And, relevant to this thread, we never received notice of showings because agents would just use the lockbox to enter; if they called ahead at all, it was from outside the front door with their clients tapping their feet. We started out trying to be good sports, cleaning the place up, etc., but after a few people barging in we just put our valuables away and let the place look like crap.

I can top this: one day a lockbox just appeared on our front door when we were renting. The lazy landlord didn't even bother to tell us he was selling the place. The kicker is, we'd been away for the weekend, so when we went inside, there were agents' cards on the table--people had already been traispsing through our condo! If the LL had bothered to tell us and to at least attempt to have us notified before showing, we would have been cooperative and worked with him; as it was, we did absolutely nothing to help that place sell--but he did lose a tenant the minute our lease was up.

I change the locks when I start a tenancy because the keys have been sitting with several agents and I don't like the security risk attached.

So no one enters my house unless they have an appointment. I'm not unreasonable but I don't like people coming by unannounced as I work at home and also need to tidy up first. Works well.

Oh, I don't think all landlords regard tenants as nuisancy ATMs. I rented from the nicest family when I was a post doc and they were great, fixed things promptly, gave me lots of notice when they had people in for maintenance and even offered to pick me up at the airport when I arrived in a strange, foreign, city, hours late because of a flight delayed by weather. You bet I took awesome care of that place and gave them a ton of notice when I had to leave.

Anonymous wrote:That would be in breach of the clause in the standard lease that specifies that tenants need to make the premises available for showing.

no. the fact that an agent cannot come inside unannouced while you are taking a shower is not a violation of the lease.

signed

That would be in breach of the clause in the standard lease that specifies that tenants need to make the premises available for showing.

Renter's solution to idiot RE agents ...... install a dead bolt hatch (works from inside only)

It's a pain, but unfortunately, this is kind of part of the deal when you rent. when you own, you have a wee bit more control over the process, but you'll still encounter people who want to come see the place before or after the hours you've set, and you have to kind of roll with it.

We had to see a few houses when the renters or owners were there. We always called ahead with a good estimate of when we'd be there. It was slightly awkward for us - I felt bad for disturbing folks - so we just tried to get in and out quickly and politely.

Anonymous wrote:I think it lies also on the price point - if you rent from slumlords you may have that type of experience. I rented 10 years in DC, upper NW, paid market price, always had nice landlords who took care of their rentals and treated their renters (us) nicely

I disagree with PP -- there are slumlords at every price point. A few years ago I rented a large two-level condo (sale price would have been around 525K; rent was 2400) in NoVA. Landlord had zero interest in upkeep; the carpets looked like someone had died on them and we arranged for most repairs ourselves (withheld cost from rent after emailing landlord). Halfway through the two-year lease, landlord put the house on the market, assuring us she would only sell to a prospective landlords and not to would-be residents -- of course, the listing did not mention the long-term lease and the people coming through were all looking to occupy immediately. And, relevant to this thread, we never received notice of showings because agents would just use the lockbox to enter; if they called ahead at all, it was from outside the front door with their clients tapping their feet. We started out trying to be good sports, cleaning the place up, etc., but after a few people barging in we just put our valuables away and let the place look like crap. When she finally found a buyer, landlord asked us to terminate the lease early and we refused, so the sale fell through. We moved out at the end of the lease, but as far as I'm aware the landlord never sold the place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Landlords do this all the time. Landlords just view tenants as an inconvenient ATM. They want their money but hate dealing with the humans that actually pays them. In my many years as a renter, I have had one landlord who has just been awesome. I always made sure the house looked awesome when he showed it. My other landlords I would warn potential renters about!!

You sound crazy. No wonder you can't get it together enough to own a place.

I rented from four different landlords in my life before I bought a house. I never felt any of them viewed me as an inconvenient ATM. You have some unresolved issues if this is how you feel. The problem lies, not within the landlords, but within you.

I think it lies also on the price point - if you rent from slumlords you may have that type of experience. I rented 10 years in DC, upper NW, paid market price, always had nice landlords who took care of their rentals and treated their renters (us) nicely

Anonymous wrote:Landlords do this all the time. Landlords just view tenants as an inconvenient ATM. They want their money but hate dealing with the humans that actually pays them. In my many years as a renter, I have had one landlord who has just been awesome. I always made sure the house looked awesome when he showed it. My other landlords I would warn potential renters about!!

You sound crazy. No wonder you can't get it together enough to own a place.

I rented from four different landlords in my life before I bought a house. I never felt any of them viewed me as an inconvenient ATM. You have some unresolved issues if this is how you feel. The problem lies, not within the landlords, but within you.

14:22 here - I obviously meant I would NOT like an agent who does not listen

Anonymous wrote:Oh, we had the same expereince! HATE the real estate agent, fired her over this. My daughter had a tooth extraction appointment. She called me during the appt to "ask permission" I said no way. She knew I was out of the house, so she used her key and showed them around anyway. Unbeknowst to us, the DCs had had a very happy bath (they were 3 years old) the night before and flooded the bathroom. Water everywhere. When I got home, water dripping from ceiling. Of course, no sale. We fired the agent.

I would like an agent who violates clear instructions, but after reading your message I frankly think your agent was probably relieved she was fired.

what I understand from your message is that your 3 year old kids had a bath the night before and you did not even know about it (really great and safe parenting, congratulations) and apparently you did not even check the bathroom from that evening to the day after, when you do it only after the water comes dripping from the ceiling?

the reason you lost the sale is not your agent, but your behaving as an irresponsible parent, a lousy home owner and a lazy seller. if you are a smart and motivated seller, you clean it up and declutter in the months before putting the house for sale, after putting it up for sale you keep it in tip top condition and ready to show on a short notice with the least limitation possible (no showings after 8pm or earlier than 9am or whatever works for you, but considering that if buyers cannot see your home, they will buy something else), and you will sell in a reasonable time. you can do that even if you have kids. BTDT.

Oh, we had the same expereince! HATE the real estate agent, fired her over this. My daughter had a tooth extraction appointment. She called me during the appt to "ask permission" I said no way. She knew I was out of the house, so she used her key and showed them around anyway. Unbeknowst to us, the DCs had had a very happy bath (they were 3 years old) the night before and flooded the bathroom. Water everywhere. When I got home, water dripping from ceiling. Of course, no sale. We fired the agent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nightmare! I put my house on the market several years ago. I gave the agent instructions that no showings would be possible until a certain date to give me time to relocate my dog (a Lab) to my fiancé's house several hours away. One Saturday morning my dog and I went for a run in the rain. When we got back to the house I gave him a bath in my tub and then got in to take a shower. Doorbell rings. Dog is running through the house wiping his stinky wet dog body on everything, and I'm naked in the shower with the door open. I turn off the water and hear voices entering the house. I yell that it's not a good time, and they leave, but only after the agent asks 10 questions about when they can come back. Another time I cleared out of the house before a scheduled showing. The last thing I did before leaving was put a small amount of dirty laundry in the washer. Upon my return I found that I had dropped a pair of underwear on the stairway landing, in the middle of the landing- not discretely balled up in a dark corner. I think I cried when I found it. Those people probably thought I was some kind of pervert, which didn't help my chances of selling quickly.

Why would you put your house on the market and have it accessible to agents when you're not ready to show it?

OP, you should have a bag ready to go with little toys, books, etc. that you can grab and take your daughter to Starbucks or something when people show up to look at the place.

Well, gee, I guess I was naive to trust the sellers' agent when she told me there would be no showings until I gave the go-ahead. Did I not indicate such in my post?

you were not vaive, you were irrational. you do not put a house for sale if you cannot show it. as a buyer, if I see a house for sale but I cannot go in to see it, what would I think? that there is a major last moment problem that the seller is trying to hide/fix in a rush. wait until you are ready to show and then put your house up for sale. that simple

Well, gee, I guess I was naive to trust the sellers' agent when she told me there would be no showings until I gave the go-ahead. Did I not indicate such in my post?

Agent here. Rules of the local MLS dictate that you're not allowed to enter a listing, for example, as Active on a Friday but then say "no showings until open house on Sunday" or some such thing. If you are putting the house on the market, the "seller's agent" is YOUR agent, and you can tell her to delay activating the listing until you're ready, but you can't put something on the market and not have it available for showings at all. You may of course always limit the time of and amount of notice before showings, though.

PP with the agent who never called beforehand: your agent was an ass.