could not bend down to tie up my shoes. I saw quite a few people looking embarrassed and also walking away with untied shoes.

Anything which doesn't take individual circumstances into account, or which could upset or humiliate someone, is not good business. By all means the vendor may not want to be cleaning every day, but that is just one of the tasks of having the property on the market.

Cheers

Kristine

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Yes, by all means see it as a sign of 'respect', but I see it as being 'precious' and actually disrespectful towards the buyer. The only time I saw any reason for it was when the floors in one brand new house had only just been polished.

It's their house. They own it. They don't need to give you a reason.

Mark

 

[Simon]

Without caving into your opinions I will qualify my statement to being the last 50 or 60 properties I inspected being builders display houses. I find it hard to respect them.

and having lived in Asia it usually wasn't such a big deal to my friends whether shoes were on or off. being hot I wore sandals 9/10 times anyway.

But I will bear it in mind next time I visit your girlfriend Mark ...

 

[BV]

It's their house. They own it. They don't need to give you a reason.

Mark

I agree, if you find it to be a problem you can ignore the sign and walk in or leave.
We have this particular rule at home (no signs though) and we are not moslems.

Mrs BV wants it that way (she is from scandinavia btw).
I personaly don't care either way but have noticed that the floors stay cleaner longer
when people don't walk in with shoes.

Additionaly, the nice wooden floors don't get scratched from the stones
stuck to the bottom of our shoes.
Cheers

 

[our obsession]

We are remove shoes people, sign or no sign...I was trying to figure out where that has come from; I think when we settled here at the farm we did as other families did, removed footwear....probably good reason out here, dust, dags, grime, muck, occasionally (very! ) mud....(that's been lot less frequent last decade. 1994-2005 no-growth for precipitation has been .25%).

Most folk (I have observed) up here in the bush automatically remove their shoes/boots/slip ons/thongs before walking into anyone's house...we certainly do inspecting properties, it's just habit now...elastic sided work boots are the norm...oliver, blundstone,rossi, even the occasional rm williams...slip'em on....slip'em off..........

Source for rain figures: Farm rain gauge.

 

[sue78]

If it was someone's house I would def take my shoes off but if it's a display home and i can't be bothered then I'll just walk on the tiled areas and not carpet.

We take our shoes off in our house and give all our guests slippers....we have loads of slippers and in the carpeted rooms we don't wear shoes at all. I guess it's our culture but also coz shoes are so filthy...I think it's quite dirty to wear shoes in the house anyway.

When i go to friend's house, I take my shoes off as a habit but the floors are so dirty!

 

[Peter Parker]

I look at it this way.

The more prospective buyers the agent puts off-side (by whatever means) the lower the competition and the higher the chance of getting a good buy.

Since I will have trained myself not to be easily put off, the more silly rules the better

But if I were the seller, I would far prefer to accommodate potential buyers and tolerate the tiny amount of wear and tear (on a property that soon will no longer be mine) than impose any rule that might discomfit visitors.

Hence my only requirement would be that visitors respect the fact that it is the tenants home (if occupied) and I would specifically instruct the agent not to enforce a shoes ban nor erect any sign.

 

[McBrain]

But I will bear it in mind next time I visit your girlfriend Mark ...

........LOL

 

[aussierogue]

I would not take of my shoes

Unless it was obvoius there was a special reason other than cleanliness. Its like having one of those special rooms that the kids cant go into and the sofa is covered in plastic (PET DISLIKE). Let a home be a home and thus not perfect like a museum. Vaccuum after each inspection if you need to or put plastic on the ground. Lighten up seller - I say.

 

[tubs]

Maybe its a message to the vendors not to ask the question.

It seems that its putting a lot of potential buyers off.