Well, my landlord has decided to sell the house that I live in now. Her mother owned it and recently passed away and I guess she and her brother have decided to sell the 2 family that they grew up in and that I currently live in. I don't really care what they do with it since Collin and I are moving to PA in 2 weeks anyway...
BUT, I came home yesterday to a note from the landlord saying that they were selling the house and to expect calls from people looking to view the house. Fine, no problem I thought, a call once or twice a week to give advance notice that a buyer wants to come, no biggie...
I come home tonight to a For Sale sign in the yard and a lockbox on the porch railing...still, no big deal! I came inside and checked the blinking voice mail....6 messages from realtors who want to show the house TOMORROW!!
B I G P R O B L E M!!!! Am I supposed to arrange these visits? When did I become the secretary for the landlord!?!?! *ANGRY ME!!*
OK, so I listen to the messages...one lady says "Oh, I would like to come tomorrow around 4 and you will need to put the DOG IN A CAGE."
OK, now I'm seeing RED...I thought I was angry before!!! I quick called my dad to find out how much he knows about my rights as a tenant and what he thinks I should do...I mean, I don't want to be uncooperative, they want to sell the house and I want to be accomodating. But I draw the line at putting Duncan in a crate so people can come to the house when I am not home!
First of all, Duncan has not been crated since he was a year old. And even then it was for 4 hours, I let him out at lunchtime, 4 more hours and then I was home...and that was only for a few weeks until he learned to behave in the house when noone was home (Don't get me wrong, I am not against crating a dog for behavior, training, etc. so I don't want to start any trouble) I just do NOT think that it is fair for Duncan, who lives here too, this is his home as much as it is mine or Collin's!, to be in a crate all day so people can come look at the place. With traffic, my work is about 30 - 40 minutes away so I couldn't come home at lunch and he would be in the crate for 11 hours straight! And even if I WOULD do that, what good is that? The people may be safe from Duncan biting him but he would bark and growl at them and jump around the crate and could injure himself! I don't care about the safety of these people to be honest...but I care a great deal about the safety of my dog! Not to mention that it has been in the 90s everyday here and, I do have AC but just a room/window one so it's cool but not always comfortable. Poor Duncan wouldn't be able to find a cool spot to lay or stretch out, I don't have a water hanger thing and even if I did, I don't think Duncan would know how to use it....
Now, I could leave him loose in the house everyday like I normally do and just take my chances that he will not bite these strangers coming into my house. And, to be honest, he probably wouldn't. He's not overly concerned with the house itself, it's the people living in it (translation: ME ) that he is concerned about and will protect until his dying day.... So, theoretically, if I'm not here, he would probably be fine...but can I take that chance? NO, I can't. What if he does bite someone....then his life is at risk when they report it and I just cannot have that.
So I called some of the people back today and told them not to come into my house between the hours of 8am and 7pm. Some already had made "appts" for tomorrow!!!! I told them no nicely and tried to make it sound like I was concerned with their safety and that I was willing to help but only after work hours...One man decided to come right then so I took Duncan for a walk, which is fine. We usually take long walks in the evening anyway but lately we have been waiting until it cools off.
My concern is that, since there is a lockbox out front and I have no idea if the key to this apartment is in it or just the key to the downstairs one (they only have pet birds), that people will come in when I am not home anyway!!
I think I will put a nice note on the front door asking them to please not come in, the dog is not friendly, (I'm sure they can hear him barking at them when they are on the porch anyway...)I don't know how to word it without seeming like I don't want to help though. Of course I would prefer not to have people in my home at any time but if I have to I will deal with it. But what are my rights? Can I forbid them to enter when I am not home? And if they do anyway and Duncan does hurt someone, what will happen to him? And can I be sued? And what if he gets out of the apartment? As it is, it seems like I will have to have people tromping through my apt when I get home from work for a few hours. I can take Duncan to the park to swim and play (it's a 45 minute drive but we'll both have fun) but it still sucks. (Tonight, I had to turn off my dinner and finish cooking it when I returned) Also, the place is a mess since Duncan and I have been living here alone for 2 months, I see no reason to dust and I have been packing so there are boxes and bags everywhere! And to top it ALL off, I have to give my notice at my job, which I love! and I am not looking forward to that. I had planned on working lots of OT to help them set up a training program for the person they hire to replace me since my job was a new position and does not have an official "description" I like my company and love the girls I work with so I wanted to get as much done as possible to make it easier on them. And now I have to commit to being home every night at a certain time and leaving WITH Duncan!! That can be a problem in 90 degree weather when I need to run errands which I have TONS of since I am moving in 2 weeks....So, you can understand my dilemma.....
Sorry this is so long!! I am just so frustrated and confused...
Does anyone know my rights/obligations in a situation like this? In all honesty, the landlord has never been nice and had BARELY fulfilled her obligations as a landlord(another LONG story) but at the same time, I understand the position she is in and certainly don't want to derail her plans....
Please help!! Any advice would be wonderful...Again, I apologize for the length....any comments/stories would be welcome...
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