Hi, Still Living Here, Thanks

The owner of the house my boyfriend and I are renting has decided to sell. This isn’t the first house we’ve lived in that is for sale, so we know how it goes. The only difference is that this house is a duplex and our neighbor moved out of the other side a few months ago.

First, they want us to agree to a day every other week for them to do a showing. We suggest once a month due to the health crisis and not wanting too many people in our home. We compromise and agree to have the place viewable when they call and give us twenty-four hours heads-up.

I wake up one afternoon and my boyfriend tells me someone showed up for a viewing and asked to enter, but we didn’t get a heads-up so he said no. I’m irritated by this but figure one mistake isn’t a big deal. They showed the other side and left.

Then, yesterday, a little before noon, we were both awake when we heard people outside and I heard someone try to open the door. My boyfriend got up to look out the front while I pulled up my phone and dialed 911, thinking it might be a break-in. I didn’t call yet just in case, and my boyfriend cracked the door open. My heart was pounding, and I recognized the early signs of a panic attack.

My boyfriend’s tone in the following dialogue is extremely polite – much more polite than I would have been and much more polite than they deserved, in my opinion.

Boyfriend: “Um, hi. Can I help you?”

Realtor: “Yeah, we’re here for a showing. Is it all right if we take a look inside?”

Boyfriend: “No, sorry, because no one called us to tell us you were coming.”

Realtor: “Oh. Not just real quick?”

Boyfriend: “No, we weren’t told.”

Realtor: “Well, do you ever do showings of this side?”

Boyfriend: “Yes, when we are given a warning.”

Realtor: “Okay.”

After they left, I texted the landlord and told him that this was totally unprofessional and that I had almost called 911 on the realtor. He wasn’t as bothered as I was and just passed along our message to the realtors. I thought he would be more upset since he wants to sell the place, but I guess not. I calmed down but was upset the rest of the day. Who just tries to open someone’s door and then act like they knocked when someone answers?! They gave us no apology or any sign of remorse.

After the second time someone tried to let themself into my apartment, the landlord gave us permission to put up a “do not disturb” sign. After that didn’t work and it happened several more times, each time the landlord saying he’d handle it, I called the broker myself. He assured me all of his realtors would be told not to bother us under any circumstances. But of course, the story doesn’t end here.

The other day we were doing some reorganizing when my boyfriend and I heard someone try to turn the doorknob. My boyfriend opened the door to find a man all by himself. My boyfriend asked what he was doing and he introduced himself as a buyer, apologized meekly, and walked away. He came back and knocked 10 seconds later.

I told my boyfriend and he reopened the door and the man asked if we were planning to stay if the house was sold and asked a few other questions about the property. As they’re talking, I’m behind my boyfriend fuming with anger since this is the SEVENTH time this has happened. I tried to interject several times, but the conversation ended and my boyfriend closed the door. I was slightly annoyed with him but decided it was probably for the best, because I was definitely not planning on being nice and was going to aggressively point out the sign and how rude he was being. The man left and we heard him walking around the other unit.

We had gotten his name and texted the landlord to make sure he was a legitimate buyer. Although he was, he was there without a realtor and without permission. The landlord said next time to take a photo of him and his license plate and call 911 for trespassing. He also ordered us a doorbell camera. While I’m happy something is finally being done, I’m annoyed it took this long.

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